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Staying Active under Restrictions: Changes in Type of Physical Exercise during the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown

Author

Listed:
  • Valentin Benzing

    (Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland)

  • Sanaz Nosrat

    (Department of Health Sciences, Lehman College, The City University of New York, New York, NY 10468, USA)

  • Alireza Aghababa

    (Department of Sport Psychology, Sport Sciences Research Institute (SSRI), Tehran 1587958711, Iran)

  • Vassilis Barkoukis

    (Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Dmitriy Bondarev

    (Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyvaskyla, 40014 Jyvaskyla, Finland
    Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, 236041 Kaliningrad, Russia)

  • Yu-Kai Chang

    (Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106209, Taiwan
    Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106209, Taiwan)

  • Boris Cheval

    (Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
    Laboratory for the Study of Emotion Elicitation and Expression (E3Lab), Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland)

  • Muhammet Cihat Çiftçi

    (Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Science, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara 06010, Turkey)

  • Hassan M. Elsangedy

    (Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59092-050, Brazil)

  • Maria Luisa M. Guinto

    (Department of Sports Science, College of Human Kinetics, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1808, Philippines)

  • Zhijian Huang

    (Department of Physical Education, Hubei University, Wuhan 430069, China)

  • Martin Kopp

    (Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria)

  • Hafrún Kristjánsdóttir

    (Physical Activity, Physical Education, Sport and Health Research Centre (PAPESH), Sports Science Department, School of Social Sciences, Reykjavik University, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Garry Kuan

    (Exercise and Sports Science Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia)

  • Luca Mallia

    (Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, 00135 Rome, Italy)

  • Dadi Rafnsson

    (Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Reykjavik University, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland)

  • Gledson Tavares Amorim Oliveira

    (Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59092-050, Brazil)

  • Arto J. Pesola

    (Active Life Lab, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, 50100 Mikkeli, Finland)

  • Caterina Pesce

    (Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, 00135 Rome, Italy)

  • Noora J. Ronkainen

    (Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland)

  • Sinika Timme

    (Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Potsdam, 14469 Potsdam, Germany)

  • Ralf Brand

    (Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Potsdam, 14469 Potsdam, Germany)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated governmental restrictions suddenly changed everyday life and potentially affected exercise behavior. The aim of this study was to explore whether individuals changed their preference for certain types of physical exercise during the pandemic and to identify risk factors for inactivity. An international online survey with 13,881 adult participants from 18 countries/regions was conducted during the initial COVID-19 related lockdown (between April and May 2020). Data on types of exercise performed during and before the initial COVID-19 lockdown were collected, translated, and categorized (free-text input). Sankey charts were used to investigate these changes, and a mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to analyze risks for inactivity. Many participants managed to continue exercising but switched from playing games (e.g., football, tennis) to running, for example. In our sample, the most popular exercise types during the initial COVID-19 lockdown included endurance, muscular strength, and multimodal exercise. Regarding risk factors, higher education, living in rural areas, and physical activity before the COVID-19 lockdown reduced the risk for inactivity during the lockdown. In this relatively active multinational sample of adults, most participants were able to continue their preferred type of exercise despite restrictions, or changed to endurance type activities. Very few became physically inactive. It seems people can adapt quickly and that the constraints imposed by social distancing may even turn into an opportunity to start exercising for some. These findings may be helpful to identify individuals at risk and optimize interventions following a major context change that can disrupt the exercise routine.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentin Benzing & Sanaz Nosrat & Alireza Aghababa & Vassilis Barkoukis & Dmitriy Bondarev & Yu-Kai Chang & Boris Cheval & Muhammet Cihat Çiftçi & Hassan M. Elsangedy & Maria Luisa M. Guinto & Zhijian, 2021. "Staying Active under Restrictions: Changes in Type of Physical Exercise during the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:12015-:d:680185
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Valentin Benzing & Patrice Gaillard & David Scheidegger & Alain Dössegger & Claudio R. Nigg & Mirko Schmidt, 2022. "COVID-19: Physical Activity and Quality of Life in a Sample of Swiss School Children during and after the First Stay-at-Home," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-13, February.

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