No time to exercise, or just too tired? What’s really stopping Singapore women from working out

After sending that last e-mail at 9pm, throwing together a load of laundry, and lying in bed doomscrolling, you tell yourself that you’ll wake up early tomorrow and squeeze in a workout before work – but you don’t.

It’s a loop familiar to a lot of women in Singapore, and it usually ends with the same excuse: I just don’t have the time. But the numbers tell a messier story.

“I’M TOO BUSY”

Almost three in four women in Singapore exercise at least once a week, according to Her World’s What Women Want 2026 survey. That’s hardly the profile of a nation that’s too lazy to move. And yet, when the same women were asked what stops them from exercising as much as they’d like,“lack of time” topped the list at 24.8 per cent, followed closely by physical fatigue (22.9 per cent), and the lack of motivation (21.9 per cent).

The same survey also found that over a third of respondents work out three or more times a week, while a significant 23 per cent rarely exercise. It points to a real split between the committed, and the barely there.

So is “no time” really the whole story, or a convenient stand-in for something else?

Sheril Natasha Camelia, senior exercise experience coach at Virgin Active Singapore, doesn’t think the question should even be framed around laziness.

“We don’t think it’s helpful to reduce the conversation to whether people are simply ‘lazy’,” she says. “Most of our clients, regardless of gender, genuinely want to exercise. However, the reality is that demanding careers, family responsibilities and other commitments can cause them to push their personal wellness and fitness goals aside.”

Over time, she notes, that inconsistency compounds, which leads to fatigue and lower motivation, so the three top barriers cited by respondents aren’t really separate problems – they’re a single feedback loop.

“I’M TOO TIRED”

Fatigue shows up twice in this survey: once as a reason women give for not exercising, and again as something that affects their life. Close to half of the respondents report joint aches or generalised body pain; 31 per cent report persistent fatigue; 28 per cent report increased injury-proneness or back pain; and 23 per cent report muscle weakness. When faced with such symptoms, some may treat them as a sign that their bodies are too worn to work out.

But here’s the plain fact: A body that doesn’t move regularly is also more prone to stiffness, weakness and low energy. That means fatigue isn’t necessarily what’s stopping someone from exercising. In fact, it may just be what’s happening because they aren’t.

This something that Sheril sees in her own clients. “Consistency matters more than perfection,” she says. “A routine that people can realistically stick to will always outperform the ‘perfect programme’ on paper. Even 10 to 15 minutes of purposeful movement can have a meaningful impact when done consistently.”

In other words, the fix for “I’m too tired to exercise” may sometimes be a small amount of exercise.

OTHER BARRIERS

The cost of keeping a healthy physical lifestyle is another barrier. One in 10 respondents from the Her World What Women Want 2026 survey cited the price of classes or gym memberships as a hurdle to exercising as much as they’d like. It’s the one item on the list that has nothing to do with willpower, motivation or time management.

There’s also the question: Is the fitness boom in Singapore actually closing the exercise gap, or mostly serving people who are already active?

“The rise of run clubs, group training and dedicated classes has made movement feel more accessible and social, rather than something that people have to tackle alone,” Sheril notes. “While these communities naturally appeal to people who already enjoy exercise, the social aspect can also play an important role in helping newcomers build confidence.”

In other words, community fitness culture may not be reaching the women who rarely or never exercise, but it might just help lower the intimidation factor for those who are on the fence about exercising.

And it’s no longer just about aesthetics. According to Virgin Active’s own data, physical wellness and mental well-being are the top reasons for exercising, with a overwhelming 85 per cent of respondents saying that they feel “constantly on the go” and want to slow down to prevent burnout.

“People are far more likely to stick with exercise when it’s something they have an intention for, and genuinely enjoy,” Sheril says.

STARTING WITH SMALL STEPS

Her advice for anyone convinced they have zero time echoes that same philosophy: Stop looking for more hours in the day, and start fitting movement into the life you already have.

“For clients with busy schedules, we recommend shorter, high-quality workouts,” she suggest. “For those feeling fatigued, we first look at recovery, sleep, nutrition and stress, because sometimes the right session is a lower-intensity workout, rather than pushing harder for the sake of it.”

So, do you have no time, or are you just lazy? Well, neither, really. It’s fatigue that feeds on itself, motivation worn down by real life, and sometimes just the cost of a class. More importantly, what most women need isn’t more willpower, but just the realisation that they can start smaller.