May 2023 Overcoming Barriers to Exercise
By Ryan Hunt
If you have ever felt that keeping up with a consistent exercise routine is challenging, you’re not alone! There can be many barriers to being consistent with exercise. You may feel like you don’t have enough time or money. You might not like exercising alone, or you may feel like you don’t know how to exercise. You might feel like it’s boring, or that you’re prone to injury. You may be busy raising a family, or you may travel for work. You might live in a cold climate, or you might just not feel motivated to exercise. There are many known valid barriers to exercise, but we’re here to offer some techniques for breaking through some of those roadblocks.
First – How much exercise is “enough”?
The Department of Health and Human Services suggests that adults should be physically active at least 150 minutes per week at a moderate pace, preferably spread throughout the week. Generally, you should be able to talk but not sing when exercising at a moderate pace. Exercise can include lifestyle activities like walking the dog and doing yard work and can even be split into bouts of 10 or 15 minutes. In addition, incorporating 2 strength training sessions per week can help build muscle strength, bone strength, and improve balance/stability.
Alternatives to the gym
You may be too busy to regularly go to a gym or maybe a membership doesn’t fit in the budget. Save the commute and the money by doing a home workout instead. Bodyweight exercises can be done at home without the need for equipment, weights, or heavy machines. Dancing, Pilates, and yoga are all great workouts that require only bodyweight.
Alternatively, exercise doesn’t have to be rigidly structured – you can incorporate activity into your daily routine. For example, consider walking or biking for your work commute, thinking of ways to make your chores count, or finding ways to exercise while watching TV. If you are raising a family, could you introduce exercise into playtime? As a family, go for a bike ride, walk the dog, play catch, or dance. If you travel for work, use the hotel gym or swimming pool, or even run laps up and down the stairs.
Learning to exercise
You may not know how to get started exercising. That’s okay, there are many ways for people to get started exercising. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) has created a free, beginner-friendly exercise database to learn movements. Additionally, The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers a free, publicly accessible library of exercise examples and tools for getting active. If you’re looking for personal instruction, most gyms provide professional guidance from certified personal trainers and fitness classes. If that isn’t in the budget, most exercise machines often have instructions printed on them and will guide your movement. If you do not want to, or are unable to, join a gym, you can do other physical activities like going for a bike ride or hiking. No matter how inexperienced you are, it’s important to remember that everyone was a beginner at some point. Always start slowly to avoid burnout or injury.
Getting motivated
You may not feel motivated to exercise. This could be for a variety of reasons, but the most effective way to overcome that motivational barrier is focusing on joyful movement. Thinking of exercise as a way to connect with your body, feel good, and have fun can help it feel like less of a chore or requirement. If you like listening to audiobooks or podcasts, listen to them while you exercise. If you like playing games, introducing objectives and rewards can make exercise more enjoyable. Some apps do this for you, or you can make up your own. You can even play fitness-oriented virtual reality games. Join a variety of local sports leagues, drop-ins, or classes to help find new sports that you may enjoy. It may also be helpful to plan exercise sessions by keeping an exercise journal. This could help with accountability and to develop a routine of physical activity. It can also be motivating to find a workout partner. Asking a friend, family member, or coworker to be your workout partner can ensure accountability and incorporate socializing into exercising. Ultimately, trying different physical activities and finding your “why”, or what makes physical activity personally enjoyable for you, will motivate you to regularly exercise.
Exercising in cold climates
If you live in a climate that gets cold for significant portions of the year, it can be hard to keep a year-round exercise routine. The tips for exercising at home apply here, but that’s not the only way to combat cold-weather slumps. Finding various sports and activities that you can enjoy during different seasons will help you stay active year-long. If you enjoy riding your bike in the summer, you may like cross-country skiing in the winter. If you play in a local soccer league in the fall, maybe there’s a basketball league during another season. If you usually walk to work in the warmer months, you may want to replace that physical activity with stair climbs in the colder months. This will not only keep you active, but it will also introduce variety to your exercise routine.
The opportunities are out there
Exercising consistently can be difficult for plenty of reasons. Whether it’s getting started exercising, keeping pace, or restarting after a lull, it can be easy to think your options are limited. But no matter the barriers to exercise, there’s a multitude of ways to overcome them. If you are still bumping into barriers or feeling stuck, consider reaching out to exercise professionals for support. Utilizing resources in your area like rec centers, public parks, and gyms can be particularly useful – check out the following resources:
https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adding-pa/barriers.html
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/getting-active/breaking-down-barriers-to-fitness
https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/
https://www.nutrition.gov/topics/exercise-and-fitness
About the Author
Hunt is a senior majoring in Health and Exercise with a concentration in Health Promotion, and a recent intern at the Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center. He moved to Fort Collins from Parker, Colorado to pursue his degree.