The Effect of Synchronous Group Virtual Exercise on Exercise Behavioral Engagement

Home fitness applications are becoming increasingly popular; however, the inherent sense of loneliness in the home environment can easily hinder the formation of regular exercise habits. Introducing social elements is regarded as an effective mechanism to address this issue. This study aims to investigate how synchronous group virtual exercise feature (i.e., group feature) reshapes individuals’ immediate exercise behavior engagement. Drawing on the theories of Embodied Social Presence and affordance, this study utilizes authentic and objective user data from a mainstream virtual cycling platform in China and employs multiple fixed effects models for empirical analysis. The results show that: (1) the group feature significantly increases users’ exercise intensity, duration, and total energy expenditure; (2) among the gains in total energy expenditure, prolonged exercise duration plays a dominant role; (3) individual ability and task structure jointly moderate the effects of the group feature: high-ability users and unstructured free exercise contexts experience greater increases in intensity, whereas structured training contexts lead to relatively longer exercise durations. This study extends the application of ESP theory to the field of exercise and health, reveals the complex behavioral trajectories based on physiological logic in virtual social collaboration, and provides a solid theoretical and empirical foundation for differentiated social design in fitness technology platforms.