{"id":525,"date":"2021-07-31T16:08:52","date_gmt":"2021-07-31T20:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/?p=525"},"modified":"2021-07-31T16:08:52","modified_gmt":"2021-07-31T20:08:52","slug":"staying-active-over-55-what-are-the-barriers-for-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/womens-health\/staying-active-over-55-what-are-the-barriers-for-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Staying active over 55 &#8211; What are the barriers for women?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"bold\"><strong>by Shelley Callaghan, (formerly) CAAWS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"bold\"><strong>What stops women from getting exercise as they get older? And how do women get over these barriers? To better understand this, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) conducted cross- Canada focus groups with women age 55 to 70.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We grouped the barriers that the women talked about into three categories:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>External barriers \u2013 things that are beyond our control<\/li>\n<li>Impacting barriers \u2013 things that impact your ability to participate<\/li>\n<li>Internal barriers or secrets<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong><span class=\"bold\">External barriers<\/span><\/strong> included things like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>weather (too hot or too cold, too icy, too humid)<\/li>\n<li>lack of transportation<\/li>\n<li>cost of physical activities<\/li>\n<li>the \u2018built environment\u2019 \u2013 for instance, lack of sidewalks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span class=\"bold\">Impacting barriers<\/span><\/strong> included things like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>poor health<\/li>\n<li>the demands of caring for partners, grandchildren, and aging parents<\/li>\n<li>not having a friend to do things with or finding it hard to fit into a \u2018cliquish\u2019 group<\/li>\n<li>poor instructors<\/li>\n<li>lack of variety \u2013 for instance, wanting to swim or cycle but only walking programs are available<\/li>\n<li>scheduling problems \u2013 for instance, no evening programs for working women<\/li>\n<li>lack of support from a partner or other family members.<\/li>\n<li>taking part in something with the word \u2018senior\u2019 or \u2018older adult\u2019 attached. Many women said they are seniors if there is a discount, but otherwise &#8212; forget it!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span class=\"bold\">Internal barriers<\/span><\/strong> included things like body image. Women said they would like to swim, but the idea of putting on a bathing suit kept them from doing so. Feeling guilty was another internal barrier. Women felt guilty about taking time for themselves, spending money on themselves and being away from family duties. Women also worried about getting hurt or lacking skills. Many women over 55 say they feel \u2018invisible\u2019 and lack the confidence to ask questions and be self-starters.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-530\" src=\"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Active-Over-55-Barriers-for-Women-content.jpg\" alt=\"Staying active over 55\" width=\"288\" height=\"291\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Getting over the barriers<\/h2>\n<p>The women in the focus groups had a number of ideas on how to deal with the barriers and get more active:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"bold\"><strong>Develop a routine<\/strong>:<\/span> Schedule physical activity into your day or week and never miss it.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bold\"><strong>Having a buddy<\/strong>:<\/span> Having someone to do things with is encouraging. Plus, if you know someone is waiting, say, to go for a walk or run with you, you will make sure to show up.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bold\"><strong>Invite and get invited<\/strong>:<\/span> Women like to be invited to do things. Make physical activity special by personally inviting your friends to take part. Be sure to accept any invitation you receive.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bold\"><strong>Use a pedometer<\/strong>:<\/span> Using a pedometer to count your steps was mentioned in every focus group. Women saw this as an easy, inexpensive tool that regularly reminded them to keep moving.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bold\"><strong>Take part in events<\/strong>:<\/span> Sign up for a competition or event \u2013 for example, a run or walk for your favourite charity. You will get active preparing for the day and enjoy looking forward to it. Plus, you\u2019ll raise money for a good cause.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bold\"><strong>Keep a log or journal<\/strong>:<\/span> Some women found it very motivating to keeping a daily journal or log their activities on a calendar or in a notebook. They \u2018made appointments with themselves\u2019 that they did not want to break. They hated not being able to write something in for the day, and that kept them moving.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bold\"><strong>Enjoy music<\/strong>:<\/span> Many women found it motivating to have good music in the background when doing housework or during a fitness class.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bold\"><strong>Look for progress<\/strong>:<\/span> Seeing progress in yourself and others is very motivating, no matter how you measure it. It could be losing weight, sleeping better, or being able to shovel your driveway.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bold\"><strong>Share your success<\/strong>:<\/span> Many women do not realize how much physical activity can improve their health. Share your own stories or the stories of other women to motivate them.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, women told us that the activity really doesn\u2019t matter. As long as it is fun, inexpensive, and social, they will give it a try. The problem is they often do not know what\u2019s out there. Take a wander down to your local community centre, check out a new fountain in the local park, or try out that bike trail you\u2019ve always wanted to explore \u2026 just get out there and don\u2019t forget to bring a friend or two!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/womenandsport.ca\/resources\/publications\/women-55-70\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Learn more: Download the complete Focus Group Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>About the Author<\/em><br \/>\n<span class=\"bold\"><strong>Shelley Callaghan<\/strong>, Project Manager, Women 55-70+ Project<br \/>\nCanadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Womens-Health-Barriers-for-Women.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Click Here for print PDF file &#8211; Women&#8217;s Health &#8211; Barriers for Women<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Shelley Callaghan, (formerly) CAAWS What stops women from getting exercise as they get older? And how do women get over these barriers? To better understand this, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) conducted cross- Canada focus groups with women age 55 to 70. We grouped the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/womens-health\/staying-active-over-55-what-are-the-barriers-for-women\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Staying active over 55 &#8211; What are the barriers for women?<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-womens-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":536,"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions\/536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activeagingcanada.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}