Exercise may be something your senior realizes she needs but isn’t certain she can do. Finding a way for her to learn to enjoy moving more can be the key to helping her to move more.
Get Her Doctor’s Recommendation
Senior Care Beverly Hills, CA: New Exercise Routine
The very first thing to do when your senior is ready to start exercising is to get her doctor’s recommendations around movement. Your elderly family member may have health issues or concerns that need special consideration around exercise. Knowing that is important so that you can plan for that as she becomes more active.
Get Past the Mental Block
There can be a huge mental block for older adults when it comes to exercise. Make sure that your elderly family member knows that this isn’t about “no pain, no gain.” It’s also important to talk through the fact that it’s never too late for anyone to become more active, especially when they’re planning to do so safely. The more your aging family member embraces those facts, the easier it’s going to be for her to get moving more regularly at her own pace.
Reframe Exercise as Activity
One solution that can help your aging family member to think about exercise differently is to call it something else. Calling her exercise plans “activities” or “movement practice” can help her to think about it from a healthier perspective. This is really important for people who have always had trouble exercising or who have found it to be difficult in the past.
Take it One Step at a Time
There is no rush with this process. Your senior is going to do much better with this if she starts out slowly and allows herself to work up to bigger and faster movements. She doesn’t have to immediately get to the limits set forth by her doctor. In fact, at first it’s important that she doesn’t get to those limits. It’s one thing for her to push herself a little bit, but if she’s new to exercising regularly she needs to take her time and let her body acclimate to the process.
Your elderly family member may feel as if she isn’t cut out for exercising, but everyone really can benefit. Conserving her energy can help her to feel as if she can spend some of that precious energy on herself through exercise. Senior care providers can pick up the slack and can help her to feel safer while she does exercise.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Senior Care in Beverly Hills, CA please contact the caring staff at Nu Care Inc. today at. 800-505-6890