Helping your elderly family member to enjoy the experience of beginning an exercise program is a key part of her sticking with it for the long run. If her doctor hasn’t already recommended exercise, check-in before you start anything specific.
Make a List of “Whys”
When you and your senior both understand why she needs and wants to exercise, that can go a long way toward helping her to keep doing it. She might find that she was forced into the idea on her doctor’s recommendation, for instance, but that her own reasons are pretty solid, too. When she’s feeling uncertain about exercise, going back and looking at her list of whys can help her to refocus and get that spark back.
Look at Exercise as a Problem Solver
For some seniors, bad habits are hard to break. Eating the wrong foods or being too sedentary are just two of the bad habits that she might be able to break by starting a regular exercise habit. Talk to your aging family member about whether some of those habits are ones she wants to break. These can also eventually make it onto your senior’s list of whys.
Identify Blocks and Obstacles
It’s not easy to stick with an exercise plan. This can be especially true if your senior isn’t used to exercising and just hasn’t done it much throughout her life. If she has health challenges and mobility concerns, that can factor in, too. She might not feel comfortable driving anymore, but she wants to take advantage of what a gym has to offer. So many challenges can lead to her giving up. Start figuring out what your senior’s specific blocks are so you can take the next step.
Line up Answers
Once you understand the different stumbling blocks that are facing your senior you can start to put some answers in place for her. If she’s no longer driving but excited by the gym, for example, transportation is a big deal. Elder care providers might be the right answer. They can help with transportation issues and ensure that your senior is safe while exercising. As you go down the list of challenges, try to come up with answers that are simple, but effective.
Once your senior starts exercising, it’s important for her to have an easy way to keep going with it. She may want to switch things up more often or find activities that she really loves. Regardless, exercise can do so much for her if she gives it a chance.
For more information about hiring Home Care in Pacific Beach, CA, call the friendly caregivers at La Jolla Nurses Homecare who can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, at 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable senior care in La Jolla, CA, and the surrounding communities.
Today we are the oldest and most experienced private duty agency in San Diego County.She saw a need for quality private duty home health care and she worked diligently to build an agency that filled that need.I am proud to say, her vision is carried on today with our dedicated staff.
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