Reasons Why Women and Men Are Not Exercising - Research Proposal Example

Physical Recreation Name of Student Name of Course Name of Class Date of Submission Physical Recreation Describe the objectives of the qualitative study. Provide a literature review – around 300-400 words (3 references) relating to reasons why women and men are not exercising, highlighting differences between gender The main objective of the study would be to determine the reason why people in general are not exercising. Do they understand the importance of exercise? If they do, why then are they not doing it? How can people be motivated to exercise? Do women exercise as often as men? How strong are both genders in terms of physical activities? The findings from the above questions will form the main objectives of the study. These are the research questions that will be formulated in questionnaires and interviews to determine the main cause for lack of exercise. Physical activity simply means movement of the body that uses energy. Walking, gardening, briskly pushing a baby stroller, climbing the stairs, playing soccer, or dancing the night away are all good examples of being active. For health benefits, physical activity should be moderate or vigorous intensity. Those who have incorporated exercise into their lifestyle and daily routine may wonder, with all the benefits exercise offers, why do people not exercise? After all, the health benefits of physical exercise have been proved time and again. In spite of this, about 60% of the population in America hardly does any exercise. Meanwhile, another 25% do not in any way indulge in physical recreation. These statistics are shocking since the advantages of exercise are far much better compared to the price one has to pay in the end. On a regular basis, the health benefits of physical exercise outweigh the negatives. Some of the major benefits of physical exercise include more energy levels, reduction of stress as ell as improvement of mood. However, this can only happen when the individual is consistent and has a particular routine that keeps him in check. The immune system benefits a lot and as a result common diseases become a thing of the past. In the long run, one can avoid major killer diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Regular indulgence in physical activity also enhances the ability to focus on your goals and achieve them in the time frame given. This is because the mind at that time has no stress therefore one keeps a positive attitude which is very crucial in accomplishing goals. Life issues seem easier and can be well managed if one had a proper way of exercising (Adame, 1990). For a long time now, women have been perceived as the weaker sex. Normally boys would always be encouraged to be athletic and physically strong yet girls were required to be more laid back. Due to this perception, most girls have not been known to exercise a lot as it seemed to be a boys’ thing. In effect, men have built up muscles which are important for breaking fat yet the women have been out of shape. However, in the recent past, this ideology has changed although women’s’ strength is still being under rated. This is because most women avoid strength training as they believe it will make them more muscular and bulky. They should however know that adding muscle to the woman’s body is not bad and has the same benefits. As age catches up with adults, the level of muscle mass reduces. The best solution for this is if they enter a program of physical strength exercises which will assist in the alleviation of problems that come with age. Such problems include small injuries, frailty and osteoporosis. On the other hand, females past the age of forty are encouraged to indulge in more of the strength training to prepare the body for the challenges that come with menopause. Furthermore, strength training improves the back, eliminates diabetes, alleviates arthritis and can reduce the chances of depression in both genders (Ainsworth, 19993). What reasons do people give for not exercising? Despite the many health benefits that come with exercise, there are reasons that people give for lack of exercise. The major reasons are; lack of motivation, lack of time as well as insufficient funds to enroll in a good training facility. However, these reasons should not in any way look like an obstacle in trying to achieve the goal of getting healthier and in shape. Everyone should get past their personal excuses and find a program that will meet their objectives (Hardman, 2009). Lack of motivation Many people are just not motivated enough to come up with a work out plan and exercise. From afar, most people just think that exercise is not for them or it’s too boring since it’s a lot of work. This is as a result of the past where some people may have tried exercise but it failed since they did not attain the results they wanted. Some were just not too excited when they did it in the past and hence lack the motivation to do it again. What they should understand is that the same complaints they are raising have been encountered by so many people even in the past. Many people also have this opinion that in order to begin exercise, there is a huge life change you have to make and the thought of it is scary. The idea behind exercise is that one has to stop eating certain foods or invest in sporting facilities yet someone may have something better to invest their money in. However, people should understand that health comes first and there is no better investment than in the proper functioning of the body. When that is considered a priority, more people will begin to slowly appreciate the benefits and commit in physical activities to improve their health (Donatelle, 2005). Training facilities are expensive In any case, it is not really about joining the gym or investing in expensive equipment in order to get enough exercise every day. Many people have this notion that exercise can only be done in the gyms and therefore they should invest in some training equipment to put at home before exercising. On the contrary, simple exercises such as running, riding a bicycle, hiking and walking can be a better way of doing it yet in a fun manner. Moreover, there are smaller equipment that can be found in shopping malls which can help in toning and strengthening the body. Unlike the bigger equipment, these ones are less expensive and they include dumbbells, or an exercise ball. Furthermore, many health experts have come up with programs and videos of a good work out plan. One can purchase the DVD’s and find time to watch as well as join in the exercise. This way, one can learn the right exercises to do for the right time which suits their time period. In addition, it is imperative for people to also change their diet as it has a lot to do with whether the exercise will be effective or not. Proper diet by avoiding junk food may go a long way in attaining results. Inadequate time Finding time to exercise may prove to be a challenge. With the current challenges in the economy, most people are working for more than 18 hours a day. After all, money is the most important liability to have and without it nothing can be done. Most people value money that they do not even have enough time for their families. Children also take up a lot of time especially for mothers who may want to find time to exercise. With this crazy schedule, one may try to get some time for exercise and not get it. Nevertheless, there should be an understanding that even if you pursue money and not have good health, things will catch up with you. Health is ultimate since if you are not then work cannot be done. Time is never found, it is created and that is the challenge that people should pose (Kelly, 2013). What can be done to help people exercise more? If one does not have a solid half an hour daily to exercise, they should break it down to sessions of fifteen minutes where they can distribute their time for proper exercise. It could be early in the morning, during the lunch break and sometime at night. Whatever the time, ensure the thirty minutes have been covered. If one is busy with children, play with them, ride the bike with them and go for walks with them. In all these, you are having fun with your children yet still exercising. Schedule some time every day for exercise. Note it down and stick to it so that it’s followed. Set up time with a personal trainer daily and make it a routine so that it can be followed no matter what. Since personal trainers are quite expensive, one will feel bad if the do not show up for exercise and this will create consistency (Hardman, 2009). Research Methods Describe the research methods used in the study. Important aspects of the methods section include; • The methodology used; and the analysis Questionnaires- These are sets of questions written down and one is given choices to pick from. The papers are printed and taken round for people to fill. After that, they are collected and all the answers are sampled to give proper conclusions. In this study, questionnaires were very effective and saved time. It was targeted among students and they were taken when the students were in class then after an hour, the papers were collected. Interviews were also done on some students who had time. The interviewer has some questions written down then they ask and write down the answers. Interviews are better in terms of outlining the major mood of the one being interviewed (Adame, 1990). Describe the types of reasons as highlighted and discuss differences between groups of respondents if you sought them. It is interesting to note that after the study was conducted, a conclusion was drawn that both genders do not understand how much strength they really have. Groups of both were requested to exercise on weight machines and hence give performance estimation. In general, men were approximated in a better manner than women especially in their estimation. As a result, there was a conclusion made that even if men and women are equally at par in strength but there is a disconnection between their actual and perceived ability. Strength training exercises in both men and women get the response and hence if their all put in a program for three months, they could build up more than 2lbs of muscle (Ainsworth 1993). Present a 'realistic report' (see lecture notes) with rich description of the main reason themes. A realistic approach is one that is given on foundational truth rather than sugar coating the details. This is a report given with the main ideas as to how the findings of the report were concluded. In this case, it is very clear that men exercise more than women. This is because generally women are perceived to be of less strength and would hardly squeeze in time to exercise. Most women opted to do some simple exercises which are fun like swimming, walking and dancing. On the other hand, men are known to indulge in very strenuous exercises which are important for muscle formation hence breaking the fat content. However, with the changing times, more women are opting to go to the gym in order to be in shape as the world out there defines beautiful as being slim. Some men are lazier as well and care less of their image since they don’t have esteem issues like the women (Kelly, 2013). Present in several sentences the general conclusions of your analyses In conclusion, physical exercise is very imperative and despite all the excuses that one may give, it becomes necessary to be involved in any form of it. Both genders have equal strength when it comes to handling the pressure of training and therefore women should feel underestimated. If anything they should come up in strength and challenge themselves to get better. Men should also encourage women to exercise with them so that they may see how much strength they have and get motivated because in due time, exercise pays off. References Adame, D. (1990). “Physical fitness in relation to amount of physical exercise, body image, and locus of control among college men and women”. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 70(3, Pt 2), 1347-1350. Ainsworth, B. (1993). "Compendium of physical activities: Classification of energy costs of human physical activities". Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 25: 71–80. Donatelle, R. (2005). Health, the basics (6th ed.). San Francisco: Pearson Education. Hardman, A. (2009). Physical Activity and Health: The Evidence Explained. London: Rout ledge publishers. Kelly, S. (2013). "Genetic determinants of voluntary exercise". Trends in Genetics, 3: 13-17. Read More