Network Analysis of the Social Environment Relative to Preference for and Tolerance of Exercise Intensity in CrossFit Gyms

Megan S. Patterson, Katie M. Heinrich, Tyler Prochnow, Taylor Graves-Boswell and Mandy N. Spadine
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Megan S. Patterson: College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA
Katie M. Heinrich: College of Health and Human Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Tyler Prochnow: Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76706, USA
Taylor Graves-Boswell: College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA
Mandy N. Spadine: College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-20

Abstract: Known for its ability to improve fitness and health, high-intensity functional training (HIFT) focuses on functional movements completed at high intensities, often yielding outcomes superior to repetitive aerobic workouts. Preference for and tolerance of high-intensity exercise are associated with enjoyment of and adherence to HIFT. Similarly, the social environment present within CrossFit, a popular group-based HIFT modality, is important to the enjoyment of and adherence to HIFT. This study aimed to test whether preference and tolerance were related to social connections within CrossFit networks. Linear network autocorrelation models (LNAMs) and exponential random graph models (ERGMs) were computed on sociometric and attribute data from members of three CrossFit networks (n = 197). LNAMs showed the preference and tolerance scores of someone’s social connections were associated with their own in all three gyms, and ERGMs demonstrated preference and tolerance scores were associated with the presence of social ties within all networks. This study is the first to provide evidence for a relationship between social connections and preference and tolerance. Future longitudinal research is needed to determine if the social environment may influence and optimize a person’s preference of and tolerance for HIFT.

Keywords: social networks; social network analysis; high-intensity functional training; group exercise; sense of community (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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