Why do so many people give up on physical fitness after hs and college?

I would say it starts before that. About 70% of kids in organized sports at age 13 drop out after age 13. With HS PE having been cut way back over the past couple of decades you are seeing kids being less active.

So if a 14 year old kid is not active odds are he/she will never be. A few will "see the light" in their late 20s or early 30s.

1. children

2. really good shows on tv

3. an American work week that is far longer than the European work week

4. lack of easy access to parks and trails

5. shitty weather. Lets face it the northeast and midwest suck from sometime in november to late march. Ditto for the south in late April/early May all the way to October.

I thought about this the other day. I can go run in the college town near me and see all sorts of folks running around campus in the mid afternoon, but in the suburbs where I live, I can typically count the number of runners I see on a given day on one hand.

1. Laziness. When the goal is a complete lack of energy expenditure, voluntary excersize is the biggest possible mistake. Most people over the age of 11 have this trait.

2. Routine. Most people over 36 want to do the same thing they always do at this time on this day. Ask them if they want to do anything at all and the true answer (whether or not they say this) will be: Not a chance, because I have established a routine and don't like change or even variation. This may also answer the question: "Why do adults who run often keep doing so until they're elderly?"

3. The need for a team. 'Just going running' as a means to further some vague, distant, goal seems meaningless to most. Add school colors and you can do it for the glory of the school, town, state, etc.

Also, damn few people have the motivational profile that allows difficult, uncomfortable training when no one's 'making' you do it. (This forum attracts them, but it's nowhere near 1% of the population.) A drill seargent screaming at you may overcome this. Much easier is to not do it.

The anwer to OP's question is exactly the same as the answer to the following:

"Why do so few high school and college students who are eligible to run for a school team run, train and race without any school endorsement or affiliation?"

The weak and unmotivated need these institutions to get off the couch. When access to them ends, on the couch they remain.

And kids aren't even allowed outside without their parents, so they are far more sedentary. Afterward childhood, they allow work, school, and kids to be excuses when in fact they can use all these things to get more exercise. For instance, they can run with their kids on bikes or skateboards or the like; they can run or bike to or from work or during lunch hour; they can get on work or intramural teams or find exercise partners that way; they can use work or school athletic facilities; and they can just generally get out and be active with the kids, instead of staying indoors typing on the Internets. In fact, that's what I'm going to do now, though I do have an excuse, being sick and having run 12 miles earlier today.

Chronic sleep deprivation and long commute. Average American is sleeping less than 7 hours a night, which a) is stupid, but b) also drains your willpower and c) tends to make you gain weight. If you're already tired all the time and it takes you 30-40 minutes to get home, all you want to do is sit down and eat shit.

a lot of them get fat and then get all into fitness when they hit their late 20's. Now with social media all my classmates do is post their fitness for the day or how many miles they ran at 10 min. pace. Most don't lose much weight though or go in waves of this. I think you really need to be athletic and consistent most your life. Exercise shouldn't be done by the time you get fat, but to avoid getting fat.

I was great until 123 punch of baby, job change with a commute, and injury. Then I learned about the other reason people quit working out. When you think you're good at something, but then you go do it and you suck - It's depressing.

Still holding out for a comeback.

Maybe they don't care about getting fit. I know this is hard for many people on this board to understand, but there is a world outside of fitness..

Yeah, it's called "obesity" and "atherosclerosis" and "type II diabetes".

Dr. Spacemen wrote:

Yeah, it's called "obesity" and "atherosclerosis" and "type II diabetes".

Interestingly, loneliness is a bigger risk factor for dying young than poor diet and exercise habits. If you work-out like mad but have no friends you aren't doing yourself any favors.

funny, I was going to say commute earlier. An hour lost in traffic each day for me. Still make time to run though, but a lot of people can't find the extra time with the "work culture" of this country.

yeah, injury sucks. Takes forever to get back. Going from a 36min 10k runner to 45min is indeed demoralizing.

Piano_Man87 wrote:

Dr. Spacemen wrote:

Yeah, it's called "obesity" and "atherosclerosis" and "type II diabetes".

Interestingly, loneliness is a bigger risk factor for dying young than poor diet and exercise habits. If you work-out like mad but have no friends you aren't doing yourself any favors.

Yes, tell us how loneliness is a greater cardiac risk factor than hypertension, diabetes, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, and familial cardiac history.

Regale us with your oh so great knowledge of medicine layman.

Next time I interview a patient with chest pain I'll be sure to rule out "loneliness" before pulmonary embolism, aortic dissection, myocardial infarction, esophageal rupture, and pneumonia.

Regarding loneliness

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/senior-health-loneliness-health-risk

Looks like risk factor was studied in those >50

If you are a doc, you might consider asking your patients about this aspect of their lives.

I'd say a big reason is that most people get married or are in long term relationships and get too comfortable. After awhile people just stop caring about looking good and being in shape because they're already set.

If you're single and or don't have kids you wouldn't understand.

I'm in medical school and manage to workout 1 hour a day. I guarantee I am more busy than 99% of my peers and a good amount of married couples too (even those with kids). What is the secret to fitting exercise into my schedule? I don't watch television, sports, movies, or play childish video games. Don't get me wrong I like to be entertained, but people need to grow up and stop watching hours of television every night and then bitch about they are fat.

That guy that paced Galen Rupp at BU works in investment banking and ran sub 4 this year. People like him and those on letsrun are outliers. With every passing decade Americans are becoming more soft.

it's not really "giving up" since we're never "taught" physical fitness. sports in grade school/MS/HS/college are sold as ways to fill time, meet people & make friends, develop camaraderie and push each other, and learn life skills like teamwork & perseverance. during the time i played organized sports from ages 5-22, never once did i hear a coach preach about physical health & wellbeing or say "now lets go do those sprints/lift weights/run extra stairs/etc to improve our health!". It was all about trying to win and be the best team and/or individual you could be. for 90% of people the desire to do physical activity is greatly diminished/gone once they don't have teammates to do it with/team goals to work towards. "I should do this for my health" is never a thought because that type of thinking is never ingrained in us as a driving force behind working out. other factors:1) marriage - no reason to be in shape once you've found someone2) all-or-nothing attitude - when former athletes gain 10-15 pounds, i think most reason that "well, it be easier to just let myself go than work my butt off to get back to my playing days weight". so they say "F it" and go off the deep end.

victory has defeated you! wrote:

I mean seriously all it takes is maybe 30 min out of a 24hr day to maintain a level of decent fitness. However people make excuse after excuse. Why?

I agree with many of the explanations stated earlier. I'd also add that many of the positive effects of fitness are often long term and subtle. It's easy to defer to a later time to "get back into shape" and many keep deferring or give up. I know a few people who need to be fit, there life may depend on it and they don't do squat.."It's hard" or "I'm busy" so they avoid it. I have a feeling there may be a lot of deathbed regrets. Not fit, probably not healthy, I think we can see how this is going to tun out in the not so distant future.