How Can You Keep Your Senior from Giving up on Exercise?

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With all the benefits that your elderly family member can obtain from exercise, it’s important to keep her moving. So many people dread exercise, though, and might give up on it before they start to see the results that they want to see.

Home Care Morris County NJ - How Can You Keep Your Senior from Giving up on Exercise?

Home Care Morris County NJ – How Can You Keep Your Senior from Giving up on Exercise?

Set Some Reasonable Goals

If your senior has some unrealistic expectations from her exercise routine, it’s going to be difficult to keep going. Reasonable goals are ones that she’ll be able to achieve with ease. Once she does get to those goals, she can set new ones that push her a tiny bit more. Reasonable goals might be walking for five minutes at a time or stretching for five minutes.

Choose Engaging Activities

Exercise that your senior hates doing is exercise that she’s going to find excuses to avoid. There is so much out there in terms of movement that can be so engaging and fun. Find the movements and exercises that your elderly family member enjoys and she will be able to keep herself motivated.

Stay Positive about Exercise

Talking about exercise in a negative way or as if it’s a chore is only going to cement that idea for your elderly family member. Keep conversations about exercise as positive as you can and remember that this can be a lot of fun.

Keep Exercise within Healthy Boundaries

Work with your senior’s doctor to determine how much and what types of exercise are healthiest and best for her. Then you can do your best to make sure that you keep her exercise plans within those levels. Be sure to let her home care providers and other family members know those boundaries so that they can help your senior stick to them.

Track Results and Celebrate Success

The best way for your senior to know when she’s achieving her goals is to start tracking her results. A workout journal can be as simple as a small notebook in which she notes information about her workouts. Set up a reward system so that your senior has a way to celebrate when she gets to a specific result.

You may need to revisit your plans now and again to refresh them. No one likes a routine that gets stale and boring.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Home Care Services in Morris County NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.

Susan Myer, RN, BSN, CCRN, CDP