What Motivates Participants to Adhere to Green Exercise?

Matthew Fraser, Sarah-Anne Munoz and Sandra MacRury
Additional contact information
Matthew Fraser: Rural Health and Wellbeing, University of the Highlands and Islands, Inverness IV2 3JH, UK
Sarah-Anne Munoz: Rural Health and Wellbeing, University of the Highlands and Islands, Inverness IV2 3JH, UK
Sandra MacRury: Rural Health and Wellbeing, University of the Highlands and Islands, Inverness IV2 3JH, UK

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: There is a lack of research into green exercise which investigates and compares motivational drivers between the different types of outdoor activities. The current paper addressed this gap by classifying and comparing three types of green exercise: (i) Recreational physical activity, (ii) competitive sport, and (iii) outdoor adventure sport. Using a mixed methodological approach, the present study investigated the motivations for adhering to green exercise and directly compared the differences between these three forms of green exercise. Online questionnaires and face-to-face interviews were used to collect data. The results demonstrated that within all types of green exercise, enjoyment was the greatest motivator. Based on analysis of the qualitative materials, extrinsic motivators such as the environment, family, and friends were highlighted as key factors in beginning and continuing their activity. However, intrinsic motivators were also emphasised as more important in adherence to green exercise. Furthermore, as seen in other research, numerous psychological benefits were reported over time. The results of the study may act as a starting point in understanding how we may increase public engagement in green exercise by prompting participants to select a form of green exercise that best suits them based on their motivational profile.

Keywords: green exercise; motivation; nature; physical activity; sport; adventure sport (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/10/1832/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/10/1832/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:10:p:1832-:d:233715

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().