TABLE 3.

Themes and Subthemes Related to Barriers and Facilitators of Physical Activity After Retirement

Theme	Subtheme	Illustrative Quotations
1. Women’s leisure-time physical activity habits develop over the lifespan		“Well, for the ones [of my retired friends] that are [physically] active [since retiring], they’ve always been active. They’re like me.” (Participant 10)
2. Women’s perceptions of physical activity differed depending on whether they retired from active versus sedentary jobs	2.1 Women who retired from active jobs viewed retirement as a time to slow down	“I just wanted to take a nice rest and not do anything because I’ve worked since I was 15 years old. I am going on 70 now. So, I just wanted to take a rest and do nothing for a while.” (Participant 6) “Well, I’m not working. I’m at home so it’s a much more sedate lifestyle. I do a lot more sitting. I just—I mean I don’t have to get up and go all the time like I did.” (Participant 1)
	2.2 Women who retired from sedentary jobs viewed retirement as a time to get moving	“I didn’t really do much [when I was working] except go from meeting to meeting and program to program. And, now that I’m retired, I can just sort of focus on like getting in shape… So, there’s a lot more physical activity in retirement than there was when I had a desk job.” (Participant 11)
3. Women’s opportunities for physical activity after retirement were shaped by concurrent life transitions		“Well, when I first retired, I was very active because I had all my mornings free… And then, my parents became ill… so I had to put the Y and everything on the back burner for a while… I’ll tell you, [caregiving] took up pretty much my whole life for a while.” (Participant 14) “But I really don’t know that many people here. I mean, when I lived in [previous state], I always… [had a] big group of friends so when I did have leisure time there was always somebody to do something with. It’s less so here. I know quite a few less people.” (Participant 5)
4. Declining health was a barrier and motivator of physical activity after retirement	4.1 Physical limitations made it more difficult for women to be physically active	“[Arthritis] is why I don’t do aerobics as much because it seems to feel like it’s, I wouldn’t say injuring me, but it seems to be more difficult. So, I prefer the water aerobics because I don’t feel pain.” (Participant 15)
	4.2 Beliefs about physical and mental health benefits of physical activity motivated some women to be active, but inactive women were not motivated to be active despite awareness of potential health benefits	“I tell myself as I’m walking, ‘Well, you’re doing this for this problem. And you’re doing this for the other problem.’ Mentally, it makes me feel as if I have more control over the health conditions I have.” (Participant 7) “It’s everywhere, you read it, it’s on television, your doctor tells you, ‘you need to do this, it’s important, you’ll live longer.’ So, I think the problem [reason I do not do physical activity] is just me: the motivation.” (Participant 8)
5. Women’s physical activity was influenced by availability of social support and interaction	5.1 Family, friends, and church networks provided information and encouragement to be physically active	“We’re both of us [my husband and I] together really trying to keep in shape, stay in shape… So anyway, we sort of both motivate each other.” (Participant 11) “[Physical activity is] also a good way to socialize. You know, you just get out of the house and you’re being with other people. I think that’s really important too.” (Participant 1)
	5.2 Opportunities to socialize and make new friends also motivated some women to participate in group exercise but only when they believed they could find companions	“I don’t do much because I don’t have anybody to do it with. You know, maybe if I had a partner or a friend that wanted to get involved in activities and such, then I probably would do more. But by me being by myself, I don’t do anything.” (Participant 2)
6. Neighborhood environments and community resources supported and constrained physical activity after retirement	6.1 The neighborhood environment was an important determinant of walking	“[The neighborhood] is pretty, they keep it up and it just makes a nice place to get out and exercise or walk… Well, it’s really pleasant because the atmosphere is nice and the people in the neighborhood are nice.” (Participant 3) “In this neighborhood, there are huge hills… There’s no route around this house that I could take that didn’t require a lot of hills. So, if I was going to walk, I would probably have to go somewhere else.” (Participant 8)
	6.2 Community recreational facilities, like senior centers or the Y, provided opportunities for non-walking physical activities	“Anything that we want to do is out there waiting, and most of it is free or minimal cost.” (Participant 8) “Being African American sometimes we feel that ‘Oh, no, that’s for white people.’ I have friends who tell me that all the time when I try to get them to be involved in something. They will tell me, ‘Oh, that’s for white people.’… They feel like it’s not for the African American people, it’s for white people… I’ll hear, ‘They don’t want us around them.’ I say, ‘How do you know until you go and see?’” (Participant 14)