Institutionalized requirements exert constraints.

Participants generally experienced declines in their temporal resources and subsequently in their daily PA as they transitioned into highly institutionalized and standardized contexts. In this regard, they particularly reflected on educational transitions, such as from kindergarten to primary school, from primary to secondary school, and from secondary school to university, but also into the labor market as incidences when they became less active in daily life [see also 11, 14]. Participants associated these transitions into new institutional contexts with new demands, such as extended school, university, or working hours, more homework or learning obligations, and increased commuting times, which consequently took a toll on their daily PA levels while simultaneously increasing their sedentary time. Sebastian, for example, described his transition to university:

“And then, with the beginning of the study it [daily PA] has decreased further and further (.). Um, because I then simply lacked the time at some point and I was basically more busy with studying (grins)”. (Sebastian)

It is noteworthy, however, that the impact these transitions had on temporal resources depended on the properties and requirements of an institutional context and the associated degrees of freedom. In this regard, participants described for example that daily PA tended to decrease across the transition from kindergarten to primary school, but that there was still time to be outdoors, meet with friends, and play as they used to do in kindergarten. This is in line with previous quantitative research, which found that decreases in PA across this transition occur especially during school, but not during children’s after-school leisure time [17] or the weekend [16] and that overall PA levels are still relatively high at this age [19]. In contrast, Jack described the transition from primary to secondary school and the associated declines in free time and daily PA in the following way:

“Then, yes, I think, at high school, that was probably a slump. Then it goes, um, first down, because just more school, also with school in the afternoon and so”. (Jack)

This in line with research that states that total PA tends to decline across this transition, which is additionally often accompanied by increases in post-school sedentary behavior and screen time [67–69].

The educational transitions from kindergarten to primary school and from primary to secondary school did not only affect daily PA, but also sport behavior as participants experienced significant reductions in their available time for sport activities due to the new demands and obligations. Anne illustrated her transition to a higher secondary school in the following way:

“Then here, at high school, I felt I had less time, because somehow, because for me personally, high school was more difficult than primary school. And then, I just had to learn more”. (Anne)

However, it is important to note that only few participants actually dropped out from their sport activities across these transitions. In this regard, the results may rather have to be considered under the premise that participants experienced less available time, which does not mean they had no time at all. Participants further experienced similar dynamics as they transitioned to university and into the labor market (especially when starting a desk job). Some even indicated a reinforcement of sedentary time, leaving less temporal resources for daily PA, sport, and exercise. In addition, if participants had to spend a full day at work, they were less willing to participate in sport activities since the circumstances might not suit them anymore, such as for example the time of the day, the weather, or the schedule of sport offers. Lisa, for example, described how she regularly came home late from school after starting her apprenticeship:

“And with the training just in the school blocks, I just didn’t have the time. Because then I would have had to drive there in the evening and in winter it was too dark and they didn’t have a riding hall. So it had, it was just impractical from the circumstances. Because I couldn’t have ridden through the forest in the dark”. (Lisa)

In this regard, it seems that the reallocation of temporal resources due to institutionalized requirements takes place first; in a subsequent step, individual priorities, motives, and also possibilities might also become re-evaluated. Hence, while there might actually be some time left, these timeslots of the day might not be the ones when sport activities are most enjoyable or convenient. These findings are in line with previous research that suggests that time-consuming activities, such as becoming a student or starting to work, can lead to a lack of time and individual flexibility, fatigue from work, logistic issues, and reduced opportunities and motivations to be physically active [30, 70–72]. However, we should also point out that, while starting to work often led to less available time for daily PA and sport activities outside of work, some participants also experienced an increase in their daily PA, mainly as occupational PA increased. Those experiences were particularly linked to physically demanding jobs such as starting an apprenticeship (e.g., to become a nurse or carpenter), beginning a civil service (e.g., in caring facilities, hospitals, or patient transport), or side jobs where they had to stand or walk a lot (e.g., sales, postal service, or cleaning).

Similar to starting a full-time job, participants experienced starting a side job as a time consuming endeavor limiting the temporal resources for sport activities. Most participants who described this tendency were enrolled at university while needing to work to finance their studies [see also 30]. Emma, who found herself confronted with multiple tasks and obligations, explained how additionally pursuing a sport activity was impossible for her:

“And then it went downhill, because then, at the beginning of [year], where I had the internship, a part-time job and my studies, I had no time at all. So, there, sport would have been just an additional burden. Even if you only do something for 10 minutes a day somehow. But that was just too much for me, because at times I left the house at 7 o’clock in the morning and came home at half past one. at night”. (Emma)

This is in line with previous considerations that different life domains might compete for temporal resources as life events conflate and thus lead to a termination of leisure-time PA [22].

Self-determination and routine offer freedom.

While the transitions into institutionalized contexts might mostly limit temporal resources to pursue PA, sport, and exercise, transitioning out of these settings was, in contrast, associated with a substantial increase in available time as requirements and duties dispersed. Participants described this feeling of new freedoms especially in the context of events, such as graduation or going abroad but also towards the end of their study. Those events share the commonality of decreased obligations and are associated with a sense of freedom and available time for oneself. However, these occasions are often short-term periods that are usually followed up by transitions into a new context (e.g., university or work) and the adoption of new roles, which are likely to decrease the available time again. Additionally, having more time does not necessarily mean that people actually pursue sport or exercise activities, especially if it is not important to them (e.g., when going abroad). We will elaborate further on this last point in the theme The plasticity of priorities and motives.

Some participants experienced an increase in the available time for sport activities as they started to work as it provided them with a clear daily structure and an end to the working day, as can be seen in George’s statement:

“I have to say that I have a bit more free time now while I’m working now, than during my studies. (..) Towards the end, after my exams, I had more time. I had fixed working hours”. (George)

In addition, flexible working hours and more freedom were perceived to allow more time for sport activities. In those instances, it might be more appropriate to speak of institutionalized opportunities than of constraints. Ben described his workday and the associated freedom during his civil service in the following words:

“And then the civil service, that was a dream. It was just great. So I had, I think around at half past three closing time and was then just free from everyday life’s burdens”. (Ben)

Similarly, several participants experienced their transition to university as a period when temporal resources became available again, as Michael, for example, indicated:

“Then came my undergraduate studies. Yes, I think probably already more time, I mean humanities are not so lecture-intensive at first, I must admit (grins). Um that is, yes so that is the normal ranking, I would have had time, in any case”. (Michael)

This is in line with previous findings, which suggest that starting university may be experienced as leading to an increase in personal autonomy and, thus, in temporal resources and flexibility [30].

Finally, while transitions into institutionalized contexts generally impair temporal resources, these limitations do not necessarily have to persist over time. For example, while participants often experienced a decline in available time across their transition to secondary school, some of them also experienced an increase again, indicating that they had developed a routine and became able to re-balance their temporal resources and make more time for daily PA and sport activities. Anne, for instance, indicated:

“And then at the new school, I don’t know, you got used to it. I didn’t learn that much anymore. And (…) I rode my bike again”. (Anne)

So-called rebound effects have similarly been described for the transition to primary school [18, 73] or the post-partum period [74, 75]. This is important insofar, as it shows that some behavioral changes, such as declines in daily PA and sport behavior might occur only as short-term adaptations until new routines have been established and as a result free up temporal resources.

It’s not all about sport and exercise.

As participants experienced new priorities or interests in other life domains, sport activities oftentimes lost relevance for them. Most prominently, participants deemed graduation from secondary school or university as well as examination periods and final theses to be more important than sport and exercise and were thus willing to invest more time into their studies. Here, in contrast to the previous theme, they re-allocated temporal resources due to a change in priorities and not the other way around. As participants consequently experienced a time tradeoff between learning on the one hand and sport activities on the other, they often decreased or dropped out from the latter. Mandy, for instance, explicated how sport became less important to her as she approached graduation:

“At some point it [sport] was important to me … And then, towards graduation, it wasn’t important at all, because I just wanted a good grade”. (Mandy)

When something more important came up, this tendency might be even more pronounced as some participants argued. Often, at these times, their enjoyment of sport and exercise decreased as these activities generally require time commitment and some level of organization, which participants perceived as an additional stressor [see also 72]. Emma, for example, stated:

“Exactly, I also did that [sport] with a friend and we also always went there together. But then that just, we stopped, yes both of us, because then the exam period had started and that was too stressful for us and that was then just the easiest to cancel from all daily activities”. (Emma)

While participants did not explicate on why they prioritized school or university over sport and exercise, we can assume that good grades and graduation might be connected to subsequent life and career options. In addition, research has also suggested that norms and expectations students have of themselves, such as being a good student, might also account for shifts in priorities [see also 30].

Another critical life event that accounted for the abandonment of sport activities due to new priorities was staying abroad either for leisure or study purposes. In those instances, it was more important to participants to travel and make new experiences. Again, Emma explained:

“Yes (..). So in Helsinki I didn’t do any sports. I had other things on my mind (laughs)”. (Emma)

Interestingly, most participants indicated that they did not pick up their previous sport activities upon their return, which might be due to subsequent transitions, such as starting to study or starting an apprenticeship and the associated re-allocations of scarce temporal resources.

Likewise, participants described moving to another city, which oftentimes also implied leaving the parental home, as a turning point when they shifted their priorities towards the experience of ‘arriving’ in a new place, living alone for the first time, and gaining independence and thus gave up their sport activities [see also 76]. Michael, for example, put it this way:

“Then just came the move and with it I would say a rapid decline [in sport behavior], because my weaker self knocked again and said: ‘Oh, okay, now so much is new. Hey, sport is not a priority for now. You don’t have to do so much sport.’”. (Michael)

This is also in line with Diehl and Hilger [77], who hypothesized that moving to a new city (e.g., when beginning to study) may require an initial orientation period in order to come to terms with new life circumstances. Especially those, who tried to keep up with sport activities in their hometown and had to commute between their new and old residence emphasized the issue of sorting out their priorities, which often led a subsequent drop out from sport. Ben, for instance, described how keeping the ties to his local sport club felt like a dull duty at some point as his new life as a student in a new city seemed to clash with his former sport engagement:

“Then, of course, things started to go downhill, because suddenly soccer was no longer just associated with the sport itself, but also with this permanent commuting. So, I would say that it already went down, it was more or less like: ‘Yes, okay, I’ll just do it now.’ Like a fulfillment of duty, actually, so I actually didn’t enjoy it like I used to.” (Ben)

When it came to becoming a parent, the few mothers and one father from our study indicated that they reduced or even abandoned their sport activities, which mirrors previous research findings [20, 22]. In this regard, Sandra pointed out how the use of her time came down to what she considered important:

“Ha, it feels like you never have time for sport when you have kids (laughs) (8s). Yes, but actually the time is already there, you just have to use it.” (Sandra)

Previous research has often considered this tendency under a time-use hypothesis, arguing that certain life events may influence discretionary time and thus lead to reductions in PA [12, 24, 70]. In contrast, we would suggest that, for example, increases in caring responsibilities lead to new priorities. This has also been hypothesized by Hull et al. [78], who argued that personal priorities and available temporal resources might be closely entangled as “parents may feel that attaining adequate physical activity no longer has the same importance, and with far less available time, physical activity may also become less feasible” (p. 6).

Finding purpose and becoming active (again).

Finally, while we have argued that critical life events and transitions often lead to a reduction in temporal resources (see Theme 1), participants also argued on multiple occasions that available time was less of an issue than setting priorities. For example, Lisa explained:

“I actually think that I would have always had time for it [sport activities] if I had wanted to. […] During my time in [city name], it was perhaps a bit lower. Actually, I think you always have time for it. That’s simply a matter of setting priorities (laughs)”. (Lisa)

In this regard, shifts in priorities might pull people away from sport activities even when they had time, but similarly, participants also described how some critical life events and transitions led them to experience a newly found motivation for these activities. Participants usually framed those events as stressful (in both a positive and negative sense) and as catalysts for discovering a meaning or purpose in sport, which subsequently made it a priority for them. In particular, they referred to giving birth and becoming a parent, starting to work or study, graduation, experiencing family disputes, experiencing illness, injuries, or ailments. In light of these events, several participants indicated that they associated sport with certain benefits, and, thus, purpose. Examples for identified purposes include taking some time for themselves or feeling more attractive (e.g., after giving birth), reducing stress and finding a balance (e.g., when starting to work or study), or reducing bodily complaints and becoming healthier (however, if injuries or illnesses were too severe, they rather led to abandonment of sport activities at least in the short-term). Ryan, who has two children, for instance, illustrated how he gained weight and needed some time for himself, which he found in sport:

“Because if you do nothing, then you also notice that somewhere grow a little, maybe around the hips or on the belly. So, I simply seized the initiative for myself and said: ‘I must do something again’. It also is a bit of a balance. Surely, with regard to everyday life, with stress, children, work. Exactly, so balance was also important for me, yes.” (Ryan)

This is in line with previous research considering that PA might act as a coping mechanism in light of stressful life events for men [23] and young women [24]. Our findings bring these considerations together, as they indicate that both men and women might use sport activities as a coping strategy, given they associate certain benefits with it and, thus, find a purpose in those activities and make them a priority. This has similarly been stated by Van Houten [30], who found that sport might offer an opportunity to deal with stress as life events occur.

In addition, while some events and transitions were associated with shifts in priorities motives and a decline in sport activities, participants, after some time, revalued sport and PA. Most notably, while participants associated becoming a parent with an initial decrease in daily PA and sport behavior, they–similar to the transition to secondary school–experienced a rebound effect after some time as they pursued more activities at lighter intensities, such as going for a walk [see also 74, 75]. Ryan, for example, pointed out that, as his children grew older, it was important to offer them something and to set a good and active example:

“Then with the children it has definitely (grins) increased, quite clearly. Because we are outside very often now. Recently, we even try to do more and see that we just go out with the children, look at the nature, see something like animals or we put the children on the back of the bike and so on, exactly. So, this is just increasing and we are also trying to be a bit more active ourselves.” (Ryan)

These findings are in line with research by Hamilton and White [26], who argued that parents generally experienced declines in PA, which were oftentimes exacerbated with the birth of a subsequent child, but who also stated that parenthood can be considered an opportunity to become (more) active, often, however, at lighter intensities. In addition, Colley et al. [28] reasoned that “the changing social roles associated with starting a family may often result in moves away from individualistic hobbies and outdoor pursuits to recreational activities as a couple or as a family” (p. 196), activities, which might help them cope with the demands of being a parent. Van Houten [30] similarly reports that new caring responsibilities and lighter daily PA might compensate or substitute sport activities.

It’s not about whether people go, but where.

Experiencing critical life events and transitions, such as changing from one school to another, starting to study or work, or moving to a new city might lead to changes in physical environments and infrastructures that can be both favorable or unfavorable for daily PA. Participants described that, as distances became longer and it became more inconvenient to walk or take the bike to school, university, or work, it became more likely that they started travelling by public transport or car. For example, Leila stated:

“So, I just took the train and then the bus to school because it was an hour and a half away. Exactly, that was more of a cut [regarding daily PA] … Exactly, change of school, less cycling.” (Leila)

Participants also experienced declines in daily PA when the transition from one school to another was associated with a shorter distance, which decreased the amount of walking or cycling. In addition to distance, the topography appeared to be an important factor as participants indicated that they were less likely to walk or cycle if they had to go up a hill on their commuting route, as Sarah indicated:

“And here, I really only rode the bus. I lived on a mountain. Sometimes I rode my bike and it was really, really exhausting.” (Sarah)

In contrast, for others, the same critical life events and transitions could lead to increases in daily PA when infrastructure for active commuting improved. This was especially the case when life changes went hand in hand with an improvement in infrastructure for active commuting. This is in line with research, for example, on the transition to secondary school, which has often found an increase in active commuting [67, 79]. In addition, it is noteworthy that for most participants starting university required them to move to another city. Previous research has indicated this as a potentially relevant determinant for changes in PA-related behavior [70, 77]. While our results are in line with this assumption, they also emphasize that it depends on where and not only on whether people move. In this regard, participants explained that when the infrastructure was convenient, they covered even longer distances by foot or bike. These observations imply that even moving within one city might lead to substantial changes in daily PA if distance and topography or infrastructural circumstances change in an unfavorable way.

Additionally, with regard to sport activities, participants also experienced changes in physical environments and infrastructure as beneficial if they moved to another city or stayed abroad at a dorm and had facilities such as gyms directly available and oftentimes could work out there for free. Similarly, starting to study changed the availability of sporting offers as several participants described that the university sports offered them a wide variety of new and different sports with a low inhibition threshold to participate and at a reasonable price [see also 30]. John, for example, described his experience of studying abroad and reasoned that it was more convenient for him to go to the gym there, than it was back home:

“So just because it [the gym] was next to the dorm (laughs). That was the reason. Didn’t cost anything and it was next to the dorm. Because that’s great in [country]. Because they have the whole university sports stuff more or less all included in the fees somehow and they’re spread all over the city. There are somehow five fitness studios belonging to the university and swimming pools”. (John)

Sport and exercise are social behaviors.

Most of our participants engaged in some sort of club-based sport during childhood and adolescence, which is the most common social setting for sport activities in Germany. As they grew older, they participated more informally in sport and exercise with friends. Participants regularly described two unfolding dynamics in these two settings, which led to a subsequent drop out from these activities. First, they explained that their sport endeavors ended as coaches, teammates, or training partners dropped out due to critical life events and transitions in their own lives, such as moving away, starting an apprenticeship or to study, or sustaining an injury. Participants often described that losing a reference person and friend who held them accountable to go to training, led to a subsequent loss in motivation, as they did not want to train alone. In this regard, Viola described:

“I’m there with a friend, because we thought we’d try it. And then it was actually quite fun. And, yes, then we did it again for a semester. But then she left the university and then I didn’t want to do it alone anymore (laughs).” (Viola)

This relates to research, which has stated that adolescents’ exercise behavior is related to exercise behavior of their peers and has thus emphasized the relevance of social networks for exercise maintenance [80]. For adults, findings regarding social support from friends and peers seem to be more inconclusive [81], but findings from a group exercise intervention study suggest that “being part of a group with similar abilities brought a sense of comfort to all participants and appeared to facilitate feelings of competence and the confidence of adopting and continuing with the program” [82, p. 14]. Second, participants sometimes experienced new coaches as a challenge. This was even more pronounced when a new coach confronted them with a different set of expectations. Participants indicated on several occasions that they had to get used to a new coaches’ demands, style, and training routines, which often led to a dropout from sports. This connects to previous research that has shown that the quality of coach-athlete relationships is crucial for a continued participation in sport activities [e.g., 83, 84].

In contrast, participants also indicated that beginning to study and meeting new friends at university favored engaging in some sporting activity together. This relates to research stating that friends might provide crucial social support for PA in university and college students [85]. Brad, for example, explained:

“Then I met a friend at university and then we just went running together, we did yoga together, we went bouldering together, something like that.” (Brad)