Your 30's: Life starts, physical activity stops?

I came across an interesting little stat recently from the  people at the Supplement Centre. According to their recent survey, 25% of 20-29 and 40-49 year olds work out every day. As for the decade in-between? It drops to 16% who manage to work out every day.

So what, you might ask, who really has time to work out EVERY day anyway? It’s a valid question. Say that, we only asked people who worked out or were active three times a week. Would the 30-39 bracket again be lower than the 20-29 and 40-49 groups? I’m inclined to think they would.

Now this isn’t bashing those in that age bracket, it’s a group I shall be joining in the next few years. During the decade between the ages of 30-40 lots of events are more likely to occur that mean time to work-out or exercise is pushed down the pecking order.

Things like establishing yourself at work and forging a successful career, starting families and looking after young children, moving into or buying your first house all take up time and no little financial resource.

Once you’ve negotiated those hurdles and are into your 40's you have the time and money to head back to the gym and try to eradicate the accumulated years of less exercise. What can be done then, to encourage and help those with tiny terrors or time constraints to stay active and healthy?

The answer lies in that old adage – planning ahead, as well as finding things that fit in with your lifestyle. Running or cycling to work for example, means that you’re exercising as a means to an end and barely having to think about it.

If possible get outdoors and if you do have children, take them with you. Carrying the extra weight of a child is only going to make the activity more intense and beneficial to you. It also has the added plus of introducing the outdoors and exercise to your children at a young age. A win/win situation surely.

This isn’t to say, that the onus is purely on the individual to get motivated and out there. The challenge is also there for sport and recreation groups to cater for the over-burdened parent and time stretched thirty-something. Trialling classes or sessions at times convenient for those with families, offering activities where children can get involved or at least be taken care of in crèche like facilities, are all options.

A subtle change of thinking and approach from both sides can go a long way to seeing mutual benefits on health and participation, both now and in the future.

To find out about the recent creative trends that are getting people exercising, read our Future Trends report.