As someone who exceeds this apparent low bar, I only do it because I’m highly motivated to care for my pup. Before I had her, I had a lot of difficulty motivating myself to be more active than was basically necessary. Don’t get me wrong, 2.5 hours of physical activity per week feels low to me now, I even expect I’ll go stir crazy as my opportunities to enjoyably get that activity outdoors is waning with the season change. But 35 years of a mostly sedentary life was not an easy thing to course change, and even my most successful endeavors weren’t as resilient as idle defaults I had as a child. And I know plenty of people whose early life inertia was far less active than my own.

2.5 hours of exercise a week is about 1.5 miles walking at a pace that raises your heart rate every day. Doesn’t sound like much, if you’re doing it, but sounds like a lot if you’re not moving much. And it sounds like a lot more if you’re stressed about or cramped for time.

I’m trying to strike a balance here where I know the benefits and I also know the challenge of embracing them. For people who want to be more active and would benefit from external motivation, but don't feel ready for major permanent life commitment changes, I highly recommend offering to watch after someone else’s child or dog for a limited time… or even their house plants, if you can walk over to water them. Assuming you feel you can rise to the occasion. You’ll be active because you have to, you’ll likely find it very rewarding in its own right, and you’ll have built a temporary routine around the activity that’s less focused on motivating you and more comfortable because of that.