Overcoming Barriers
There are over 101 reasons or “barriers” as to why people don’t exercise. Some common barriers that you are probably familiar with:
- Time. Twenty-four hours is not long enough to fit exercise into your daily routine.
- Inconvenience. Stopping what you’re doing to exercise is an interruption to your day.
- Motivation. Lacking personal motivation or support from family and friends may affect your ability to set and meet personal health goals.
- Boredom. You don’t find joy or excitement in exercise.
- Prone to injury. A recent injury may have stopped you in your tracks and has kept you from moving on.
- Environment. Your home or work is not located in an area that’s favorable for outdoor exercise.
For more information about overcoming barriers to exercise, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Do these barriers sound familiar? Here are some tips to overcoming barriers to exercise:
First and foremost, identify your personal barriers with the Barriers to Being Active Quiz. Read the tip that corresponds to your personal barrier and begin working on overcoming your personal barrier(s) today.
Overcoming the time barrier. Keep a log of your daily activities for one week. Identify at least three 30-minute time slots you could use for physical activity.
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Overcoming the inconvenience barrier. Exercise wouldn’t be an interruption if you scheduled physical activity as a part of your day.
- Write it on your calendar.
- 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.
- Jump rope, do calisthenics, ride a stationary bicycle, or use other home gymnasium equipment while the kids are busy playing or sleeping.
If your kids take up the majority of your time, include kids in your exercise routine. Go for a walk together, play tag or other running games or get an aerobic dance or exercise tape for kids.
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Overcoming the motivation barrier. Sometimes we all need a little help getting motivated.
- Invite a friend to exercise with you on a regular basis.
- Select activities that don’t require new skills, such as walking, climbing stairs, or jogging or take a class to develop new skills.
- Join an exercise group or class. Develop new friendships with physically active people. Join a group, such as the YMCA or a hiking club.
- Plan social activities involving exercise.
- Explain your interest in physical activity to friends and family. Ask them to support your efforts.
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Overcoming the boredom barrier. Choose a favorite form of exercise. Walking is the easiest exercise to do, but if you think you might get bored, consider the following:
- Walk a different route every night.
- Listen to music and walk in time to the beat of songs (make sure you can still hear cars and the people around you over the volume).
- Schedule physical activity for times in the day or week when you feel energetic.
- Set small goals each week and reward yourself when you meet them.
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Overcoming the injury barrier. You can still be active and avoid injury by choosing an activity that involves minimum risk, such as walking or swimming.
- 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.
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Overcome environmental barriers. Select activities that require minimal facilities or equipment, such as walking, jogging, jumping rope, aerobics, mowing your lawn or volunteering.
- Check out convenient recreational resources available in your community.
- Select activities that work in all types of weather. Visit the local shopping mall and walk for half an hour or more.
- Take a jump rope with you when you travel.
- Walk the halls and climb the stairs at work.
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