A companion who respects your pace can make movement feel more welcoming.

Exercise often fails socially before it fails physically. Walking or swimming with someone who is faster turns a pleasant thing into a test you are always losing, and the body remembers that feeling and starts inventing reasons not to go. The right company makes the same activity feel like an outing rather than an assessment.

If you want to move more, choose the person as carefully as the activity. Look for someone who will happily talk at your speed, or go alone if that is easier. Say at the start what pace suits you, since most people are glad to be told rather than left guessing.