April 16, 2024 • 14 mins
Hey Running Friends!
Struggling to lace up those running shoes with consistency? The internal and external barriers we may have need to be identified, and then we can come up with strategies to overcome them. For older runners, time scarcity, waning motivation, and the ever-present fatigue can hold us back.
Sometimes we don't know why we are having a hard time getting out there, and you just need someone to prompt you to figure it out. Check out the resource section for a quiz you can take which will show you what may be a barrier.
Resources from the Episode:
Quiz to ID Barriers from Physio-Pedia
RRCA Run Club Search
RRCA Start to Run Program
Fleet Feet - from this link, enter in where you live and keep "All" in the training type search. This should give you a link to your local Fleet Feet where there may be free group runs.
Jogging Buddy
The Wrinkled Runner Podcast:
Choosing Your Running Shoes
Intro to the RRCA Start to Run Program- Guided Run/Walks with Coach Sher
The Wrinkled Runner Website:
Choosing a Running Shoe
The Wrinkled Runner YouTube Channel:
Beginning Running: Going to a Running Store for Shoes
If you are looking for a coach to help you reach your running goals, even if it's just to start to run, take a look at my Coaching Services page on the website. I do virtual, in-person (Buffalo, NY area) and also offer single zoom sessions for those would just like to chat with a coach one time.
Find my additional outlets over at the YouTube channel and at wrinkledrunner.com. Sign up over on the blog for the once-a-month newsletter! If you would like information on utilizing a running coach, check out what I can do for you here.
If you have any running-related questions, please send an email to sherry@wrinkledrunner.com…I answer every one.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today we're going to talk about something that is
used by personal trainers infinding out a client's barriers
to exercise and go over some ofthe ways to overcome them, but
from a running standpoint.
So, first of all, if you havereasons why you don't run
consistently or you don't knowwhy you don't, you can use this
tool that I'll link to in theshow notes and it's like a quiz
(00:23):
and it pinpoints what yourparticular barrier may be and
then, if you know that, thenyou'll be able to find ways to
combat that or come up with aplan to get around the kind of
barriers that we have.
So there's a whole list ofbarriers and they have been
identified as the major reasonswhy they may not feel that they
(00:45):
can run, and the top three haveto do with time, energy and
motivation.
And when we break reasons downeven further, we have both the
external and the internal.
So for older runners, no time,no companions and no facilities
are the top three external orextrinsic reasons, and being too
(01:10):
tired, not having enoughmotivation and not having enough
knowledge are the top threeinternal or intrinsic reasons.
So I'll go over thosespecifically and give you some
ways to approach them and thengo over a few more that some of
(01:30):
you may be experiencing, andthat's going to be towards the
end of the episode.
The top reason for everyone, nomatter the age, is not enough
time.
We're all busy, busy, busy, andit's tempting to use this as an
excuse to not add one morething to our days.
So, even though it may soundlike an exercise in futility,
(01:52):
keeping a physical time log fora week of everything that you do
can help you identify someperiods of time that maybe you'd
be able to slot in exercise, inour case, running at least
three times a week for 30minutes, for example.
If you kept actual track of thetime that you spend mindlessly
(02:13):
scrolling through your phone, Ibet you'd probably be able to
find more than 30 minutes threetimes a week.
If you added it all together,you know how it is.
We all start scrolling as soonas we wake up and well, most of
us do, and I'm even scrolling inthe middle of the night when I
can't sleep.
Taking all that time that weare scrolling through on
(02:35):
Instagram or Facebook or even onnews websites or whatever we're
doing.
That takes up a lot more timethan I think we even realize,
and things like Netflix, hulu,apple TV time, instead of
watching three episodes of ashow at once.
If you determine, like, maybetwo times a week, you're only
(02:57):
going to watch one episode, thatwould open up a whole new world
of time, probably for more thanjust running.
You could find time to do otherthings like start another hobby
or, you know, whatever it isthat maybe you think you're
missing out on because you don'tthink you have enough time.
(03:17):
Those are just some of the waysthat we kind of suck our time
up without even realizing it,and so keeping a journal of
everything that we do and howmuch time that we're taking to
do it can be very helpful inidentifying ways that we might
be able to tweak how we spendour days so that we get those
(03:38):
running times in Now.
Hand in hand with this isfinding kind of snack size time
in your day to get more movementin.
So things like walking to workif that's an option, taking the
stairs instead of the elevator,parking further away from the
grocery store those are allthings that we can do to
incorporate more movement intoour day, on top of finding like
(04:04):
30 minute blocks for exercise.
A lot of our humanness iscontinuing in the direction that
we are already heading in.
So if you make movement apriority, you will try to find
creative ways to get moremovement in.
If we're sedentary, we tend tocontinue to snuggle on the couch
with our tablets and avoidgetting up, so you're kind of
(04:27):
always going to be going in thedirection that you're already
doing or already going, unlessyou determine that you're going
to change that.
Having no one to run with isanother top reason for the older
runner.
Keep in mind these are alsohigh on the list of runners of
any age, so don't just tune meout because you might be young.
(04:51):
If you are someone that lovesto hang out with other people
and that extends to running,there are various ways you can
find a running partner, even ifit isn't someone you currently
know.
I am lucky that I run with myhusband, a few of my sons and
daughters-in-law and someclients.
I actually run with enoughpeople that I'm pretty excited
(05:11):
when I get to run alone.
But if you are searching forsomeone to run with, you can
head to rrcaorg, to theirwebsite, and look up your city
to see if there's a run clubnear you that's affiliated with
them.
There's also Fleet Feet GroupRuns, which is a running store
located in many towns across theUS.
Mom and Pop running stores withrunning groups are also
(05:35):
available, and there's a websitecalled joggingbuddycom that
will show you runners near youthat are looking to run with
others, and this will list theage of the person, whether
they're a beginner, intermediate, that kind of thing, and like I
do it by zip code, like I don'tdo it to find someone else to
(05:56):
run with, but as an example.
You know, if I put in my zipcode, it will show me all the
different people that areavailable to run and obviously
I'll link to those resources inthe show notes.
One external barrier and thelast two fall into that category
as well is a lack of facilities, and for runners that's kind of
(06:19):
a non-issue sort of.
We can always head outside andso, provided the weather is
cooperating, even if we don'thave running equipment or belong
to a gym to get to a treadmill,there's always the outdoors and
we might have to postpone someruns, but running definitely has
an advantage over some othermethods of exercise when it
(06:40):
comes to whether there'sfacilities available.
An internal reason many olderpeople don't run is that they
are too tired or that they feelthat they are.
Many times when we start a newprogram of movement, we actually
find that we feel moreenergized.
So giving into that idea mayhelp us start the process, and
(07:01):
then we're going to find outthat we do feel so much better
and more energized when we'reactually doing more movement.
There are so many physiologicalchanges to our bodies when we
run that, unless there are someunderlying health issues that we
may or may not know about, weshould feel better and less
tired as we begin to run.
(07:22):
Now, that's not to say you'renot going to feel fatigued.
You know, I ran today and I'mpretty tired.
My legs are pretty tired, butyou shouldn't feel like super
fatigued or super like you can'tgo on with your day if you're
running properly and smartly.
One thing that helps meeliminate the barrier of feeling
(07:43):
too tired because I do tend tofeel like I'm tired all the time
, and I always have is to runfirst thing in the morning.
I don't have time to come upwith any excuses, because I just
get up, get ready and get outthe door.
Now I have the advantage ofeliminating the no companion
barrier in hand in hand withthis, because I run with my
(08:03):
husband, who generally has avery busy work day.
So when I run with him I haveto get up earlier than I
normally would.
So rolling out of bed, gettingready and getting out the door
is kind of what I do so that Ican run with him.
But on days I don't havesomeone to run with, I lay out
my clothes and get out as soonas I roll out of bed, maybe
(08:25):
after a cup of coffee, but I trynot to sit around too much.
If you're definitely not amorning person and can't fathom
doing a run when you get up andyou don't have anything going on
for the day, putting on runningclothes as your outfit for the
day, so that when you do feellike it, that's one less thing
(08:45):
you have to do to get out thedoor If you work, take your
running clothes with you, putthem on before you leave, and
then you can either stop at atrail or a park or other
interesting running place orcome home and immediately go out
for a run.
Because once, especially on awork day, once you get home from
work and you sit down, it isvery hard to want to get up,
(09:08):
change those clothes and then goback outside for a run clothes
and then go back outside for arun when we feel like we're too
tired, we will also definitelyhave a tendency to have a lack
of motivation, which is anotherbarrier.
There are all sorts of reasonswhy our motivation goes away.
So with running, we have tomake it more of a routine so
that when we don't feel like it,we still get out there and go
(09:31):
for consistency.
We still get out there and gofor consistency.
Having a running coach plug formy profession here can help with
motivation.
Just by having thataccountability that comes with
hiring someone to help you,training plans, check-ins,
someone to run with.
If you opt for in-person, allthese things can get you past a
lack of motivation.
(09:51):
When you are paying forsomething, you're going to
elevate it in your mind andyou're gonna wanna check off
that box, which brings us to alack of knowledge.
If you don't feel like you knowwhat you are doing, you're not
gonna do it.
Several of my kids, when theywere little, would try something
once and if they couldn't do itright the first time, they had
(10:13):
a very hard time pursuingmastery of it.
They were always so happy whenthey did.
You know, take the time to learnsomething, but getting amped up
to do that means we need toacknowledge that we may not know
everything about something thatwe are wanting to do.
In the case of running with theinternet, we have a whole host
of ways to find out about whattraining means and how to run
(10:36):
smartly.
There's plans and websites withloads of information, facebook
groups there are just all kindsof ways to get an education
about how to run.
Now, make sure that whateveryou're looking at is reputable,
and I will say I ran for a lotof years, even with internet
access, before I really knewanything about it besides, just
(10:56):
go out and run.
So if you do run and youhaven't done any research into
it, a great motivator is tolearn about all the things that
go into training, workouts,planning, etc.
And then, once you gain thatknowledge, you will have more
confidence to go out there anddo it.
Some of the other reasons we mayhave barriers to exercise or
(11:18):
running may be that lack ofconfidence and, like I said,
learning about it can help withthat.
Fear of getting injured isanother reason.
Again, knowledge or having acoach goes a long way to injury
prevention, or having a coachgoes a long way to injury
prevention.
If we don't run right orsmartly, that is definitely a
(11:41):
recipe for injury.
If we're running too much toosoon, if you're going for a goal
of, say, running a 5K and thefirst few days you get out there
and you try to run that 5k inpractice without gradually going
up there, yeah, you're probablygoing to get injured.
You're also going to get burnedout and then you're going to
quit.
So find out how to do thesethings in a productive,
(12:06):
scientific way so that you don'tget hurt.
Another barrier is lack ofencouragement.
If the relationships thatyou're in don't support you
becoming active, then you'regoing to need to carve out your
own time and perhaps look intofinding a run club or group to
help in that area.
Cost is another barrier,especially when we're talking
(12:28):
about a gym membership orequipment.
Now, with running, yes, it doescost money.
You don't have to go all out,but you do need good for you
running shoes and I haveepisodes and things on the
YouTube channel and on mywebsite that talks about how to
find running shoes, technicalfabrics those are always a plus
(12:52):
instead of your basicwalk-around tops and bottoms.
If you want to race, if youwant to coach.
All that costs money.
Now, there are ways to budgetfor all of that and be
economical.
You just may have to search abit on how to do that.
Now, if you are finding you'rewanting to run or to learn to
run, but you're struggling withsome of the things that I
(13:12):
mentioned, take the advice toheart.
And if you want a little morehelp in this area with ideas,
send me an email and I'd be gladto help you.
And if there are other thingsthat are causing you to not run,
let me know what those are andperhaps I can also help you.
Come up with ways to workaround these barriers or, you
(13:33):
know, actually hit them head-onand eliminate them.
Head to the show notes for moreresources on this topic.
Today we're going to talk about something that is
used by personal trainers infinding out a client's barriers
to exercise and go over some ofthe ways to overcome them, but
from a running standpoint.
So, first of all, if you havereasons why you don't run
consistently or you don't knowwhy you don't, you can use this
tool that I'll link to in theshow notes and it's like a quiz
(00:23):
and it pinpoints what yourparticular barrier may be and
then, if you know that, thenyou'll be able to find ways to
combat that or come up with aplan to get around the kind of
barriers that we have.
So there's a whole list ofbarriers and they have been
identified as the major reasonswhy they may not feel that they
(00:45):
can run, and the top three haveto do with time, energy and
motivation.
And when we break reasons downeven further, we have both the
external and the internal.
So for older runners, no time,no companions and no facilities
are the top three external orextrinsic reasons, and being too
(01:10):
tired, not having enoughmotivation and not having enough
knowledge are the top threeinternal or intrinsic reasons.
So I'll go over thosespecifically and give you some
ways to approach them and thengo over a few more that some of
(01:30):
you may be experiencing, andthat's going to be towards the
end of the episode.
The top reason for everyone, nomatter the age, is not enough
time.
We're all busy, busy, busy, andit's tempting to use this as an
excuse to not add one morething to our days.
So, even though it may soundlike an exercise in futility,
(01:52):
keeping a physical time log fora week of everything that you do
can help you identify someperiods of time that maybe you'd
be able to slot in exercise, inour case, running at least
three times a week for 30minutes, for example.
If you kept actual track of thetime that you spend mindlessly
(02:13):
scrolling through your phone, Ibet you'd probably be able to
find more than 30 minutes threetimes a week.
If you added it all together,you know how it is.
We all start scrolling as soonas we wake up and well, most of
us do, and I'm even scrolling inthe middle of the night when I
can't sleep.
Taking all that time that weare scrolling through on
(02:35):
Instagram or Facebook or even onnews websites or whatever we're
doing.
That takes up a lot more timethan I think we even realize,
and things like Netflix, hulu,apple TV time, instead of
watching three episodes of ashow at once.
If you determine, like, maybetwo times a week, you're only
(02:57):
going to watch one episode, thatwould open up a whole new world
of time, probably for more thanjust running.
You could find time to do otherthings like start another hobby
or, you know, whatever it isthat maybe you think you're
missing out on because you don'tthink you have enough time.
(03:17):
Those are just some of the waysthat we kind of suck our time
up without even realizing it,and so keeping a journal of
everything that we do and howmuch time that we're taking to
do it can be very helpful inidentifying ways that we might
be able to tweak how we spendour days so that we get those
(03:38):
running times in Now.
Hand in hand with this isfinding kind of snack size time
in your day to get more movementin.
So things like walking to workif that's an option, taking the
stairs instead of the elevator,parking further away from the
grocery store those are allthings that we can do to
incorporate more movement intoour day, on top of finding like
(04:04):
30 minute blocks for exercise.
A lot of our humanness iscontinuing in the direction that
we are already heading in.
So if you make movement apriority, you will try to find
creative ways to get moremovement in.
If we're sedentary, we tend tocontinue to snuggle on the couch
with our tablets and avoidgetting up, so you're kind of
(04:27):
always going to be going in thedirection that you're already
doing or already going, unlessyou determine that you're going
to change that.
Having no one to run with isanother top reason for the older
runner.
Keep in mind these are alsohigh on the list of runners of
any age, so don't just tune meout because you might be young.
(04:51):
If you are someone that lovesto hang out with other people
and that extends to running,there are various ways you can
find a running partner, even ifit isn't someone you currently
know.
I am lucky that I run with myhusband, a few of my sons and
daughters-in-law and someclients.
I actually run with enoughpeople that I'm pretty excited
(05:11):
when I get to run alone.
But if you are searching forsomeone to run with, you can
head to rrcaorg, to theirwebsite, and look up your city
to see if there's a run clubnear you that's affiliated with
them.
There's also Fleet Feet GroupRuns, which is a running store
located in many towns across theUS.
Mom and Pop running stores withrunning groups are also
(05:35):
available, and there's a websitecalled joggingbuddycom that
will show you runners near youthat are looking to run with
others, and this will list theage of the person, whether
they're a beginner, intermediate, that kind of thing, and like I
do it by zip code, like I don'tdo it to find someone else to
(05:56):
run with, but as an example.
You know, if I put in my zipcode, it will show me all the
different people that areavailable to run and obviously
I'll link to those resources inthe show notes.
One external barrier and thelast two fall into that category
as well is a lack of facilities, and for runners that's kind of
(06:19):
a non-issue sort of.
We can always head outside andso, provided the weather is
cooperating, even if we don'thave running equipment or belong
to a gym to get to a treadmill,there's always the outdoors and
we might have to postpone someruns, but running definitely has
an advantage over some othermethods of exercise when it
(06:40):
comes to whether there'sfacilities available.
An internal reason many olderpeople don't run is that they
are too tired or that they feelthat they are.
Many times when we start a newprogram of movement, we actually
find that we feel moreenergized.
So giving into that idea mayhelp us start the process, and
(07:01):
then we're going to find outthat we do feel so much better
and more energized when we'reactually doing more movement.
There are so many physiologicalchanges to our bodies when we
run that, unless there are someunderlying health issues that we
may or may not know about, weshould feel better and less
tired as we begin to run.
(07:22):
Now, that's not to say you'renot going to feel fatigued.
You know, I ran today and I'mpretty tired.
My legs are pretty tired, butyou shouldn't feel like super
fatigued or super like you can'tgo on with your day if you're
running properly and smartly.
One thing that helps meeliminate the barrier of feeling
(07:43):
too tired because I do tend tofeel like I'm tired all the time
, and I always have is to runfirst thing in the morning.
I don't have time to come upwith any excuses, because I just
get up, get ready and get outthe door.
Now I have the advantage ofeliminating the no companion
barrier in hand in hand withthis, because I run with my
(08:03):
husband, who generally has avery busy work day.
So when I run with him I haveto get up earlier than I
normally would.
So rolling out of bed, gettingready and getting out the door
is kind of what I do so that Ican run with him.
But on days I don't havesomeone to run with, I lay out
my clothes and get out as soonas I roll out of bed, maybe
(08:25):
after a cup of coffee, but I trynot to sit around too much.
If you're definitely not amorning person and can't fathom
doing a run when you get up andyou don't have anything going on
for the day, putting on runningclothes as your outfit for the
day, so that when you do feellike it, that's one less thing
(08:45):
you have to do to get out thedoor If you work, take your
running clothes with you, putthem on before you leave, and
then you can either stop at atrail or a park or other
interesting running place orcome home and immediately go out
for a run.
Because once, especially on awork day, once you get home from
work and you sit down, it isvery hard to want to get up,
(09:08):
change those clothes and then goback outside for a run clothes
and then go back outside for arun when we feel like we're too
tired, we will also definitelyhave a tendency to have a lack
of motivation, which is anotherbarrier.
There are all sorts of reasonswhy our motivation goes away.
So with running, we have tomake it more of a routine so
that when we don't feel like it,we still get out there and go
(09:31):
for consistency.
We still get out there and gofor consistency.
Having a running coach plug formy profession here can help with
motivation.
Just by having thataccountability that comes with
hiring someone to help you,training plans, check-ins,
someone to run with.
If you opt for in-person, allthese things can get you past a
lack of motivation.
(09:51):
When you are paying forsomething, you're going to
elevate it in your mind andyou're gonna wanna check off
that box, which brings us to alack of knowledge.
If you don't feel like you knowwhat you are doing, you're not
gonna do it.
Several of my kids, when theywere little, would try something
once and if they couldn't do itright the first time, they had
(10:13):
a very hard time pursuingmastery of it.
They were always so happy whenthey did.
You know, take the time to learnsomething, but getting amped up
to do that means we need toacknowledge that we may not know
everything about something thatwe are wanting to do.
In the case of running with theinternet, we have a whole host
of ways to find out about whattraining means and how to run
(10:36):
smartly.
There's plans and websites withloads of information, facebook
groups there are just all kindsof ways to get an education
about how to run.
Now, make sure that whateveryou're looking at is reputable,
and I will say I ran for a lotof years, even with internet
access, before I really knewanything about it besides, just
(10:56):
go out and run.
So if you do run and youhaven't done any research into
it, a great motivator is tolearn about all the things that
go into training, workouts,planning, etc.
And then, once you gain thatknowledge, you will have more
confidence to go out there anddo it.
Some of the other reasons we mayhave barriers to exercise or
(11:18):
running may be that lack ofconfidence and, like I said,
learning about it can help withthat.
Fear of getting injured isanother reason.
Again, knowledge or having acoach goes a long way to injury
prevention, or having a coachgoes a long way to injury
prevention.
If we don't run right orsmartly, that is definitely a
(11:41):
recipe for injury.
If we're running too much toosoon, if you're going for a goal
of, say, running a 5K and thefirst few days you get out there
and you try to run that 5k inpractice without gradually going
up there, yeah, you're probablygoing to get injured.
You're also going to get burnedout and then you're going to
quit.
So find out how to do thesethings in a productive,
(12:06):
scientific way so that you don'tget hurt.
Another barrier is lack ofencouragement.
If the relationships thatyou're in don't support you
becoming active, then you'regoing to need to carve out your
own time and perhaps look intofinding a run club or group to
help in that area.
Cost is another barrier,especially when we're talking
(12:28):
about a gym membership orequipment.
Now, with running, yes, it doescost money.
You don't have to go all out,but you do need good for you
running shoes and I haveepisodes and things on the
YouTube channel and on mywebsite that talks about how to
find running shoes, technicalfabrics those are always a plus
(12:52):
instead of your basicwalk-around tops and bottoms.
If you want to race, if youwant to coach.
All that costs money.
Now, there are ways to budgetfor all of that and be
economical.
You just may have to search abit on how to do that.
Now, if you are finding you'rewanting to run or to learn to
run, but you're struggling withsome of the things that I
(13:12):
mentioned, take the advice toheart.
And if you want a little morehelp in this area with ideas,
send me an email and I'd be gladto help you.
And if there are other thingsthat are causing you to not run,
let me know what those are andperhaps I can also help you.
Come up with ways to workaround these barriers or, you
(13:33):
know, actually hit them head-onand eliminate them.
Head to the show notes for moreresources on this topic.
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