Motives Matter: A smartphone EMA study on the association between motives to exercise, exercise engagement, and mood

Regular exercise is vital for preventing cardiovascular diseases, maintaining a healthy body weight, and supporting mental well-being. Yet, most people fail to meet WHO guidelines, often due to motivational barriers. This study assessed two exercise motives: functional – divided into health/fitness and enjoyment – and appearance. Two hypotheses were tested: (H1) functional motive, compared to appearance motive, predicts greater exercise engagement; (H2) individuals exercising for functional motives experience greater mood-enhancing effects compared to those not exercising for functional motive. Ninety-eight healthy-BMI females completed a two-week smartphone EMA Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) protocol, reporting motive to exercise (baseline), daily exercise engagement (frequency, duration, intensity), and mood. Supporting H1, enjoyment motive correlated positively with exercise frequency and duration, while – against H1 – health/fitness motive correlated negatively with exercise duration. Unlike H2 – appearance motive moderated the relationship between exercise intensity and mood. That is, only participants scoring high on the appearance motive reported a mood-enhancing effect following intense workouts. Momentary analyses showed that exercise intensity and duration co-varied, while more positive mood predicted increased subsequent exercise engagement. These results highlight intrinsic enjoyment and positive mood as key drivers of exercise engagement, suggesting that future lifestyle interventions should focus on activities that individuals find enjoyable and mood-enhancing.