How Seniors Can Make Daily Exercise A Habit
Most doctors agree that daily exercise is one of the best things that seniors can do to stay healthy. But, making daily exercise a habit is hard. It’s hard for everyone. But it can be especially tough for seniors who don’t like to exercise or have unique challenges that make exercise difficult. If you want to help your senior loved one stay healthy for as long as possible encourage them to get at least some exercise every day. According to self-improvement experts the best ways to make daily exercise a habit are:
Track It
One of the best ways to make something a habit is to keep track of how often it’s completed. It may sound silly but making a calendar that goes on the wall that has some type of daily exercise on it can help motivate your senior parent to do that exercise everyday. There is a sense of satisfaction that comes from crossing off the days on the calendar and seeing those days add up. It really works.
Commit To 30 Days
Experts say that in order to make a new routine a full-fledged habit you need to do it every day for 30 days. After that it should be an ingrained part of your routine. So ask your senior parent to commit to do daily exercise for 30 days. Just 30 days, and if they want to quit after that they can. The idea of starting to exercise daily is usually easier to commit to when your senior loved one knows they can stop after 30 days if they want to. Chances are that they won’t want to though.
Go For Five
Things will happen that will interrupt your senior loved one’s exercise routine. It’s inevitable. They may not feel well, or the weather might be bad, or they might not be able to get to the gym or place where they like to exercise. They may just be tired one day. But instead of giving up and doing nothing encourage them to do just five minutes of exercise. Any exercise. Five minutes of walking in place. A walk around the block. Doing at least five minutes of exercise will keep that 30 days of exercise intact and keep your senior loved one’s mind on exercising every day. Five minutes isn’t a large amount of time but it can make a big difference in their fitness.
Stay Accountable
Having someone to keep your senior loved one accountable for their daily exercise is important. Since your senior parent may resent you for trying to hold them accountable for exercising it’s a good idea to have a neutral third-party do it. In-home care can keep your senior parent accountable for exercising. An in-home care provider may even go for walks or go to the gym with your senior loved one to make sure that they are accountable and motivated to do their exercise each day. Having a partner to exercise with will also make exercise much more fun for your senior parent.
If you or an aging loved one are considering In-Home Care in Hazlet, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Lares Home Care 888-492-3538 or 732-566-1112.
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