'Weather work': learning how to engage with weather in a Welsh outdoor exercise programme

What is it about?

Over the past 25 years, UK government policy has sought to promote and increase exercise and physical activity levels in the population. In recent years, too, there has been growing sociological interest in exercise and physical activity embodiment issues. This article contributes original insights to a developing body of phenomenological-sociological empirical work in this domain, in addressing the lived experience of organised exercise in outdoor environments, and specifically in theorising the role of ‘lived weather’ in contouring these experiences. It thus addresses the call by Vannini et al. (2012) to remedy the notable ‘absent-presence’ of weather in much social science research. Drawing upon data from a two-year multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional ethnographic study of a nationwide exercise programme in Wales, UK, this article examines participants’ (n = 146) lived experience of weather, and theorises their ‘weather learning’, and ‘weather work’, both of which emerged as highly salient in the findings.

Featured Image

Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash

Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Over the past 25 years, the UK government has sought to promote and increase exercise and physical activity levels in the population. There is relatively little research exploring the lived experience of organised exercise in outdoor environments, however, and specifically in theorising the role of ‘lived weather’ in shaping these experiences. Here, I respond to the call by Vannini et al. (2012) to remedy the notable ‘absent-presence’ of weather in much social science research.