A–B. Active Living and Movement Competence · Active Living and Movement: Train with Purpose, Play with Strategy

Why I Move: Enjoyment, Motivation and Lifelong Activity

A1.2 1.2 1.5About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain the factors that make physical activity enjoyable for me.
I can use the ideas of autonomy, competence and relatedness to explain why people stay motivated.
I can describe factors that help people stay active for life, including through changes like finishing high school.
I can write if-then plans to overcome my own barriers to regular activity.

Words to know

enjoyment factor
Something that makes an activity fun or satisfying for a particular person, such as being with friends, music, challenge or being outdoors.

autonomy
Feeling that you have choice and control over what you do.

competence
Feeling capable and seeing yourself improve.

relatedness
Feeling connected to and accepted by other people.

if-then plan
A plan that links a specific situation to a specific action: "If ___ happens, then I will ___."

life transition
A big change in your life, such as finishing school, starting work or moving, that can disrupt routines.

Remember from Grade 9

In PPL1O you learned the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines (at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day for youth), the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, common barriers (time, weather, motivation, cost, access) and time management.

Grade 10 digs into why motivation lasts for some people and fades for others, and how to keep moving when your life changes.

Hook: the teenage drop-off

Watch a playground: young kids run, climb and chase without being told. Yet Canadian report cards on youth activity (such as those from ParticipACTION) have repeatedly found that many teens do not meet the activity guidelines, and activity tends to drop as teens get older.

Why? Teens get busier, some stop playing organized sports, and some no longer feel that activity is "for them". The good news: the factors that keep people active are well understood, and you can use them on purpose.

What A1.2 asks of you

In Grade 10 you should show that you understand:

the factors that contribute to your personal enjoyment of being active;
the factors that can support lifelong participation;
actions you could take to overcome challenges and barriers to being active regularly.

Enjoyment is personal. One person loves the challenge of a 10 km run; another hates running but loves dancing with friends. Neither is wrong. The goal is to find your enjoyment factors.

Three needs that keep motivation going

Psychologists who study motivation (in a well-known model called self-determination theory) have found that people stick with activities when three needs are met:

Autonomy: you have choice. You picked the activity, the time or the route. "I chose to go for a bike ride" feels very different from "I had to."
Competence: you feel capable and see progress. Small wins matter.
Relatedness: you feel connected to people: a team, a running partner, a family walk, an online group.

When all three are present, motivation shifts toward the intrinsic end: you do it because you enjoy it or truly value it, not just for a reward. That kind of motivation lasts.

Three needs that support lasting motivation: autonomy (choice), competence (feeling capable) and relatedness (connection). An activity that meets all three is much easier to stick with.

Staying active for life

School makes activity easy: gym class, teams, intramurals and a schedule. After high school those supports often disappear. Factors that help people stay active for life include:

Activities that don't need a full team (running, cycling, swimming, strength training, yoga, hiking).
Skills learned young, so new activities don't feel scary.
Community connections: rec-centre programs, community leagues, clubs, campus intramurals.
Active transportation: walking or cycling to school or work builds activity into the day.
Enjoyment and identity: thinking of yourself as "someone who moves".
Flexibility: having indoor, outdoor, summer and winter options.

Life transitions (finishing school, starting work, moving) can break activity routines. Planning for them, with community programs, active travel and activities you can do alone or with a few people, helps you stay active for life.

Overcoming barriers with if-then plans

Grade 9 strategies like "manage your time" are good, but vague plans often fail. Research on if-then plans shows that linking a specific situation to a specific action makes people more likely to follow through:

If [situation], then I will [action].

The "if" should be a barrier you know will happen. The "then" should be small, specific and ready to go. You don't decide in the moment, so there is nothing to argue with yourself about.

Three if-then plans. Each links a barrier the student expects (rain, tiredness, a cancelled plan) to a small, specific action that has already been decided.

Living skills: coping (1.2) and planning (1.5)

If-then plans are an adaptive and coping skill (1.2): they help you handle setbacks without quitting. Writing them is critical and creative thinking (1.5): you predict problems, plan solutions and later evaluate whether they worked.

Worked example

Let's write Amir's if-then plans

Amir wants to be active 60 minutes a day. His barriers: (1) he works at a grocery store Tuesday and Thursday evenings; (2) in January it's dark and cold when he gets home; (3) he loses motivation when he works out alone. Write an if-then plan for each barrier.

Barrier 1 (time on work days): "If it's a work day, then I'll walk the 15 minutes to work and back, and do a 20-minute body-weight circuit before my shift." That's 30 + 20 = 50 minutes, plus a gym class or lunch game.
Barrier 2 (dark and cold): "If it's dark when I get home, then I'll do my workout indoors (skipping in the basement, a dance video or stairs), or go out in reflective layers with a buddy on lit streets."
Barrier 3 (low motivation alone): "If I don't feel like working out alone, then I'll text my cousin to join me for a video call workout, or join the school's after-school running club." This adds relatedness.
Check: each plan names a specific situation, a specific action, and is realistic for Amir.

Amir's plans turn three predictable barriers into automatic actions. He will review them after two weeks to see which ones worked (evaluating his choices).

Worked example

Let's find an enjoyment profile

Lina rates how much she enjoyed four sessions (1 = not at all, 5 = loved it): solo treadmill run 2; run in the park with a friend 5; solo home yoga with music 4; team volleyball where she sat out a lot 2. What are her enjoyment factors?

Compare the runs: same activity, different rating. The difference is the friend and being outdoors. Relatedness and setting matter to her.
Yoga with music scored 4: she can enjoy solo activity when it has music and is calm.
Volleyball scored 2: sitting out meant less playing time and little chance to feel competent.
Conclusion: her enjoyment factors are friends, outdoors, music and lots of active time.

Lina should plan more social outdoor activities and music-based sessions, and choose games where she gets plenty of playing time (for example, small-sided games).

Hands-on activity

Enjoyment experiment and barrier plan

You need: running shoes, water, a timer, music (optional), a notebook, and a friend or family member for one session.

Over one week, do the same activity (for example, a 20-minute brisk walk or jog, or a skipping circuit) in three different ways:

Alone, indoors or on your street, no music.
Alone with music or a podcast, on a route you choose.
With a friend or family member, outdoors in a park.

After each, rate enjoyment (1 to 5) and write one sentence about why.

Then:

List your top three enjoyment factors.
Write three if-then plans for barriers you really face.
Try one plan this week and record whether it worked.

Safety: warm up for 5 minutes and cool down for 5. If you go out when it's getting dark, wear reflective clothing and go with a buddy on lit, familiar routes. Keep your volume low enough to hear traffic, or use one earbud.

Just for fun

If-then plan, honest version: "If my running shoes are by the door, then I'll go for a run." "If my running shoes are under a pile of laundry, then the laundry wins." Keep the shoes by the door.

Your turn

Name the three parts of A1.2 in Grade 10.

Define autonomy, competence and relatedness.

Which need is met when a teacher lets students choose between three activities?

Write an if-then plan for "I have too much homework on Wednesdays."

Give two factors that support lifelong activity.

Why do if-then plans work better than "I'll try harder"?

What life transition can make staying active harder?

More practice: warm-up

How many minutes of MVPA a day do the guidelines recommend for youth?

Is "I run because I love how it clears my head" intrinsic or extrinsic?

Name one activity you can easily do alone for life.

Fill in: an if-then plan links a specific ______ to a specific ______.

What is active transportation?

More practice: on your own

Lina enjoyed running with a friend (5) but not alone (2). Which need explains the difference? Suggest a plan.

A student quits soccer because he rarely gets to play. Which need was missing? What could the coach change?

Explain why someone who only plays one school team sport might stop being active after graduation.

Write an if-then plan for winter darkness that keeps safety in mind.

Turn this vague plan into an if-then plan: "I'll be more active on weekends."

Challenge

Design a gym-class unit on fitness that meets all three needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness). Give one feature for each.

Predict two barriers you may face in your first year after high school and write an if-then plan for each.

Two students both want to be active. Ana values activity for her health but finds it boring; Ben finds it fun. Using the motivation continuum, whose motivation is likely to last longer, and how could Ana move toward Ben's?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which need is met when you feel connected to your teammates?

Which is a well-formed if-then plan?

Which factor most supports staying active after high school?

"I chose my own route for my bike ride today." This supports:

A1.2 asks you to understand the factors that contribute to:

Which motivation is most likely to last?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation A1.2 asks students to understand what makes activity enjoyable for them, what supports lifelong activity, and how to overcome barriers. This lesson uses three needs from motivation research (autonomy, competence, relatedness) and specific if-then plans.

How to help at home:

Ask your teen which version of the enjoyment experiment they liked best and why.
Offer choices rather than orders ("Want to bike or walk to the store?") to support autonomy.
Be an activity partner when you can; connection is a powerful motivator.
Talk about how your own activity changed after high school and what helped or didn't.

Common difficulties:

Vague plans ("I'll try harder"). Help them make the situation and action specific.
Assuming enjoyment is the same for everyone. Encourage them to find their own factors.
All-or-nothing thinking. A 15-minute walk on a busy day still counts.

Safety: after dark, encourage lit routes, reflective clothing and a buddy, and keep music low enough to hear traffic.