Correlation of Fatigue Severity, Volition in Exercise, and Lifestyle Physical Activity with Movement Competency

Abstract

Movement competency is essential in physical education (PE) because it reflects students’ capacity to perform movement tasks through the integration of physical, cognitive, and motivational processes. With the expansion of online and blended PE, concerns have emerged about how fatigue, motivation, and daily physical activity relate to students’ movement learning. Anchored in Cognitive Load Theory, Self-Determination Theory, and Dynamic Systems Theory, this study examined the levels of fatigue severity, volition in exercise, lifestyle physical activity, and movement competency, and whether the first three were associated with movement competency, among 390 first-year college students enrolled in PATHFit 1 in an online PE setting in Cagayan de Oro City. Using the Fatigue Severity Scale, the Volition in Exercise Questionnaire, a confirmatory-factor-validated Lifestyle Physical Activity Scale, and the Movement Competency Screen, data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, Pearson’s r (with Spearman’s rho for robustness) at the .05 level using JASP. Participants reported moderate fatigue severity (M = 2.74), often-level lifestyle physical activity (M = 3.64), high exercise volition (M = 3.83), and outstanding movement competency (M = 4.64). A weak but significant negative association was found between fatigue severity and movement competency, r(388) = −.119, p = .018, whereas volition (r = .019, p = .709) and lifestyle physical activity (r = .038, p = .449) showed no significant association. Movement competency scores were strongly concentrated at the upper end of the scale, indicating a ceiling effect that constrains the detection of relationships. The findings suggest that foundational movement competency remained stable despite variation in motivation and lifestyle activity, although fatigue may slightly constrain movement performance. The study underscores the value of fatigue-aware instructional strategies in digitally mediated PE.