Motivation of practicing Nordic walking by students in Latvia

Description

The aim of the study is to investigate the motivational aspects of students to practice NW during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Research method - interview and content analysis during academic years 2021/2020 and 2022/2023. The research participants are 120 RSU students who selected the Nordic Walking course.
Results. Students state that the most important aspects of choosing and practising NW are “the opportunity for self-improvement and professional development”, “to learn NW technique”, “to be physically active and spend time outdoors”, “to boost mood”, “to gain positive emotions” and “to improve wellbeing”. Student responses show that NW improves physical and psycho-emotional well-being. Nordic walking as a physical activity is unique in its accessibility and the possibility to maintain and motivate oneself to be in good physical shape during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, “a broken stereotype of NW as an activity for the elderly.”
There are no significant differences in the assessment of motivational aspects during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Conclusions. RSU students’ motivation to engage in NW was influenced by the desire to acquire new physical activity “nature gym”, the opportunity to improve physical and psycho-emotional well-being and the use of the acquired knowledge and skills for the benefit of the Latvian society.

Period	28 Jun 2023
Event title	Pasaules latviešu zinātnieku V kongress "Zinātne Latvijai"
Event type	Congress
Conference number	5
Organiser	Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia
Location	Riga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International