Table 5 Factors contributing to continuous engagement in physical activity
From: Senior orienteering athletes as a model of healthy aging: a mixed-method approach
Main categories | Generic categories | Sub-categories |
|---|---|---|
Body-related factors | Feeling better than others | Profit from the physical activity |
To feel better than others (physically) | ||
To feel stronger than your peers | ||
Good genes | Good genes (genetic inheritance) | |
Self-related factors | Competitiveness | Being competitive |
Being successful | ||
Competing with your self | ||
Orienteering as a sport | ||
Interest in sports | Interest in sports | |
Feeling privileged | Feeling privileged | |
Feeling talented | Feeling talented | |
Having fun | It is like a party | |
It is fun | ||
To be happy (by physical activity) | ||
Passion | Not a must (driven by will/desire) | |
Receiving energy (by physical activity) | ||
To cope (i.e. to have endurance) | To keep going (with life) | |
To keep up a good mood | ||
External factors | Being outdoors | Fresh air and sunshine |
Near nature and going outdoors | ||
Community | Being part of a community | |
Lifelong sport | A type of sports that you can be part of for as long as you live | |
Routine | Getting used to being active | |
The need to go outdoors for fresh air | ||
The need to move after being still | ||
Supportive environment | Brothers and sisters | |
Childhood support (family/social) | ||
Childhood sports | ||
Friends | ||
Good PE teachers | ||
Not so many other options (in your youth) | ||
Parents have an important part | ||
Unofficial competitions | ||
Social interaction | Sharing the same interest as your children/partner | |
Social interaction over generations (lots of different ages) | ||
To socialize |