Contextual disruption and exercise: mapping changes to exercise routines and engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective

This study examines the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on exercise routines and engagement in moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).

Design

Individuals (N = 397) who reported meeting recommended guidelines for MVPA prior to COVID-19 completed an online questionnaire during the United States’ COVID-19 lockdowns in April/May 2020.

Main outcome measures

Participants reported their MVPA currently and before COVID-19, and answered questions about five contextual cues (e.g. time of day, interaction partners, type of workout, surrounding events, location of exercise) that characterized their exercise routines currently and before COVID-19.

Results

Contextual cues were perceived as highly disrupted and less consistent during COVID-19 (vs. before) and these changes were associated with greater declines in MVPA. For each cue, distinct effects predicting MVPA declines also emerged for perceived disruption due to COVID-19 restrictions, perceived importance of cue in getting one to exercise, and cue consistency over time.

Conclusion

Building on prior research, COVID-19 restrictions affected the context in which people exercised, and changes in these contextual cues were related to declines in MVPA. Re-establishing consistency in certain cues (e.g. time of day) after a disruption may help to forestall declines in MVPA compared to others (e.g. type of workout).

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• contextual disruption
• physical activity
• exercise routines
• cues

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Erin Standen for her insightful comments on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes

1 Other measures evaluating specific motives in exercise, exercise self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation and identified regulation for exercise were assessed in the full study, but are not germane to the present analyses and therefore not discussed further. These measures are described in detail in the preregistration (https://osf.io/76pdz/). The data and analytic code that support the findings of this study are also available at this link.