Physical Exercise and Psychological Wellness

The relationship between regular physical exercise and psychological wellness among gym members was investigated. Regular exercise was defined as exercising for an average of thirty minutes a day at least three times per week. A wellness profile was constructed from various questionnaires chosen on the basis of their relationship with the general construct of mental health and/or psychological well-being as conceptualised in this paper and as established in previous research. Wellness profile components consisted of assessments of mood, lifestyle, satisfaction with life, sense of coherence, fortitude, stress and coping with stress. The wellness profile was administered to 106 exercisers from four local gyms in the Richards Bay area of South Africa. Respondents were given feedback, and further counselling if needed, with regard to their scores on the various components as wellness and a global wellness percentage score. The correlations among wellness components were almost all highly significant. Findings also indicated a highly significant influence of regular exercise on the various components of wellness as operationally defined by various scores on the wellness profile and the final composite wellness percentage itself. Findings provide further support for the vital role that regular exercise plays in the promotion of mental health and wellness.