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People with intellectual disabilities have lower levels of physical fitness compared with peers without intellectual disability, because of the high levels of sedentary behaviour in this population. This study aims to know the relationship between quality of life and physical fitness in adults with intellectual disability.

Ninety-six adults with intellectual disability were assessed with quality of life questionnaire and physical fitness tests, which involve balance, muscle strength, flexibility and aerobic condition.

Adults with higher self-reported levels of quality of life reported higher levels of physical fitness in balance, muscular strength and flexibility. In contrast, in aerobic condition were not found significant correlations with self-reported quality of life.

These findings support the hypothesis that people with intellectual disability with lower levels of physical fitness could influence in their levels of quality of life. This insight is useful for improving treatments to improve physical fitness in this population.

Home-based workouts via fitness YouTube channels have become more popular during the pandemic era. However, few studies have examined the role of social media personae related to intention to exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate the structural relationships between fitness YouTuber attributes: perceived physical attractiveness (PPA), perceived social attractiveness (PSA), perceived similarity (PS), parasocial relationships (PSRs), wishful identification (WI), physical outcome expectations (POEs), and continuous intention to work out with fitness YouTubers (CIWFY).

This study considered fitness YouTube channel viewers as the unit of analysis. An online survey was conducted to empirically develop and test the research model using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The SEM empirical findings revealed that the PSRs were significantly influenced by PSA, PPA, and PS. Also, WI was significantly affected by PPA and PS. Furthermore, POEs were significantly impacted by PPA and PSRs. POEs affected the CIWFY. Lastly, PSRs and POEs mediated the influence of PSA and PPA on the CIWFY.

The psychological impacts of exercising to online fitness videos in the era of COVID-19, with its untact (no contact) social norms is timely. The study model demonstrated the fitness YouTube viewers' cognitive path from perceptions toward fitness YouTubers' attributes to behavioral intention. To be specific, the current study demonstrated how three attribution types (i.e. PPA, PSA, and PS) of fitness YouTubers affect viewers' PSRs and WI with fitness YouTubers, along with POEs and CIWFY. Along with health practitioners, fitness YouTubers who want to captivate viewers on their channels might need to consider self-attributes from their viewers' standpoint and should build psychological bonding with viewers.

The Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois designed a fitness training programme which allowed the participants to choose the intensity and mode of their exercise. Between June 1993 and March 1995, the incoming recruits’ fitness level was assessed before and after the training programme in order to measure the improvement induced by the training and to compare the recruits’ fitness level to the general population. The recruits significantly improved their flexibility (19.10 vs 15.13 degrees) and abdominal strength (4.91 vs 4.98 Lovett score). The male recruits improved their aerobic capacity (recovery heart rate: 86.27 vs 81.32 bpm) and the female recruits improved their back strength (4.86 vs 4.97 Lovett score). No significant changes were observed for grip strength (54.62 vs 54.21 kg), relative body fat (19.5 vs 18.5 per cent body fat), blood pressure (diastolic: 77.99 vs 77.52 mm Hg; systolic: 125.47 vs 125.10 mm Hg), and resting heart rate (74.89 vs 74.23 bpm). Compared to population norms, the majority of the recruits were within the normal range for blood pressure, resting heart rate, abdominal and back muscle strength. A large proportion of the recruits had good flexibility, average grip strength, and fair to excellent per cent body fat. Still, 33.4 per cent of the males and 25 per cent of the females were low to very low in aerobic capacity. As a result, the fitness programme has been modified in order to further improve recruits’ fitness.

The purpose of this paper is to assess college students’ pre- and post- health-related, fitness levels, as determined by the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) five components of fitness, in a one-credit, graded college course and to objectively measure any differences between those pre- and post- health-related fitness levels.

In a field setting, the investigators conducted health-related, fitness assessments using the ACSM validated protocols. In addition, descriptive statistics were collected including demographic information, such as, age and sex.

Paired-sample t tests were used to calculate the pre- and post-test scores for six fitness- and health-related categories across four semesters. There were statistically significant (p<0.001) improvements in six different areas in each of the four semesters with the exception of the resting heart rate and VO2 Max measurements in the fall semester of 2014.

This study builds upon the current body of work tracking trends in physical activity, college courses. The results answer health promotion scientists’ call for more research on the implementation and evaluation of programmatic interventions (Domitrovich and Greendberg, 2000; Durlack, 1998; Durlak and DuPre, 2008) “in real-world settings in order to understand if and how an intervention works” (Søvik et al., 2016, p. 238). This results in addressing a research gap in assessing the effectiveness of physical activity courses in higher education (Keating et al., 2005).

To meet physically demanding occupational tasks, reduce occupational stress and work-related injuries and to uphold general health, emergency responders need to maintain a certain level of physical fitness. However, among emergency responders a career-long decreasing physical fitness constitutes a challenge. Based on the self-determination theory (SDT), this study aims to explore if there is any relationship between motivational regulation and physical activity patterns among future emergency responders.

The study used a survey design including two questionnaires: Sport Motivation Scale-2 (SMS-2) and International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form (IPAQ–SF), and 258 students at the Norwegian Police University College (NPUC) participated.

The authors’ findings revealed a significant relationship between motivational regulation and physical activity patterns amongst police students. The study reveals the value of the SDT in understanding exercise behaviour and physical activity adherence amongst emergency responders, and moreover, the importance of fostering intrinsic motivation, in the educational institutions, to increase physical activity and physical activity adherence throughout their career.

To the authors’ knowledge, there is limited research which uses the motivation theory to explain the development of physical fitness and health amongst emergency responders. With this approach, this study is something new to this discussion and should be of interest for both educational institutions and authorities managing emergency responders.

The user experience during the use of activities and services is a fundamental aspect for sports managers and can provide a competitive advantage. The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions of experiential quality and the relationship of this construct with customer trust and customer satisfaction in achieving behavioral intention.

Using a convenience sampling technique, a total of 322 gym users in Turkey participated. A two-step approach was used to test both the model and the research hypotheses [confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM)].

The interaction quality, physical environmental quality, outcome quality and enjoyment quality were positively related to experiential quality. Similarly, the experimental quality was positively related to customer satisfaction and customer trust. Finally, customer satisfaction was related to behavioral intentions.

This study provides empirical evidence about the importance of experiential quality to gain a competitive advantage in the context of fitness centers.

Technology for fitness provides users with numerous features that aid the achievement of intended fitness/health goals such as checking consumption habits and adherence to exercise. Based upon the concepts of self-efficacy and prospect theories, this study aims to inspect the influence of messages frame on behavioral usage of virtual reality (VR) technology intervened fitness exercise.

By usage of a laboratory-based experiment commissioning certain fitness exercises, this study is conducted on 150 respondents. An assessment is conducted on the efficiency of gain appeal mechanism (exercise performance feedback) toward the usage of VR intervened fitness exercise and measured surge in exercise self-efficacy (ESE), playfulness (PL) and outcome expectations.

The results show that gain-appealed/framed messages prove advantageous over loss-appealed/framed in performing VR intervened exercises. A bootstrapped (method) mediation analysis confirms higher positive effects of gain-framed messages upon intentions to use VR intervened fitness exercise. VR intervened fitness exercise was strongly and positively mediated by ESE, PL and outcome expectations.

This study is of help to researchers and marketers trying to understand the role played by gain- and loss-framed messages on VR technology enabled fitness exercises.

This study helps VR and fitness technology developers and marketers understand the effectiveness of persuasive performance messages toward VR fitness exercise technology adoption amalgamating message intervention with better technology usage.

This paper aims to determine the impact of online community participation on attitudes and product-related behaviour in the health and fitness sector.

Survey data are collected from 221 users of the social medium Instagram, members of the self-proclaimed health and fitness community (#fitfam). Data are analysed with structural equation modelling.

The study shows that online community identification and engagement significantly increase health environment sensitivity, resulting in heightened engagement in physical fitness and healthy product choices.

Given the difficulty to remain engaged in pro-health behaviour and the growing impact of social media on young adults’ lives, these findings are encouraging. They show that online health and fitness communities provide a supportive environment in which consumers can identify and freely engage and a fertile ground to the development of health sensitivity and product-related behaviour.

The study advances knowledge on the role of social media and online communities in promoting health and fitness product behaviours and attitudes.

Prior research established several important influences on the representation of women in policing, using a variety of secondary and primary data. The purpose of this paper is to examine how experimental manipulation of online recruitment materials impacts potential applicants.

The study relied on a census of 11 criminal justice courses taught at a public university, asking students to respond to an experimental vignette instrument (n=174). The 3×2 experimental vignette involved manipulation of two variables: the identification of recruits with diversity language (“individuals,” “women and men” or “a diverse group of individuals”) and mention or absence of discussion of physical fitness requirements.

Results largely run counter to prior research concerning women in policing, with women actually indicating increased probability of providing their contact information when encountering vignettes with physical fitness requirements.

This study demonstrates that small manipulations of recruitment content can have significant and gendered impact on potential applicants. This paper provides a foundation for empirical study of how changes in online recruitment materials impact a variety of relevant outcomes relating to applicant behaviors.