The More Women Move, the Better We Feel

It’s a great time for running. Attendance is up at races, and new people are becoming involved. Many of us are excited about the approaching Olympic and Paralympic Games, and over and over again we hear about gender parity and an equal number of men and women competing in the upcoming Paris 2024 Games. 

Many women reading this, however, face a number of barriers that prevent them from reaching a level of fitness, activity, or running they wish could. While research has been done on the barriers to exercise for women, to date not much has been shared on how to overcome these barriers—no toolkits have been created to minimize the gender exercise gap between men and women. That is until now. 

In 2022, ASICS set out to understand our state of mind while exercising. We were still in a pandemic, and the fatigue of the isolation was wearing us all down. Despite this, the research showed that as little as fifteen minutes and nine seconds of physical activity daily demonstrated a positive impact on the world’s mental health. The team also uncovered a gender exercise gap; women were exercising far less than their male counterparts. Instead of leaving the findings there, ASICS set out to understand this gender exercise gap and began to develop a toolkit to help women be more active.

Enter the ASICS Move Her Mind Study.

ASICS engaged with leading movement and wellbeing researchers, Dr. Dee Dlugonski, Assistant Professor at Sports Medicine Research Institute, University of Kentucky, and Associate Professor Brendon Stubbs of King’s College London. Using an evidenced-based approach, the team created a survey and hosted focus groups across the world.

26 focus groups took place and almost 25,000 people completed the survey in over 40 countries. 

What do we know? “The more women move, the better women feel. Yet, over half of women are dropping out or stopping exercise completely, and all women are facing a myriad of barriers to exercise throughout their lifetime.”

Let me share a little more about what ASICS learned through the Move Her Mind Study:

1. Physical activity is positively linked to a woman’s state of mind—the more the exercise, the better the feel.
2. Despite knowing this, more than half of women are not exercising as much as they would like to—working women, mothers and homemakers were the least active across all women.
3. Motherhood is a challenging time to remain active—between gendered expectations about caregiving and household responsibilities, women drop out of their regular exercise routine.
4. As women age their activity levels decrease—several challenges and barriers make exercise challenging for women. 
5. The three most reported barriers include lack of time, other commitments, and the cost to be active. 

Here’s what’s really interesting with the Move Her Mind study, when we asked men what they thought the main challenges women faced when it came to remaining active, they cited body image insecurity, fear of harassment, and fear of judgment. While these are some of the barriers for women, these are not the primary barriers and challenges women face.

These findings are not unique. This is supported by work I and my colleagues do in the Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre at the University of Toronto; we’ve found similar results when it comes to the barriers that girls and women face when it comes to exercise and movement. 

What can we do to make exercise and movement more accessible for women? 

When ASICS interviewed me as part of their work, I suggested that, “We need to reframe the meaning of physical activity and not allow ourselves to be shamed into exercise culture. Personalisation and accessibility are key—we must empower women to do what’s best for them. Even a short power walk or running around with children in the park should be viewed as physical activity!”

What else can you do to help?

1. Creating accessible, affordable, safe and inclusive spaces for women within sport and exercise. Allison Hill and Hill Run Club, “a body positive, size inclusive, culturally sensitive, mindful running club” are a wonderful example of this here in Toronto. Meanwhile, Tarrant Crosschild and Prairie Run Club in Saskatoon are doing great work to make running more accessible to everyone, and they’ve got a fun women’s only track event coming this spring. (Also dig the Reconciliation Run in Manitoba this fall). 

2. Educating everyone about the specific needs of women and girls. I’m on a mission to destigmatize the menstrual cycle across the lifespan. From saying the word ‘period’ to ‘bleeding,’ talking more about pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause, we all play a role in understanding girls and women’s needs. Have a stash of period products. Talk openly about the menstrual cycle and how it can affect training—from the emotions to the physical effects. 

3. Using visual representations of real women. If you manage a social media account, think about who is represented and more importantly: who are you missing? If you’re a race director, ensure women represent half the start line, use a diversity of women’s images in the pre- and post-race media, and ensure cutoff times are welcoming for all participants. 

4. Challenging gendered expectations for girls and women. This is for the men, but also for us women to remember: we don’t have to fall victim to gendered expectations. If both you and your partner are active, make sure you make women’s exercise an equal priority. Consider dividing up household chores and caregiving so everyone has an opportunity to be active. Better yet, what can you do together as a family to be active? Walk or hike your local city, provincial or national park. Go for a bike ride. Walk, run, or wheel together to school. Make sure we check in with the women in our lives to ensure they’re meeting their desired physical activity levels; if not, be part of the solution to make that happen. 

While the Paris 2024 Olympics may reach gender parity, we still have a ways to go to make physical activity and exercise more accessible and available to all women. Here’s what ASICS learned about facilitators behind exercise to help women get or remain active:

1. Setting and meeting personal physical activity goals.
2. Using technology, such as phones, smart watches, and apps to hold us accountable and to track our progress.
3. Having access to safe exercise spaces and equipment.
4. Signing up for a race or event.
5. Being active with friends and teammates.

Exercise has the power to change the world. Climate change will continue to be disruptive. By switching to walking, running, or biking, whether it’s to the local store, to work, or to get the kids to school, these simple changes not only help minimize the effects of climate change, these daily movements will make your mental and physical health better. Running is for every body. Every gender. Every human. It is the job of us all in this community to ensure everyone has equal access to health.