Themes, sub-themes and frequency of times mentioned across focus groups
| Main theme | Sub-theme | Example | Number of times discussed in each group | ||
| Exercising men n=11 | Non-exercising men n=14 | Women (Exercisers and non-exercisers) n=4 | |||
| Motivators and benefits of exercise | |||||
| Intrapersonal | Sense of accomplishment | “For me, yeah. It’s a badge of something. It is an achievement and I was so proud of myself cause that was the first time that I’d danced in so long.” “And I’ll set, for instance on my stationary bike how far I’m going to go. And try to achieve that. And I really feel good when I achieve that goal. And probably move it up a little bit the next time.” | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| Health-related motivators | “But I guess one of my goals is that I am self-sufficient and able to live in my own home. We own our own home. I want to be able to stay in my own home. That’s important to me.” “So it is like yeah, I’ve got to exercise. Keep eating, but keep exercising so I don’t blow up like a balloon. Because if I do, I’m not going to walk again.” “If you want to live longer, you have to get a trainer and join a gym. He said lean muscle mass and organ tissue is the key.” | 23 | 6 | 12 | |
| Positive mood change | “For me it is a lot of a reliever of stress. It gives you that freedom in your head. You feel much better, you know?” “And my partner, many years ago, suggested and encouraged me to find some kind of exercise that I enjoyed. And it was that encouragement that I discovered the pool. And I went over there and to this day, I believe that for some reason, just simply being in the water is like a safe zone for depression.” | 22 | 11 | 3 | |
| Increased energy | “And by exercising, I find I get a lot more energy than if I’m just sitting around like a couch potato, not doing anything. So…I try to make it a regular part of my life.” “I just have lived through a variety of things I could do to improve my vitality and I’ve found that exercise is the most energising.” | 13 | 3 | 4 | |
| Thinking is clearer | [when asked to describe how he feels when exercising] “Focused and present. Mindful and serene.” | 9 | 15 | 2 | |
| Interpersonal | Social activities outside of exercise | “I’ve found that if you have a lot of people who are more active, you tend to be more active.” “I think the community part of it connects me. So I want to go [to the gym] at the same time cause I know the same people are going to be there. It gets me on that schedule.” “And for many years, what got me over to the pool was knowing I would see people that I enjoyed being with. And then I would spend the first hour socialising and you know, we had a routine where we’d visit for quite a while.” | 12 | 18 | 7 |
| Barriers to exercise | |||||
| Intrapersonal | Physical health (medication side effects, fatigue, disability, other health issues) | “Well, it’s funny that you mention the chemo and stuff, because after I got done with the Interferon for the Hep C treatment, I noticed my energy level was zapped. And even to this day, I’m not back to where I was 7 1/2 years ago, prior to starting that, you know?” “And then I got really sick and I had a lot of problems with my legs and I wasn’t really able to walk. And then I had to battle that, even though it was a missed diagnosis. I had a PIC line for 6 months, so I didn’t work out for that period either. And so there were medical reasons and drug reasons why I didn’t work out.” “Well, you know…I’m not very active. I have a spinal thing going on. And…they are probably going to have to operate on. So I’ve been kind of out of the exercise programme…I was in the hospital for about 9 months.” | 20 | 36 | 20 |
| Lack of motivation or self-efficacy | “I mean…trying to get motivated at an older age is difficult cause you do have to be motivated and you do have to be focused. But…it is just not there really…” “So I could go back into something that I feel like I’m comfortable in. But the motivation to believe in myself and to have the ability to know that I can do it again, would probably be the hardest part for me.” | 3 | 21 | 8 | |
| Age-related barriers | “I think one of the biggest problems with gyms today, they are activities. And there are a lot of them that are …their focus is younger people. They don’t have age related…they don’t cater to, you know, the broader demographics of society.” “That’s why I don’t play any hockey because it would take me a week to recuperate. When you are younger, it takes a couple hours and you are good to go.” | 3 | 17 | 9 | |
| Interpersonal | Social factors (caregiver burden, lack of social group, lack of support from family and friends) | “But I’m finding myself more and more and more just staying in the apartment for a number of reasons. Number one, I don’t have anybody to do anything with.” “Yeah. I have a problem with accountability. Doing it by myself is hard to do.” | 9 | 3 | 10 |
| Environmental | Comfort at the gym | “I don’t want to get naked at the gym anymore and I like getting naked to use the facility. I mean you know, you take a shower and you take a steam. But I just don’t want to do it anymore.” “But I got so embarrassed because there were probably mostly women. Elderly. And they would hand the pin at #10 to be able to do each machine. And I couldn’t do 10. So I would…So I would sit down and watch the women. And they would see…I got so embarrassed…so I would deliberately put it back to 10 and I was done.” | 2 | 10 | 5 |
| Gym culture | “I always assume I am going to be sold. Like there is going to be a sales person there at the gym of some sort, that is going to sell me on some package or something… They aren’t really concerned about my needs but what they can get out of me.” | 3 | 23 | 1 | |
| Ideal gym/next steps | |||||
| Facility level factors | Cost | “Back when I used to go to the gym, to the public gym, the charges were like 5.00 a year or something…but man, it is hundreds of dollars now.” “Again, feel the same. I look at exercise…going to a gym. I wouldn’t mind going to a gym…if I could afford it.” | 11 | 14 | 5 |
| Amenities (age-appropriate and varied activities, instructions, good facilities) | “So maybe have like the ones that cater to the 20 to 30, maybe 30 to 40 and someone that caters to the 40 to 40 plus year olds?” “I’d much rather not ask questions about something. Like if the machine had a basic sign that it is used for this. And best to be used after this…kind of a 5 point user’s manual.” “I like a clean gym where things are working, you know? Where parking is easy.” | 3 | 11 | 2 | |
| Social factors | Who is at the gym | “I just want to be by myself at the gym…I mean if they had a gym for HIV, I still wouldn’t go because why advertise it?” “…having people around you that are of a similar age…you don’t feel…I don’t know if it’s threatened or whatever, but you just feel more at ease. You know?” “I need a place where I can talk about HIV.” | 12 | 21 | 3 |
| Interpersonal interactions | “Yeah. Yeah. Again, the gym is not going to miss you, if you don’t show up. But if you’ve got a buddy, he might give you a call and go where the hell are you?” “And I think that there is a social aspect to it. I don’t like competition with other people. But I like being around other people and sharing the same kind of things that they do.” “Yeah. A little check in with people. How are you doing? How’s your work out? And just whatever conversation it is. I like that.” | 40 | 25 | 11 | |