Introduction:

The cult of the body and the maintenance of healthy habits have always been a target of social concern, ceasing to be something outside one´s culture to become one of its most striking manifestations. Nowadays it reveals a growing picture of motivation for institutionalized corporal practices.

Objetive:

To understand the factors that influence physical exercise practice in Health Clubs of Viseu.

Methods:

The study group was composed of 179 clients from seven HC in the municipality of Viseu. The research instrument used was a questionnaire, subject to a previous phase of validation (by peers).

Results:

Significant differences between genders are evidenced in the degree of importance attributed to factors such as "increased strength", "muscle gain", "toning", "weight control", "loss of fat mass" and "flexibility gain”, as well as among younger and older, in “muscle gain” and “strength increase” indicators.

Conclusion:

Although the appropriate influence factors of each practitioner do not necessarily imply a direct increase in their involvement in physical activity, their knowledge helps learning about practitioners’ sociocultural specificities and, thus, tends to increase the appropriate intervention programs effectiveness elaboration.

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