Regular physical activity is good for you. Government and health agencies have been telling Americans just how good it is for your body and mind for several decades. So why are two out of three Americans not as active as is recommended?
What's Stopping You?
Something that keeps you from being physically fit is a barrier. If you are "blocked," it might be time to identify and understand your particular barriers, then create some strategies to overcome them. This could actually help you make physical activity a part of your daily life.
Environmental Barriers
Social environments such as school, work, family, and friends can have a huge influence on your level of physical activity. However, the makeup of your community can play a big role in promoting or discouraging physical activity. For example, your access to parks, trails, sidewalks, and recreational centers can impact your level of activity. So can the availability of buses and other public transportation. There are also environmental barriers – such as air pollution, crime, and a dangerous amount of traffic that can stop you from exercising.
Explore the opportunities for physical activity in your neighborhood. These include parks, trails, recreation and fitness centers, church or school exercise groups, and walking in shopping malls.
Physical and Personal BarriersTechnological advances have created a less active society. The rugged life of our ancestors is history. Americans basically have to make the effort to be physically active.
Listed below are 11 barriers to physical activity. One or more might sound too familiar to you. Perhaps you will find a suggestion or two that might help you become more physically active.
1. Lack of time
- Identify available time slots. Monitor your daily activities for one week. Identify at least three 30-minute time slots you could use for physical activity.
- Add physical activity to your daily routine. For example, walk or ride your bike to work or shopping, organize school activities around physical activity, walk the dog, exercise while you watch TV, or park farther away from your destination.
- Make time for physical activity. For example, walk, jog, or swim during your lunch hour, or take fitness breaks instead of coffee breaks.
- Select activities requiring minimal time, such as walking, jogging, or stair climbing.
2. Social influence
- Explain your interest in physical activity to friends and family. Ask them to support your efforts.
- Invite friends and family members to exercise with you. Plan social activities involving exercise.
- Develop new friendships with physically active people. Join a group, such as the YMCA or a hiking club.
3. Lack of energy
- Schedule physical activity for times in the day or week when you feel energetic
- Convince yourself that if you give it a chance, physical activity will increase your energy level. Then try it.
4. Lack of motivation
- Plan ahead. Make physical activity a regular part of your daily or weekly schedule, and write it on your calendar.
- Invite a friend to exercise with you on a regular basis, and write it on both calendars.
- Join an exercise group or class.
5. Fear of injury
- Learn how to warm up and cool down to prevent injury.
- Learn how to exercise appropriately considering your age, fitness level, skill level, and health status.
- Choose activities involving minimum risk.
6. Lack of skill
- Select activities that require no new skills, such as walking, climbing stairs, or jogging.
- Exercise with friends who are at the same skill level as you are.
- Find a friend who is willing to teach you some new skills.
- Take a class to develop new skills.
7. Lack of resources
- Select activities that require minimal facilities or equipment, such as walking, jogging, jumping rope, or calisthenics.
- Identify inexpensive, convenient resources available in your community, such as community education programs, park and recreation programs, or worksite programs.
8. Weather conditions
- Develop a set of regular activities that are always available regardless of weather, such as indoor cycling, aerobic dance, indoor swimming, calisthenics, stair climbing, rope skipping, mall walking, dancing, gymnasium games.
- Consider outdoor activities that depend on weather conditions (cross-country skiing, outdoor swimming, outdoor tennis, etc.) as "bonuses" – extra activities possible when weather and circumstances permit.
9. Travel
- Put a jump rope in your suitcase and jump rope.
- Walk the halls and climb the stairs in hotels.
- Stay in places with swimming pools or exercise facilities.
- Join the YMCA or YWCA (and ask about reciprocal membership agreement).
- Visit the local shopping mall and walk for half an hour or more.
- Bring an MP3 player with headphones and your favorite aerobic exercise music.
10. Family obligations
- Trade babysitting time with a friend, neighbor, or family member who also has small children.
- Exercise with the kids. Go for a walk together, play tag or other running games, get an aerobic dance video game or exercise DVD for kids and exercise together. You can spend time together and still get your exercise.
- Hire a babysitter and look at the cost as a worthwhile investment in your physical and mental health.
- Jump rope, do calisthenics, ride a stationary bicycle, or use other home exercise equipment while the kids are busy playing or sleeping.
- Try to exercise when the kids are not around (e.g. during their school hours or nap time).
- Encourage exercise facilities to provide childcare services.
11. Retirement years
- Look upon your retirement as an opportunity to become more active instead of less. Spend more time gardening, walking the dog, and playing with your grandchildren. Children with short legs and grandparents with slower gaits are often great walking partners.
- Learn a new skill you've always been interested in, such as ballroom dancing, square dancing, or swimming.
Now that you have the time, make regular physical activity a part of every day. Go for a walk every morning or every evening before dinner. Treat yourself to an exercise bike, and ride every day while reading a favorite book or magazine.
A Physical Activity Barriers Quiz can help you identify some types of physical activity barriers that are undermining your ability to make regular physical activity and integral part of your life. The quiz calculates a score in each of seven barrier categories. Once you've taken the quiz and identified which barriers affect you the most, look at the table again for suggestions on how to overcome them.
