Abstract
ObjectivesA fitness club may be an important arena to promote regular exercise. However, authors have reported low attendance rates (10 to 37%) the first months after individuals sign up for membership. It is therefore important to understand the reasons for poor exercise adherence. In this project, we aimed to investigate different psychosocial factors that might increase the likelihood of reporting regular exercise the first year of a fitness club membership, including self-efficacy, motives, social support, life satisfaction, and customer satisfaction.MethodsNew members (≤4 weeks membership, n = 250) classified as novice exercisers (exercise < 60 min/week the last 6 months) from 25 multipurpose gyms were followed for 1 year. Data were collected by an electronic survey including background and health factors, self-efficacy, social support, life satisfaction, motives, customer satisfaction, and exercise attendance, and was answered at start-up and after three (n = 224), six (n = 213), and 12 (n = 187) months. It is well established in the literature that ≥2 exercise sessions/week improve physical fitness in novice exercisers (if adhered to). Hence, we divided the participants into regular exercise attendance (≥2 sessions/week) and non-regular exercise attendance (≤1 session/week, exercise dropout, or membership dropout) in the analysis.ResultsA mixed-effects logistic regression model revealed that the strongest predictor for reporting regular exercise attendance was higher levels of the motive “enjoyment” (OR = 1.84, p ≤ 0.001, 95% CI for OR = 1.35, 2.50), followed by self-efficacy “sticking to it” (OR = 1.73, p = 0.002, 95% CI for OR = 1.22, 2.46) and social support from friends and family (OR = 1.16, p ≤ 0.001, 95% CI for OR = 1.09, 1.23).ConclusionIn novice exercisers, regular exercise at three, six, and 12 months was associated with higher scores of the motive “enjoyment,” self-efficacy (“sticking to it”), and social support compared with non-regular exercise. Our results show that the majority of new fitness club members do not achieve regular exercise behavior.
Highlights
Even though the health benefits of physical activity (PA) are well documented (Warburton and Bredin, 2017), research shows that 38% of the European adult population’s physical activity level is inadequate (Mayo et al, 2019)
Using data from the research project “Fitness clubs – a venue for public health?” (Gjestvang et al, 2017, 2019, 2020a; Haakstad et al, 2020; Heiestad et al, 2020), we aimed to investigate different psychosocial factors that might increase the likelihood of reporting regular exercise the first year of a fitness club membership, including self-efficacy, social support, motives, life satisfaction, and customer satisfaction
At each follow-up, an independent t-test showed that the selfefficacy subscales “sticking to it” and “making time for it”, social support, and three motivational subscales [(“revitalization”, “enjoyment”, and “challenge”] were rated higher among those classified with regular exercise attendance compared with those attending non-regularly (p = ≤ 0.01)
Summary
Even though the health benefits of physical activity (PA) are well documented (Warburton and Bredin, 2017), research shows that 38% of the European adult population’s physical activity level is inadequate (Mayo et al, 2019). Two public health challenges are to motivate inactive individuals to become physically active and to encourage already active individuals to increase or maintain their PA level. A fitness club holds equipment for group and individual exercise and represents one large context to be physically active (IHRSA, 2020). To date, this industry has about 185 million members and 210 000 gyms worldwide. Fitness clubs are important arenas for the promotion of PA and exercise (IHRSA, 2020). We have previously reported that among new fitness club members, only 37% exercised regularly irrespective of activity setting, and only 17% used the gym twice weekly the first year as a member (Gjestvang et al, 2020a,b). It is important to understand the reasons for poor exercise adherence
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
