Exploration Of Motivation, Physical Activity Engagement, And Health And Fitness Of Law Enforcement Officers

A career in law enforcement is mentally and physically demanding and requires multiple fitness capacities (speed, power, agility, endurance, and strength). Many professionals begin their careers with higher fitness levels due to training completed during their time at the academy. There are generally no mandates for law enforcement officers to maintain a certain level of fitness after academy. It would be important to document the motivation of officers who remain physically active as this information could be used to support academy training and wellness initiatives.

Purpose: To explore the relationships between the motivation of law enforcement officers to engage in physical activity (PA) and/or resistance training (RT) with health and fitness.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 60 officers (years sworn: ~5 years) from one agency who completed a PA questionnaire (weekly strenuous, moderate, and mild exercise sessions; activity score) which also included 3 questions pertaining to RT (likelihood of RT; average RT sessions per week over past 3 months; number of RT sessions in past 7 days). Motivation was measured via The 24-item Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3). Degree of motivation was categorized from external to intrinsic (external, introjected, identified, integrated, intrinsic regulation) and amotivation. Health testing included resting heart rate (RHR), lean body mass percentage (LBM), body fat percentage, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Fitness testing included the sit-and-reach, sit-ups, push-ups, and YMCA step test. Spearman’s correlations (p< .05) derived relationships between motivation, PA, RT, and health and fitness.

Results: Participation in strenuous exercise showed a significant relationship with identified (r=.501), integrated (r=.462), and intrinsic (r=.412) motivation. Intrinsic regulation correlated with average RT sessions per week within the last 3 months (r=.627) and within the past week (r=.403). Introjected regulation shared positive relationships with RT likelihood (r=.284) and RT sessions within the past week (r=.441). Identified and integrated regulation shared positive relationships with RT likelihood (r=.499-.699), RT sessions per week in the last 3 months (r=.403-.580), and RT sessions in the past week (r=.351-.403), Intrinsic regulation exhibited a positive relationship with LBM (r=.306). Amotivation and LBM were negatively correlated (r=-.324). Introjected regulation was related negatively to RHR (r=-.331) and positively to push-ups (r=.257). External regulation and RHR had a significant, positive relationship (r=.292).

Conclusions: Officers who were introjected, identified, integrated, and intrinsically regulated appeared more likely to engage in regular and strenuous PA and RT and had greater LBM and better muscular endurance (push-ups). Amotivation related to lower LBM, and greater external regulation related to a higher RHR. Officers with higher intrinsic motivation were more likely to engage in PA which could benefit other areas of fitness. These results are also notable given officers who are intrinsically motivated to exercise and maintain their fitness may have increased job satisfaction and longevity. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: To maintain better fitness through the span of one’s career, intrinsic regulation appears to be needed. This could be developed during academy training, with strategies also adopted post-academy (e.g., goal setting, positive self-talk).