3 Tips for Motivating Mom to Exercise
You know your elderly mom should exercise to stay in better health, and she knows it, too. But, that doesn’t mean she feels particularly motivated to do it. It’s common for people of any age to avoid exercising simply because they don’t feel like it or because they’d rather do other things. If that’s the case for your parent, we have 3 tips to help you get them motivated to exercise.
Senior Care in Spokane Valley WA: Motivating Mom to Exercise
1. Avoid Focusing on the Big Picture.
Research shows that when people make exercise about how they look, such as wanting to trim their waistline, they aren’t as likely to stick with it. While your parent’s end goal may be to lose some weight, that shouldn’t be the goal they set. Instead, it’s better to set goals that are about the process of exercising. For example, make the goal something like, “Mom is going to walk on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for 30 minutes.” After all, even after she reaches her goal weight, your mom will still need to exercise regularly to remain in better health.
Senior care can help your parent to stick to their goals by encouraging them to exercise. If your parent has decided to go to a fitness class three times per week, a senior care provider can drive them there.
2. Make Exercise Enjoyable.
Many people don’t think of exercise as being fun. However, if you can find a physical activity that your parent enjoys or a way to make regular exercise more fun, they’ll be more likely to do it. Even if your parent can’t think of a form of exercise that sounds fun to them, there are ways you can make any kind of exercise more enjoyable. For example, walking is much more fun when you have someone to talk to. The conversation can make the time fly by.
A senior care provider can be your parent’s walking partner. In addition to providing friendly conversation, they can also keep older adults safer by preventing falls and other injuries.
3. Don’t Let Setbacks Lead to Failure.
One thing that sometimes keeps people from exercise is a setback. Let’s say your parent has decided to walk three times per week. On Monday, something keeps them from going for a walk. They might feel like they already failed to meet their goals that week, so there’s no point in walking for the rest of the week. Instead of letting those setbacks ruin the whole week and potentially lead to quitting exercise altogether, encourage your aging parent to get back in the habit, perhaps by walking on Tuesday even if that wasn’t a planned day.
Senior care can provide that extra encouragement when your parent is discouraged. A senior care provider can remind them that one setback doesn’t have to keep them from meeting their goals for the rest of the week.
If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Spokane Valley, WA, please contact the friendly staff at Love at Home Senior Care, today. Call (509) 204-4088
Sources
https://www.verywellfit.com/getting-motivated-to-exercise-1231391
https://fit.webmd.com/jr/move/article/parents-motivated-to-exercise
His role in Love In Home Senior Care is to educate people on what care choice is the best fit for the senior and their family while attempting to make this decision as stress-free as possible for everyone involved.
This decision making process should be smooth and stress free for everyone, including all family members and their loved ones. Having access to people with experience (like the team at Love In Home Senior Care) to assist you along the way can help this process. With an extensive background in health care, Andy has the experience needed to guide and direct your loved one to the choice that is the best fit.
- Are You in Good Hands? 5 Key Qualities That the Best Caregivers Should Have - December 3, 2019
- Emergency Preparedness: A Checklist for Older Adults and Seniors - November 29, 2019
- 6 Fun Fall Activities That Seniors and Caregivers Will Love - November 27, 2019