How important is exercising during COVID-19 lockdown?

OBJECTIVE To investigate the contribution of the theory of planned behavior to prediction of the attitudes towards, and intention of adult involvement in exercise/physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD The study sample consisted of 904 individuals, 417 men and 487 women, aged 18-70 years. The participants completed the Greek version of the Planned Behavior Theory questionnaire. RESULTS The responses revealed differences in various domains concerning physical involvement between pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 periods, specifically in (a) attitudes, (b) intention, (c) attitude strength, (d) self-identity, and (e) subjective norms. CONCLUSIONS Physical activity is an area that can strengthen the psychological status of individuals. In contrast to the general trend in the COVID-19 era, our findings showed that people, even in the difficult situations representative of a pandemic crisis, tend to seek the best probable use of the possibilities available to them. One of these is exercise/physical activity, of which the study participants took full advantage during the lockdown period.