Motivation to practice fitness of adherents of academies and dropouts

This study is based on the theory that the adherence to the practice of physical exercises is related to a more self-determined motivation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the motivation and the adherence of the fitness centers clients to the resistance exercise practice. It is a descriptive field study, divided in two stages, the first one quantitative and the second one qualitative. The population of this study was composed by adherents (more than six months of practice) and dropouts (dropped out at least one month before the evaluation) of the resistance exercise in fitness centers located in Florianopolis, from both sexes, with age ranging from 18 to 65 years old. The sample was selected in an intentional non-probabilistic manner, resulting in 252 adherents and 26 dropouts, being 143 men (n= 133 (A)/ n= 10 (D)) and 135 women (n= 119 (A)/ n= 16 (D)). The age average of the adherents was 34 years old (min.18, max.65/ ±12) and the age average of the dropouts was 28 years old (min.18, max.52/ ±11). In the first stage, five instruments were utilized, three elaborated and structured based on the Questionário de auto-avaliação do estilo de vida, ocorrência e controle subjetivo do estresse by Andrade (2001), the Questionário de classificação socioeconômica ABEP (2008) and the Questionário de regulação de comportamento no exercício físico (BREQ-2) . The questionnaires were applied in the place selected by the participants (at home or at the fitness center). The second stage was characterized by a semi-structured interview for some participants. The data was processed and analyzed in the &#8213;Statistic Package for Social Sciences&#8214; SPSS version 17.0. Non-parametric statistic was used for the data analysis, with a established &#945; of 0,05 as a significance level (p<0,05). For the interview analysis, the content analysis by Bardin (1977) was utilized. The main reasons for the adherence to the resistance exercise were the ones related to the pursuit for the health improvement, followed by &#8213;Muscular and bone strengthening&#8214;, &#8213;Aesthetics/ muscle mass&#8214; and &#8213;Disposition&#8214;. The main reasons for giving up the resistance exercise practice were: the &#8213;Lack of time&#8214;, &#8213;Financial problems&#8214;, &#8213;Not enjoying or not prioritizing the resistance exercises practice&#8214;, &#8213;Poor Professional orientation&#8214;. The participants realize that the resistance exercise provides &#8213;well-being&#8214;, &#8213;Increases the self-esteem&#8214;, &#8213;Disposition and vigor&#8214; and &#8213;Balances the stress&#8214;. The adherents were more self-determined for the resistance exercise practice, when compared to the dropouts. A series of socio-demographic 11 characteristics associated to the motivational regulations (age, sex, socioeconomic class) were observed. The reasons for the adherence related to the pursuit for the health improvement, aesthetics and leisure were associated to the more internal regulations. The subjects that give up due to &#8213;Lack of time&#8214; are not amotivated to the practice. From the results, it is possible to elaborate intervention strategies that address the needs of the resistance exercise practitioners, with the intent of increasing the adherence of these individuals to the modality, so they may enjoy the benefits provided by the activity.Este estudo baseia-se na teoria de que a aderência à prática de exercícios físicos está relacionada à motivação mais autodeterminada. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a motivação e a aderência à prática de musculação de clientes de academias. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo de campo, dividido em duas etapas, a primeira de cunho quantitativo e a segunda qualitativo. A população deste estudo foi composta por aderentes (mais de seis meses de prática) e desistentes (mínimo de um mês de desistência) da musculação em academias de Florianópolis, de ambos os sexos, com idades entre 18 e 65 anos. A amostra foi selecionada de maneira não-probabilística intencional, obtendo-se 252 aderentes e 26 desistentes da musculação, sendo 143 homens (n= 133 (A)/ n= 10 (D)) e 135 mulheres (n= 119 (A)/ n= 16 (D)). A média de idade dos aderentes foi de 34 anos (±12) (mín.18, máx.65) e dos desistentes de 28 anos (±11) (mín.18, máx.52). Na primeira etapa foram utilizados cinco instrumentos, três elaborados e estruturados com base no "Questionário de auto-avaliação do estilo de vida, ocorrência e controle subjetivo do estresse" de Andrade (2001), o "Questionário de classificação socioeconômica" ABEP (2008) e o "Questionário de regulação de comportamento no exercício físico (BREQ-2) . Os questionários foram aplicados no local escolhido pelos participantes (em casa ou na academia). A segunda etapa foi caracterizada por uma entrevista semi-estruturada a alguns participantes do estudo. Os dados foram tabulados e analisados no programa "Statistic Package for Social Sciences" - SPSS versão 17.0. Utilizou-se de estatística não-paramétrica para a análise dos dados, com &#945; estabelecido de 0,05 como nível de significância (p