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Can Exercise Really Be Something Your Senior Does Every Day? 

January 11, 2019
Linda Kunicki
Exercise is most effective when it's consistent, so getting some movement in every day is a big part of helping your elderly family member to remain as healthy as possible. It can take some doing to find the right combination that allows your elderly family member to fully enjoy daily exercise, though.

Prioritize it and Make it Easy for Her

When exercise is a priority your senior will find it easier to stick with the plan. The key to keeping exercise high on your elderly family member's priority list is to make sure that she's having fun and that it's easy for her to do. If exercise is difficult or uncomfortable, that's not going to continue being a priority because she's not enjoying it.  

Keep Her Safe While Exercising

Exercise also has to be safe for your senior, or she's not going to feel comfortable enough to keep going with it. Safety in exercise first involves ensuring that your elderly family member is doing the right exercise for her. From there, it can be helpful for her to stick with exercises that she's able to do instead of branching out to exercise that might be a little too much for her. As her strength and endurance improves, she might feel comfortable branching out to other activities.

bigstock-Senior-Stretching-7650258-(1).jpgBring a Social Element into Exercise

Everything is a lot more enjoyable when it's done with friends or at least with other people and the same is definitely true for exercise. When your elderly family member is able to add a social element to her exercise routine, she's more likely to continue. She might be interested in joining an exercise class specifically for seniors like her or she might want to start exercising with friends. 

Don't Make it a Requirement

One tactic you might want to avoid is trying to make exercise a requirement for your senior. Most people don't like feeling as if something has to be done because then it feels more like a chore. When you avoid placing requirements in place, you can keep exercise fun. Elderly care providers can help you to stay informed about how well your aging adult is doing in hitting her goals. 

As your elderly family member grows more accustomed to exercising regularly, she'll build up her strength and her stamina. She'll also start to experience other benefits to daily exercise, such as boosting her mood and sleeping better, which inspire her to stick with it.

IF YOU OR AN AGING LOVED ONE ARE CONSIDERING ELDER CARE IN WESTCHESTER, IL, PLEASE CONTACT THE CARING STAFF AT BRIGHTSTAR CARE LA GRANGE. CALL TODAY: 708-551-2500.