You and your elderly family member might have gone some rounds about whether exercise is right for her or not. There are definitely some big benefits to exercising for older adults, and it’s a good idea to talk to her doctor about how exercise can specifically benefit your senior.
It's Too Late to Be an Athlete Now
A common misconception is that exercise, or moving at all, is for younger folks. But the reality is that your elderly family member doesn’t have to be an Olympic athlete to get the benefits of exercise right now. If she happened to be athletic in her younger years, that might help her now, but it’s not vital. The idea now is that she just moves, even if that’s only a little bit at first.
Exercise Is a Waste of Time
Your senior might also ask why she should bother exercising and isn’t it a waste of her time? The reality is that no, it’s not a waste of her time at all. Moving even a little bit helps her to work her muscles, burn excess energy, and it prompts her brain to release hormones and other chemicals that help her body to function well. That’s all very much not a waste of her time.
Health or Mobility Keep Her from Exercising
If your elderly family member has told you that she’s too sick or too injured to move, she might be right to a certain extent. It’s always a good idea to talk to her doctor about exercise before she ever starts moving. This gives you a chance to see what limits your senior should stick to. But if her doctor has already cleared her for exercise, she doesn’t have any reason to avoid it. She doesn’t have to, and she shouldn’t, push herself beyond what she can truly do.
She’ll Definitely Injure Herself
Another lingering belief could be that your senior is convinced she’s going to injure herself. It’s never a joke that your elderly family member could injure herself at any time. But if she’s exercising while paying attention to what she’s doing and she’s respecting her own limitations, there’s no guarantee that moving a little bit more often is going to definitely cause her an injury.
Just because she’s wary of exercise that doesn’t mean your elderly family member should totally avoid it. If possible, she should exercise when there’s someone there with her. That might mean that senior care providers are there for her as a companion and as an exercise buddy of sorts.
If you or an aging loved one is considering senior care in Parrish, FL, please contact the caring staff at Home Helpers of Bradenton. Call today: (941) 499-5946.