Physical Activity

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.
  

• Make time for physical activity. 
  

• Select activities that require small amounts of time, such as walking, jogging, or stair-climbing.

Social influence

• Explain your interest in physical activity to friends and family. 
  

• Invite friends and family to do activities with you.  Plan social activities involving physical activity.
  

• Develop new friendships with physically active people.  Join a walking group or a hiking club.

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.

Lack of motivation

• Plan ahead.  Make physical activity a regular part of your daily or weekly schedule.  Write it on your calendar.
  

• Invite a friend to do activities with you on a regular basis.  Write it on both your calendars.
  

• Join an exercise group or class.

Fear of injury

• Learn how to warm up and cool down to prevent injury.
  

• Learn what physical activities are appropriate for you considering your age, fitness level and health status.  If you have health issues that you think may stop you from being physically active, talk to you doctor or health professional about activities that are right for you.

Lack of skill

• Select activities requiring no new skills, such as walking, climbing stairs, or raking leaves.
  

• 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.

Lack of resources

• Select activities that require minimal facilities or equipment.  Take a walk.  Use soup cans for resistance training. 
  

• Identify inexpensive, convenient resources available in your community (community education programs, park and recreation programs, worksite programs, etc.).

Poor balance

• Exercise in a sitting or lying down position.
  

• Do simple yoga movements or stretching.
  

• Walk slowly with a cane or with the support of a friend
  

•  T’ai Chi

Weather conditions

• Develop a set of regular activities that are always available regardless of weather.
  

• Develop a set of outdoor activities that depend on certain weather conditions (cross-country skiing, outdoor swimming, outdoor tennis, hiking, etc.).

Family obligations

• Exercise with the kids or the grandkids. Go for a walk together. Play tag.  Teach each other how to dance. You can spend time together and still be physically active.

Set A Goal

It is important to set goals for yourself. It is even more important to set goals that you can reach. Oftentimes, we set unrealistic goals for ourselves, and when we don’t achieve that goal, we get frustrated and stop trying. So, how can you set a reachable goal for yourself? (Remember, everybody moves at their own pace. You are the best judge of what you can do.) 

Make your goal as specific as possible.  Your goal should include:

1. The activity you will be doing,

2. The amount of time you will do the activity for,

3. The number of days a week or month that you will do that activity for that amount of time, and

4. A date to see how far you have come towards reaching your goal.

Example goal #1:  I will walk at least 20 minutes four days a week this month.

When you reach the end date that you set for your goal, it is equally important to re-evaluate your goal.  If you have reached your goal, it may be time to set a new goal for yourself.  You can do this by changing any number of things, such as increasing the amount of time you will do the activity, adding a new activity (i.e. resistance training), or increasing the pace of your activity slightly. If you have not reached your original goal, try to determine what you may need to change about your goal so that you can reach it. Or, you may want to continue with the goal that you have for another period of time.

What we have been discussing above is what you may call a “short-term goal.”  A “short-term goal” is a goal you can reach in a short period of time.  Oftentimes, we set a goal that may be more of a “long-term goal.”  We might say that we will walk the half marathon in Little Rock next year. To reach our “long-term goal,” we should really have a bunch of short-term goals to help us get there.  Our short-term goals will show us how we are progressing by small steps or stages.

• Goal Worksheet - PDF