Objective: Motivation seems to be a fundamental indicator of long-term physical exercise adherence. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) argues that social environment plays a central role in the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, which might directly affect the quality of one's motivation. Individuals who appear to be more self-determined tend to persist longer at certain behaviors. Therefore, this body of work intends to analyze the relationship between motivational variables and behavioral outcomes in the exercise context, having as theoretical background the Self-Determination Theory. Methods: This systematic review was conducted through an electronic search on Web of Science, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and PsycINFO. Data such as instruments, main predictors and results were collected from studies published between 1985 and 2018. A total of 35 empirical studies were considered for a detailed analysis. Results: Results showed the relevance of autonomy support performed by exercise professionals, as well as the major contribution that these behaviors have toward the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, besides the inherent benefits of developing more autonomous regulations. According to the literature, few studies have analyzed interpersonal thwarting behavior and the way this relates to basic psychological needs' frustration. Nether less, there seems to be a negative relationship between less self-determined regulations and exercise practice. Conclusion: Despite the existence of numerous cross-sectional studies that demonstrate positive correlations between SDT and behavioral outcomes in the exercise context, longitudinal research that analyzes all six dimensions of interpersonal behaviors and their relationship with persistence and adherence to exercise proves to be crucial. However, according to this review, interventions based on SDT appear to be fundamental when it comes to promote the maintenance of a long-term exercise practice.

Given the need to explore the factors that can account for a better understanding of the intention-behavior gap in exercise practice in health club settings, and considering the emergence of hedonic assumptions related to exercise adherence, this cross-sectional study aimed to test the moderation effect of the intensity traits agreement/disagreement in three relevant outcomes of exercise enjoyment: exercise habit, intention to continue exercising, and exercise frequency. A sample consisted of 273 exercisers (male = 127; M_age = 36.21; SD = 11.29) enrolled in nine health clubs who voluntarily fulfilled a battery of questionnaires. All analyses were performed using SPSS v. 23.0/PROCESS v. 3.5. The results of the study presented a moderation effect of exercise intensity traits agreement on three relevant enjoyment outcomes: exercise habit, intention to continue exercising, and exercise frequency. No relevant results emerged from intensity traits disagreement. The results suggest that assessing and tailoring exercise prescription and supervision in order to customize exercise intensity may influence future exercise participation.

Background: Individuals who possess passion and perseverance to extensively work and study through challenges and adversity to achieve a set of goals are likely to reach higher achievement compared to others who lack similar facets. However, an under-researched question lingers over the effect of teacher-induced behaviors on academic outcomes such as grades and performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between teacher-induced autonomy support and student academic performance considering the mediating effect of basic psychological needs satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and grit as two-independent factors. Methods: A convenience sample of 474 Sports Science students (M_age = 21.83 years; SD = 3.91) participated in the study. All participants completed a multi-section survey assessing the variables under analysis. Results: The measurement and structural model displayed acceptable fit, hence direct and indirect effects were examined among the variables of interest. Basic psychological needs and intrinsic motivation seem to display a mediating role between perceived autonomy support and academic performance, through perseverance. Contrarily, grit-passion did not exhibit a significant indirect effect. Conclusions: Current results shed new insights on how perseverance can shape student motivation and school success considering the autonomy support induced by teachers.

This study has as prime objective to analyze the psychometric properties of the Behavioral Regulation Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3) in a sample of Portuguese exercisers and invariance across gender. Two independent samples (448 calibration; 374 validation), aged between 16 and 78 years (M = 40.29; SD = 16.24), of both gender, (495 female; 327 male) were enrolled in this study. The results show that the original model (six factors; 24 items) did not fit to the data in a satisfactory way (χ² = 977.49; df = 237; B-S p < 0.001; SRMR = 0.07; NNFI = 0.80; CFI = 0.83; RMSEA = 0.08; 90% CI = 0.08–0.09). After removing six items (one for each factor), the model (six factors; 18 items) adjustment improved in a satisfactory way in both samples: calibration (χ² = 331.86; df = 120; B-S p < 0.001; SRMR = 0.06; NNFI = 0.91; CFI = 0.93; RMSEA = 0.06; 90% CI 0.06–0.07) and validation (χ² = 254.08; df = 120; B-S p < 0.001; SRMR = 0.04; NNFI = 0.93; CFI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.06; 90% CI = 0.05–0.06). Results also showed model invariance across gender (ΔCFI ≤ 0.01). The Portuguese version of BREQ-3 (six factors; 18 items) is a valid and reliable measurement instrument to measure behavior regulation underlying self-determination theory in the exercise domain. However, the evidence also indicated that additional studies are needed to address the fragilities of the original model (six factors; 24 items).

Exercise has been recommended for fibromyalgia treatment. However, doubts related to exercise benefits remain unclear. The objective of this study was to summarise, through a systematic review with meta-analysis, the available evidence on the effects of aerobic, resistance and stretching exercise on pain, depression, and quality of life. Search was performed using electronic databases Pubmed and Cochrane Library. Studies with interventions based on aerobic exercise, resistance exercise and stretching exercise published until July 2020 and updated in December 2021, were identified. Randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses involving adults with fibromyalgia were also included. Eighteen studies were selected, including a total of 1184 subjects. The effects were summarised using standardised mean differences (95% confidence intervals) by random effect models. In general, aerobic exercise seems to reduce pain perception, depression and improves quality of life; it also improves mental and physical health-related quality of life. Resistance exercise decreases pain perception and improves quality of life and moreover improves the physical dimension of health-related quality of life. It was also observed that resistance exercise appears to have a non-significant positive effect on depression and the mental dimension of health-related quality of life. Studies revealed that stretching exercise reduces the perception and additionally improves quality of life and health-related quality of life. However, a non-significant effect was observed on depression. We conclude that exercise may be a way to reduce depression, and pain and improve the quality of life in adult subjects with fibromyalgia and should be part of the treatment for this pathology.