Background: Exercise behaviour has largely been studied via reflective social cognitive approaches over the last thirty years. Emerging findings have shown habit to demonstrate predictive validity with physical activity. Habit represents an automatic behaviour that becomes developed from repeated stimulus-response bonds (cued and repetitive action) overtime. Despite the correlation with PA, the literature lacks research in understanding habit formation in new exercisers and experimental evidence of this construct. Hence, the purpose of this dissertation was to: i) understand the behavioural and psychological requirements of habit formation in new gym members, ii) investigate how regular gym members maintain their exercise habit, and iii) incorporate these findings to design a randomized-controlled trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness of an exercise habit building workshop in new gym members. In particular, the RCT sought to test if the habit group would develop greater exercise improvement over a control condition and another intervention group that employed a variety-based approach. Methods: Participants for all three studies were healthy adults (18-65) who were recruited from local gym and recreation centres in Victoria, BC. Studies I and III included only new gym members who were not meeting the Canadian Physical Activity guidelines upon recruitment while study II were a sample of gym members who have been exercising for at least one year. The first two studies were prospective, observational designs (twelve and six weeks respectively) while the third was a CONSORT based experimental study. Results: The first study found that exercising for at least four bouts per week for six weeks was the minimum requirement to establish an exercise habit. Trajectory change analysis revealed habit and intention to be parallel predictors of exercise in the trajectory analysis while consistency of practice revealed to be the best predictor. The second study highlighted the distinction between the preparatory and performance phases of exercise and further found intention and preparatory habit to be responsible for behaviour change across time. This study also found consistency to be the strongest predictor for habit formation. The intervention found the habit group to increase in exercise time compared to the control (p<.05, d=.40) and variety (p<.05, d=.36) groups. Mediation analysis found habit to partially mediate between group and behaviour. Contextual predictors revealed cues and consistency to mediate habit formation and group type. Conclusions: This dissertation provided significant novel contributions to the literature which included: i) calculating the behavioural and psychological requirements for establishing an exercise habit, ii) distinguishing two behavioural phases of exercise and iii) conducting the first exercise habit-based RCT. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed habit-based worksheet which could be helpful for trainers and new gym members in facilitating an exercise habit. / Graduate / kaushal@uvic.ca

Med denna kvalitativa forskningsstudie vill vi bidra med kunskap om mellanstadieelevers syn på sin egen och andras styrketräning, samt vad som uppstår elever emellan när styrketräning genomförs.Vi vill också bidra med kunskap om vilka genusaspekter som gör sig gällande vid styrketräning bland mellanstadieelever. Det här görs med frågeställningar om elevers erfarenhet om styrketräning, det sociala samspelet när barn styrketränar tillsammans, barns inställning till styrkträning på gym och med genusaspekter som grund. I bakgrunden till studien presenteras hur synen på styrketräning bland barn har förändrats över tid, samt vad styrkträning är. I den tidigare forskningen presenteras gymkultur, gymtyper och styrketräning med genusaspekter i fokus. För att bidra med kunskap om syftet för studien valde vi att se på resultatet utifrån ett barndomssociologiskt perspektiv. Genom två observationer och en intervju i fokusgrupp samlades data in genom att använda en etnografisk ansats, vilket resulterade i tre underrubriker stämning, styrka och status. Materialet analyserades och visade att styrketräning är och kommer att spela en central roll i barns idrottande och fysiska aktiviteter. Det konstaterades att killar tar större plats i styrketräningssammanhang både bland barn och vuxna och sociala medier och förebilder påverkar hur barn ser på styrketräning

Background/Objective: Overweight and obesity has been steadily on the rise in the United States for all groups. The prevalence of obesity for adolescents has tripled since 1980. The purpose of this study is to determine an association between the frequency of physical education classes and the prevalence of overweight/obesity in adolescents in the United States.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that used the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) of the Center for Disease Control. The outcome variable for the study was Body Mass Index (BMI). A BMI of 25 or greater was considered overweight or obese. The main independent variable was frequency of attending physical education classes. Other independent variables were included such as demographics, nutrition, physical activity, and drug use. Univariate and multivariate statistical analysis methods were used to calculate the odds ratios for frequency of physical education classes and other risk factors for overweight and obesity. Adjusted odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using a multivariate logistic regression model. SPSS 11.0 and Epinfo 6.04 were the statistical software used for the statistical analysis. Results: The study indicates that about 26% of adolescents in the United States are either overweight or obese. It was found that about 50% of adolescents do not attend PE class at all during the week. No statistically significant relationship was found between enrollment in physical education classes and overweight/obesity in adolescents, adjusting for confounders (OR=0.95 CI=0.81-1.11). There was no statistically significant relationship between the frequency of physical education classes and the overweight/obesity of adolescents, adjusting for confounders (OR=1.01 CI=0.95-1.08).Conclusion: The data shows that there is no direct relationship between the frequency of physical education classes and the prevalence of overweight/obesity, although there is a direct correlation between physical activity and the prevalence of overweight/obesity, which is found in the literature. The content of physical education classes needs to be assessed as well as providing more classes that incorporate physical activity.

Title: The power fitness training in professional women volleyball and its impact on health of the players Objectives: Main target of this paper is to evaluate injuries which occur to the volleyball players of the Czech First volleyball league and their connection with the power fitness training which is regularly practiced by these players. Methods: For detection of the most common medical issues and parameters of the power fitness training of the players of the Czech First volleyball league has been used method of survey. Correlative-predictive method has been used for studying possible connections between medical issues and power fitness training. Results: The most typical injuries among Czech volleyball players are located in the area of hock joint. An occurrence of the medical issues with non-traumatic character is usually located in the area of shoulder and knee joints. Above mentioned medical issues connected with training at the gym shows that there is a deficit in certain parameters of the power fitness training. This deficit mainly refers to insufficient individualization of training, insufficient supervision of technical performance of exercises and ignoring pain during power fitness training. Keywords: volleyball, medical issues, training at the gym

Title: The development of Boxing in town Most from its beginnings to the present. Objectives: The main Topic of this thesis is to obtain information about the beginning of boxing in the city Most. Describing of the development of boxing in town Most until now is another task. Methods: It is fundamental to define the main problem and reason of this thesis. It is very important to gather relevant and verified information. The author describes and analyses various situations The methods of dialogs, reading writing materials and electronic resources are used too Verbal material obtained from interviews was recorded in writing and was then analyzed and processed into an easily accessible form. Likewise it was run on with the writing and electronically gathered information. Results: The gathered information was gradually compared, then processed and interpreted by continuous text supplemented by images and attachments. information describe the origin and evolution of the boxing in town Most until now. Most of them was presented by visual demonstration. Keywords: History, Most, boxing, sports, gym, activity

Sammanfattning Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka motivationsfaktorer som finns bland kvinnor som endast styrketränar på gemensam del och bland kvinnor som styrketränar på tjejdel på gym i Stockholm samt om det skiljer sig åt mellan grupperna. Vad motiveras kvinnor av som styrketränar på gymanläggningar? Vad motiveras kvinnor av som endast styrketränar på den gemensamma delen på gymanläggningar? Vad motiveras kvinnor av som styrketränar på tjejdel på gymanläggningar? Finns det någon/några skillnader i motivationsfaktorer bland kvinnor som endast styrketränar på gemensam del och kvinnor som styrketränar på tjejdel på gymanläggning? Metod En kvantitativ studiedesign valdes för att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar. Urvalsmetoden som användes i denna studie var bekvämlighetsurval som syftar till att respondenterna ska vara lättillgängliga. Utdelningen av enkäterna skedde på två olika gymanläggningar i Stockholms innerstad vid två olika tidpunkter, en tidig morgon och en sen eftermiddag. Enkäten som användes i studien var den validerade enkäten Exercise Motivations Inventory (EMI-2). Enkäten sammanställdes genom att addera siffrorna från varje påstående i 14 underkategorier som därefter kunde delas in i fem nya överkategorier. Testerna som användes för att besvara studiens frågeställningar var Friedman-, Wilcoxon- och Mann-Whitneytest. Resultat Gruppen som endast styrketränade på den gemensamma delen och gruppen som styrketränade på tjejdelen, det vill säga kvinnor i Stockholm, motiverades mest av Fitnessmotiv och minst av Personliga motiv. Ingen skillnad kunde ses mellan vad som motiverar kvinnor till att styrketräna, oberoende av vilken del kvinnor använder på gymanläggningarna i Stockholm. Slutsats Motivation var inte en anledning till att kvinnor valde att styrketräna på tjejdelen på gymanläggning. Anledningen till att kvinnor valde att styrketräna på tjejdelen på gymanläggningar är fortfarande obesvarat.

Title: The possibilities of MMA sports training in Prague Objectives: The main objective of this thesis is to summarize the knowledge of the MMA sports training in Prague, the characteristics of MMA, its history, principles and types. Further to characterize the individual components of wrestlers' sports training in the Czech Republic in comparison with conditions abroad. Methods: The method of data collection was a study of available literature, mapping of Prague area focusing on all MMA training opportunities, interviews and personal comments of specific coaches. Results: We found out that the possibilities of sports training and the gyms' facilities are of the same level throughout the Czech Republic but there are significant differences in approach to training and opportunities in gyms when compared to a successful foreign club. Keywords: MMA, sports training, martial arts, gym

Abstract Background:  Both the fitness and gamification industry are booming with no signs of slowing down in the near future. Gamified applications are entering the markets, attempting to induce gameful elements into tedious environments to enhance intrinsic motivation. The same goes for the gym sector, as market leaders, such as the Swedish gym chain Nordic Wellness, are increasingly implementing gamification elements into their business models.   Problem: The true effectiveness of gamification on intrinsic motivation remains underdeveloped. Literature highlights the necessity of adapting gamification design towards the end-user, by considering the different effects from the individual game elements and the context. However, the gym context has been completely neglected, even though gamification has become increasingly utilized in this sector.     Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the body of knowledge on how extrinsic mechanisms such as gamification can influence intrinsic motivation. This study utilizes the context of a gamified gym application for Nordic Wellness to determine the motivational potential of game elements. Thereby, the research team attempts to add to the body of literature by expanding on the effectiveness of gamification on intrinsic motivation, while also contributing through entering a currently undiscovered domain of gamification in the gym context.   Method: A qualitative approach with fifteen semi-structured interviews has been conducted on young Swedish adults attending the Swedish gym chain Nordic Wellness.   Results: The findings suggest Self-Determination Theory as a valid framework to examine the effects of gamification on intrinsic motivations. Through connecting the identified themes and theory, a framework is proposed for the evaluation on the effectiveness of game elements on intrinsic motivation. From evaluating the discussed game elements through this framework, recommendations are made for a gamified gym application that is argued to positively satisfy the psychological needs and therefore enhance the intrinsic motivations in a gym context.

abstract: Dominant discourses of health and fitness perpetuate particular ideologies of what it means to be “healthy” and “fit,” often conflating the two terms through conceptualizing the appearance of physical fitness as health. The discourse of healthism, a concept rooted in the economic concept of neoliberalism, fosters health as an individual and moral imperative to perform responsible citizenship, making the appearance of the “fit” body a valued representation of both health and self-discipline. This perspective neglects the social determinants of health and ignores the natural variation of the human body in shape, size, and ability, assuming that health can be seen visually on the body. Through a case study of one particular location of a popular commercial gym chain in an urban city of the Southwestern United States, this study employs a critical discourse analysis of the gym space itself including a collection of advertisements, photographs, and signs, in addition to participant observation and semi-structured interviews conducted with diverse women who exercise at this gym to explore how women resist and/or (re)produce discourses of healthism related to health, fitness, and body image. Ultimately, critical analysis shows that the gym itself produces and reifies the discourse of healthism through narratives of simultaneous empowerment and obligation. Though women in the gym reproduced this dominant narrative throughout their interviews, internal contradictions and nuggets of resistance emerged. These nuggets of resistance create fractures in the dominant discourse, shining light into areas that can be explored further for resistance practices through sense-making, necessitating a language of resistance. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication 2019

Title: Winter orienteering training in a gym Objectives: The main goal is to create a book of orienteering games and exercises for pupils and adolescents, which lead both to improving orientation skills and improving physical and mental fitness during winter training in a gym or in a club house. Methods: In this thesis I used the method of literary research, which analysed methodological documents of Czech and foreign orienteering federations. I also analysed bachelor and master theses and created a collection of games, which I also enlarged with my own games. I then tested these games on children attending orienteering trainings as their free time activity. Results: The main outcome of this thesis is a collection of games, which also includes printable material. Keywords: orienteering, training, games, winter training, gym