Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-sh8wx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-19T14:09:48.376Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘I don't want to be, feel old’: older Canadian men's perceptions and experiences of physical activity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2018

Laura Hurd Clarke ,
Lauren Currie  and
Erica V. Bennett
Laura Hurd Clarke*
Affiliation:
School of Kinesiology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Lauren Currie
Affiliation:
School of Kinesiology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Erica V. Bennett
Affiliation:
School of Kinesiology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Email: laura.hurd.clarke@ubc.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Relatively few older adults are physically active despite extensive research exploring barriers and facilitators and concomitant interventions designed to enhance participation rates. Building on the growing literature that considers the subjective experience of being physically active, we explored the meanings that older Canadian men attributed to physical activity broadly defined. Thus, we examined their experiences and perceptions of exercise, sport and/or leisure-time physical activities. Data are presented from qualitative interviews with 22 community-dwelling Canadian men aged 67–90. Our analysis resulted in three overarching categories that subsumed the men's understanding of physical activity. ‘I do it for my health’ described how the men stated that their primary reason for engaging in exercise was to maintain their health and body functionality so that they could age well and continue to participate in sport and leisure. ‘It feels good’ referred to the various ways that the men derived pleasure from being active, including the physical sensations, psychological benefits and social connections they derived from their participation. ‘It gets tougher’ detailed the ways that the men were finding physical activity to be increasingly difficult as a result of the onset of health problems, declining body functionality and the social realities of ageing. We discuss our findings in light of the extant literature concerning age relations, ageism, and the third and fourth ages.

Keywords

older mensportexerciseleisure-time physical activitysubjective experienceage relationsageismthird and fourth ages
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , January 2020 , pp. 126 - 143
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Almond, L (2010) Physical literacy and the older population. In Whitehead, M (ed.), Physical Literacy: Throughout the Lifecourse. New York: Routledge, pp. 116–129.Google Scholar
Ashe, MC, Miller, WC, Eng, JJ and Noreau, L (2009) Older adults, chronic disease and leisure-time physical activity. Gerontology 55, 64–72.Google Scholar
Ayo, N (2012) Understanding health promotion in a neoliberal climate and the making of health conscious citizens. Critical Public Health 22, 99–105.Google Scholar
Ball, K, Salmon, J, Giles-Corti, B and Crawford, D (2006) How can socio-economic differences in physical activity among women be explained? A qualitative study. Women & Health 43, 93–113.Google Scholar
Bauman, A, Merom, D, Bull, FC, Buchner, DM and Fiatarone Singh, MA (2016) Updating the evidence for physical activity: summative reviews of the epidemiological evidence, prevalence, and interventions to promote ‘active ageing’. The Gerontologist 56, supplement 2, S268–S280.Google Scholar
Bidonde, MJ, Goodwin, DL and Drinkwater, DT (2009) Older women's experiences of a fitness program: the importance of social networks. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology 21, supplement 1, S86–S101.Google Scholar
Bundon, A, Hurd Clarke, L and Miller, WC (2011) Frail older adults and patterns of exercise engagement: understanding exercise behaviours as a means of maintaining continuity of self. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health 3, 33–47.Google Scholar
Butler, RN (1975) Why Survive? Being Old in America. New York: Harper and Row Publishers.Google Scholar
Calasanti, TM and Slevin, KF (2001) Gender, Social Inequalities, and Aging. New York: Altamira Press.Google Scholar
Colley, RC, Garriguet, D, Janssen, I, Craig, CL, Clarke, J and Tremblay, MS (2011) Physical Activity of Canadian Adults: Accelerometer Results from the 2007–2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Health Reports, Catalogue Number 82-003-XPE, Statistics Canada. Available online at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2011001/article/11396-eng.pdf (Accessed 9 March 2017).Google Scholar
Crawford, R (2006) Health as a meaningful social practice. Health 10, 401–420.Google Scholar
Devereux-Fitzgerald, A, Powell, R, Dewhurst, A and French, DP (2016) The acceptability of physical activity interventions to older adults: a systematic review and meta-synthesis. Social Science & Medicine 158, 14–23.Google Scholar
Evans, AB and Sleap, M (2012) You feel like people are looking at you and laughing: older adults’ perceptions of aquatic physical activity. Journal of Aging Studies 26, 515–526.Google Scholar
Franco, MR, Tong, A, Howard, K, Sherrington, C, Ferreria, PH, Pinto, RZ and Ferreira, ML (2015) Older people's perspectives on participation in physical activity: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative literature. British Journal of Sports Medicine 49, 1268–1276.Google Scholar
Gilleard, C and Higgs, P (2000) Cultures of Ageing: Self, Citizen, and the Body. London: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Gilleard, C and Higgs, P (2010) Aging without agency: theorizing the fourth age. Aging and Mental Health 14, 121–128.Google Scholar
Grant, B (2012) ‘Against the grain’: over 75 years and joining a community exercise programme. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health 4, 1–14.Google Scholar
Heuser, L (2005) We're not too old to play sports: the career of women lawn bowlers. Leisure Studies 24, 45–60.Google Scholar
Higgs, P and Gilleard, C (2015 a) Fitness and consumerism in later life. In Tulle, E and Phoenix, C (eds), Physical Activity and Sport in Later Life. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 32–42.Google Scholar
Higgs, P and Gilleard, C (2015 b) Rethinking Old Age: Theorizing the Fourth Age. London: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Higgs, P, Leontowitsch, M, Stevenson, F and Rees Jones, I (2009) Not just old and sick – the ‘will to health’ in later life. Ageing & Society 29, 687–707.Google Scholar
Higgs, P and McGowan, F (2013) Aging, embodiment and the negotiation of the Third and Fourth Ages. In Kampf, A, Marshall, BL and Petersen, A (eds), Aging Men, Masculinities and Modern Medicine. New York: Routledge, pp. 21–34.Google Scholar
Hudson, J, Day, MC and Oliver, EJ (2015) A ‘new life’ story or ‘delaying the inevitable’? Exploring older people's narratives during exercise uptake. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 16, part 3, 112–120.Google Scholar
Hurd, LC (1999) ‘We're not old!’: older women's negotiation of aging and oldness. Journal of Aging Studies 13, 419–439.Google Scholar
Hurd Clarke, LC (2011) Facing Age: Women Growing Older in Anti-aging Culture. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
Katz, S (2000) Busy bodies: activity, aging, and the management of everyday life. Journal of Aging Studies 14, 135–152.Google Scholar
Katz, S and Calasanti, T (2015) Critical perspectives on successful aging: does it ‘appeal more than it illuminates’? The Gerontologist 55, 26–33.Google Scholar
Kern, ML, Reynolds, CA and Friedman, HS (2010) Predictors of physical activity patterns across adulthood: a growth curve analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 36, 1058–1072.Google Scholar
King, N and Calasanti, T (2013) Men's aging amidst intersecting relations of inequality. Sociology Compass 7, 699–710.Google Scholar
Kluge, MA (2002) Understanding the essence of a physically active lifestyle: a phenomenological study of women 65 and older. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity 10, 4–27.Google Scholar
Kluge, MA, Tang, A, Glick, L, LeCompte, M and Willis, B (2012) Let's keep moving: a dance movement class for older women recently relocated to a continuing care retirement community. Arts & Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice 4, 4–15.Google Scholar
Kosteli, M-C, Williams, SE and Cumming, J (2016) Investigating the psychosocial determinants of physical activity in older adults: a qualitative approach. Psychology & Health 31, 730–749.Google Scholar
Laslett, P (1996) A Fresh Map of Life: The Emergence of the Third Age. Second edition. London: Macmillan Press.Google Scholar
Laws, G (1995) Understanding ageism: lessons from feminism and postmodernism. The Gerontologist 35, 112–118.Google Scholar
Liechty, T, Dahlstrom, L, Sveinson, K, Son, JS and Rossow-Kimball, B (2014) Canadian men's perceptions of leisure time physical activity and the ageing body. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health 6, 20–44.Google Scholar
Lozano-Sufrategui, L, Pringle, A, Carless, D and McKenna, J (2017) ‘It brings the lads together’: a critical exploration of older men's experiences of a weight management programme delivered through a Healthy Stadia project. Sport in Society 20, 303–315.Google Scholar
Marshall, C and Rossman, GB (2016) Designing Qualitative Research. Sixth edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.Google Scholar
Marvasti, AB (2004) Qualitative Research in Sociology: An Introduction. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.Google Scholar
Minello, K and Nixon, D (2017) ‘Hope I never stop’: older men and their two-wheeled love affairs. Annals of Leisure Research 20, 75–95.Google Scholar
Nelson, TD (ed.) (2002) Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.Google Scholar
O'Brien Cousins, S (2000) My heart couldn't take it: older women's belief about exercise benefits and risks. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 55B, P283–P294.Google Scholar
Olanrewaju, O, Kelly, S, Cowan, A, Brayne, C and Lafortune, L (2016) Physical activity in community dwelling older people: a systematic review of reviews of interventions and context. PLOS ONE 11, 1–19.Google Scholar
Orr, N and Phoenix, C (2015) Photographing physical activity: using visual methods to ‘grasp at’ the sensual experiences of the ageing body. Qualitative Research 15, 454–472.Google Scholar
Patton, MQ (2002) Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods. Fourth edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.Google Scholar
Phoenix, C (2010) Auto-photography in aging studies: exploring issues of identity construction in mature bodybuilders. Journal of Aging Studies 24, 167–180.Google Scholar
Phoenix, C and Orr, N (2014) Pleasure: a forgotten dimension of physical activity in older age. Social Science & Medicine 115, 94–102.Google Scholar
Phoenix, C and Smith, B (2011) Telling a (good?) counterstory of aging: natural bodybuilding meets the narrative of decline. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 66B, 628–639.Google Scholar
Phoenix, C and Sparkes, AC (2009) Being Fred: big stories, small stories and the accomplishment of a positive ageing identity. Qualitative Research 9, 219–236.Google Scholar
Pietila, I, Ojala, H, King, N and Calasanti, T (2013) Aging male bodies, health and the reproduction of age relations. Journal of Aging Studies 27, 243–251.Google Scholar
Pike, ECJ (2012) Aquatic antiques: swimming off this mortal coil? International Review for the Sociology of Sport 47, 492–510.Google Scholar
Schmidt, L, Rempel, G, Murray, TC, McHugh, TL and Vallance, JK (2016) Exploring beliefs around physical activity among older adults in rural Canada. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being 11, 32914.Google Scholar
Sims-Gould, J, Hurd Clarke, L, Ashe, MC, Naslund, J and Liu-Ambrose, T (2010) Renewal, strength and commitment to self and others: older women's reflections of the benefits of exercise using photovoice. Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise 2, 250–266.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2015) Directly Measured Physical Activity of Adults, 2012 and 2013. Health Fact Sheet 82-625-X, Statistics Canada. Available online at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-625-x/2015001/article/14135-eng.htm (Accessed 11 April 2017).Google Scholar
Tulle, E (2008) Acting your age? Sports science and the ageing body. Journal of Aging Studies 22, 340–347.Google Scholar
Tulle, E (2017) Becoming a hillwalker: incorporating history in understandings of physical activity. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health 9, 170–182.Google Scholar