There is no denying the fact that exercise is a boon to humans. It is the best way to keep our ever-changing bodies active and healthy.
Unfortunately, with seniors, it often becomes a challenge. With old age comes weakness, body pains, general unattractiveness and lethargy towards activities, and many health issues like heart diseases, slow brain function, and more.
All these naturally stop them from keeping up with their workout schedule. Keeping this problem in mind, we have discussed useful tips to motivate your seniors to exercise.
Take a look.
List the Benefits
We, humans, are more intrigued to do something if we know what we will get in return. With seniors, this is no different.
So, consider highlighting the benefits that your elderly desire the most. It will help them improve their physical condition, and they will enjoy doing it because they want that specific result.
For example, if your loved one stresses a lot, draw their attention to how exercising releases their stress hormones and makes them more relaxed. This will motivate them to give up their comfortable seats and start sweating it out to see their results.
Make It Fun
One reason that discourages seniors from exercising is the thought of it being boring.
Well, you can make it interesting for them.
To start with:
- Don’t go for the same old exercise routine every day.
- Change it, shake things up a bit.
- Include swimming for one day and dancing for the next.
- Choose from hiking, bowling, and other such activities to fill your senior loved one’s exercise days with.
- Merge the exercises that your seniors find boring with the everyday activities.
- Take them out for window shopping to make their walks super interesting. You can make them do weight lifting with groceries.
The possibilities are endless.
With different types of exercises and a twist to the usual exercises, you can make every workout week of your seniors colorful and worthy to look forward to.
Help Them Join An Exercise Group
You may like it, but you cannot always be available for your seniors’ exercising routine. When you are not around, they will find a reason to miss out on exercising.
To avoid this, it is best to make them a part of an exercise group. In the hands of professionals and the company of people in the same age group, your elderly loved one’s exercise schedule will kick off never to halt.
Plus, such groups will make your elderly learn a lot about their health and how to avoid illnesses with correct workouts.
You can also consider trying out HHA to care for your loved elderly if you’re not around.
Set Goals
No matter the age, everyone loves to do things that are centered around a goal. Even if your senior loved one is not convinced to start exercising more with the above tips, you can try setting a goal.
Set goals like reducing stress, improving energy levels, enhancing bone and muscle strength, etc., with the exercise regime. This will surely motivate your seniors to start towards achieving that goal. And do not set high goals at the start.
Keep them low and achievable with a few sessions, thus encouraging the seniors further to keep continuing. Once a goal is reached, set another one and make them work towards it.
Don’t Choose Exercises that May Aggravate Their Condition
Doing so will not only discourage your seniors but also hamper their health. So, you must stick with the basic ones like walking at the start.
Set 10 minutes to walk every day and slowly increase it to let the seniors’ body adapt to the extra walk time. Always double-check before choosing a new exercise for your seniors. You can start small with the new one and see how it impacts their health.
It is also important to introduce only those exercises that your seniors love doing or are interested in. Any exercise done with half a heart or no love for it will not provide the full benefits.
Final Word
While exercising is good, make sure you do not push your loved senior beyond the limits. Also, if they have a medical condition (like arthritis), consider consulting a doctor before getting them to exercise.
Good luck!
