Subtheme	Study	Direct participant data	Author description of data
Prioritising exercise	Campbell 2001	Alan: "It wasn't so much at home I am able to do it, it's more at work…Perhaps not as often as I would really like to, but I can do it quite freely then, because I'm totally on my own." Kenneth: "So many things happening…The boys used to come in from school or work…people come and see [wife] and ugh…I'm out twice at least a week to band practice and I have two engagements as well." p.134. Eileen: "Weekends I try to do [the exercises] but I am very busy on the weekend really it is the only chance I get to do sort of any cleaning. Then my family usually come up in the afternoon, my sister and her husband, because on the way to Mum's they always come in. Sunday's I have Mum on Sunday see, then I have her two sisters because they are older." p.134. Kenneth: "It's just excuses when it comes down to basics. I mean you know you could get up in the morning and do it between 6 or 7 or something like that." p.134. Geoffrey: "There was a time when I missed one [session with the physiotherapist]. I don't know why…I think it was taking the wife somewhere I don't know and I must honestly admit that her needs come as a priority as far as I am concerned." p.135.	While a positive disposition towards exercise could increase motivation, more important was the willingness and ability to accommodate the exercises into everyday life. People who ceased exercising often cited conflict with regular routines to explain why continuing with exercises was not possible. By giving these explanations, 2 participants could have been trying to portray themselves in a favourable light by indicating that their non‐compliance was due to family commitments and obligations. Nevertheless, later in their interviews, both went on to admit some personal responsibility for their lack of compliance. For example, 1 participant indicated that non‐compliance resulted from a combination of a busy life and a reduced commitment to the physiotherapy. 1 participant, who was only partially compliant even during the time he was seeing the physiotherapist, recalled in his interview that he had missed 1 of the sessions with the physiotherapist because, not unreasonably, he always put the needs of his wife, who had a progressive and debilitating disease, before his own needs. p.135.
	Hendry 2006	"…I try and say, 'OK well I'll go there [gym], have a shower and go shopping'. I also work in a charity shop on a Saturday so I can go before I go there you know…I try to fit it in." p.563. I try to fit exercise into my weekly routine. (25) I'm on a gym referral scheme, so I have a set time to go and that helps. p.562. I do my exercises when I remember but when I'm busy I forget. (15, 11) I don't have enough self‐discipline to make me exercise regularly. (11) Finding the time to go to the gym is a problem. p.562.	Prioritising exercise and making it part of a weekly routine helped some people to maintain their exercise habit. For other people finding time to exercise was a low priority; some because they did not consider exercise to be important or appropriate, while other people freely admitted to being lazy or lacking motivation.
	Hinman 2016	"It's part of life…I get up in the morning, I have a cup of coffee, I take my blood pressure medication, then I go and do my exercises…and I don't have to leave home!" p.486.	The structured programme enabled people with knee OA to incorporate the prescribed exercises into their daily schedules. p. 483.
	Hurley 2010	"…I do the exercises upstairs when I get up in the morning…I find I might have a bit more time, because during the day you tend to let things slide."	‐
	Moody 2012	No data reported.	There was much discussion surrounding all aspects around the timing of the classes (time of day, frequency, regularity, which days of the week, how many days a week, duration of class, duration of programme, continuity, time of year/season) and no consensus was reached. This discussion mostly hinged around tiredness, illness and business. Some people felt they could not manage twice a week as they got tired or were too busy, while other people would prefer the classes to be more frequent, for example, 3 times a week or more to derive more health benefits. p.67.
	Morden 2011	"My job's very important, really important at the moment. Not only for the money but for myself as well because when my husband died, I just had to get busy. I just like being busy." p.196.	Some people had ceased to exercise and this was due to differing priorities. In some cases, they worked or had familial obligations like child minding or carer duties to fulfil. The way that participants made priorities in their life was not a linear process. For example, spending a lot of time working was not just related to needing money. Rather, making priorities of how time was spent formed part of the ongoing 'back story' of participant's lives. 1 woman who had talked about her longstanding love of walking and the benefits of it for easing her knee pain outlined how she had chosen to do more hours at work to help her cope with the loss of her husband. The amount of time she spent in work then impacted upon the amount of time available to go walking. Knee pain was not the main priority. Often, the activities that people engaged in are related to psychological and social well‐being. It is not to say that some participants had lost the motivation to exercise in some cases. 1 participant had access to gym facilities as part of his job, but when he left that position he lost that benefit. As a result, he described how he had fallen out of the 'habit.' pp.195‐196.
	Thorstensson 2006	"One is so occupied that it is very easy not to find time for exercise. Everything else takes precedence."	To devote time. This conception included different aspects of time as essential for the effectiveness of the exercise. The statements concerned time as the most appropriate time point during disease course when first starting to exercise, and having adequate time to exercise. pp.55‐6.