Aerobics as a Factor to Motivate Self-Development of the Females

Abstract

Organized workouts of aerobics might be seen as a self-development tool, as adult person’s decision to get involved into certain activity is taken consciously. One perceives such engagement being related to satisfaction of certain needs and expectations to reach the results of the systematically performed activity. The research was launched in order to reveal the motives of the females’ decision making when choosing aerobics for self-development, as well as to disclose the perceived by women impact of aerobics, considering it as a self-development tool.

Half-structured interview method was applied for the research. 11 females, who attended Vilnius aerobics study, were interviewed. The data of the research were processed using qualitative content analysis, based on expert evaluation. It was established that women considered such values as family, health, carrier and happiness being the most important for them. Several universally accepted values were pointed out to be positive personal values, either already possessed or to be perfected further on by the respondents. These values were named to have been a motivating factor in choosing aerobics for self-development. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motives reinforce women to choose aerobics. Impact of aerobics as self-development tool was expressed by such aspects: rise of new needs, better psychic health, development of social relations and better quality, better results at work, gradually increasing body attractiveness. These facts prove that aerobics has a power to enable women to implement their inner potential, to satisfy their needs, to improve the quality of life, considering the fact that satisfaction with the results of sports activity is of the preconditions to form intrinsic motivation from extrinsic.