Exercise is a crucial part of your elderly family member’s healthy living plan. If she’s not already moving more on a regular basis, you might need to talk about starting an exercise plan.
Make Sure She’s Safe to Exercise
Before your senior starts any form of exercise at all, make sure that you clear it with her doctor. This helps to ensure that your elderly family member is not going to make any health conditions worse if she starts exercising. Her doctor can let your aging adult know whether any types of exercise are likely to be too much for her.
Explore a Variety of Activities
There are so many different ways to incorporate movement into your elderly family member’s day every single day. Some of the simplest forms of exercise are walking or swimming. Your elderly family member might enjoy some activities that she never would have thought to try without your encouragement, such as yoga or tai chi. Try a few different exercises to see what she likes the best.
Don’t Rush into Exercise
There’s no reason for your elderly family member to rush exercise at all. It’s okay for her to take all this new movement nice and slow. She doesn’t have to run any races or hit any big goals right away. In fact, the slower she takes exercise, the more likely she’s going to be to stick with exercise for the long run, which is what you want for her.
Find an Exercise Buddy for Your Senior
Being able to exercise with someone else can be an important factor in sticking with her new exercise program. Ideally, exercising together gives you and your senior some bonding time as well as helps both of you stay healthier. But that’s not always feasible. Elder care providers make great companions, whether they’re just hanging out with your senior or making sure that she’s safe while she exercises.
Be Consistent with It
You and your aging adult may find that as she keeps up with her exercise plan she becomes stronger and more able to do what she needs and wants to do. Try to make exercise a consistent part of every day and every week. When it’s a regular part of her routine, your senior will want to keep going.
Exercise isn’t about making your senior an Olympic athlete or giving her the biggest muscles. It’s about helping her to be as strong and as healthy as she can be.
If you or an aging loved one are considering elder care in Loudoun, VA, please contact the caring staff at Assisting Hands today. (703) 982-0050.
