Overcoming the Barriers to Physical Activity

Aside from the many technological advances and conveniences that have made our lives easier and less active, many personal variables including physiological, behavioral and psychological factors may affect our plans to become more physically active. In fact, the 10 most common reasons adults cite for not adopting more physically active lifestyles are (Sallis and Hovell, 1990; Sallis et al., 1992):

• Do not have enough time to exercise
• Find it inconvenient to exercise
• Lack self-motivation
• Do not find exercise enjoyable
• Find exercise boring
• Lack confidence in their ability to be physically active (low self-efficacy)
• Fear being injured or have been injured recently
• Lack self-management skills, such as the ability to set personal goals, monitor progress or reward progress toward such goals
• Lack encouragement, support or companionship from family and friends
• Do not have parks, sidewalks, bicycle trails or safe and pleasant walking paths convenient to their homes or offices.

How can I figure out which barriers affect me most?

The Barriers to Being Active Quiz can help you identify the types of physical activity barriers that are undermining your ability to make regular physical activity an 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 Suggestions for Overcoming Physical Activity Barriers for suggestions on how to overcome them.

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Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)