Is age just a number? Differences in exercise participatory motives across adult cohorts and the relationships with exercise behaviour

Abstract

There is a lack of understanding as to how exercise motives differ across age cohorts. Over the last decade, CrossFit training (CFT) has emerged as a forerunner in the fitness industry, which seems to appeal to a large number of individuals. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine participatory motives among individuals of different age cohorts who engage in CFT. Methods: 735 adults (32.4 ± 8.1 years; 53.1% male) with at least 3-months of CF experience completed an online version of the Exercise Motivation Inventory (EMI-2) survey. Participants were divided into four age-cohorts: College age (n = 123), Young adult (n = 291), Middle age (n = 288), and Older adult (n = 33). Results: Significant differences were found between age cohorts and participatory motives (F_s(3, 731) = 3.29–22.42, p_s< .03, η² p = .012–.084). Overall, older participants scored higher on health-related motives, while younger participants scored higher on social motives relative to their counterparts. Conclusions: This study provides a first look into motives for CFT across different age cohorts. Encouragement of exercise programmes that support relevant motives for different age groups could be more effective for exercise adherence and promotion of long-term health benefits.

Keywords:

• self-determination theory
• high-intensity
• fitness
• CrossFit