It’s one of the more commonly misunderstood aspects about elderly care: fitness and exercise. How often have you tried to keep an elderly loved one, or even a neighbor, from doing certain things around their house because you don’t think that they should strain their body?
Most of us are guilty of this to some degree or another, but in reality, exercising for any person, regardless of their age, is vital to good health and conditioning throughout their life. Of course, there are certain restrictions for elderly individuals when it comes to exercising. Still, if you open the newspaper shortly after of during a marathon or other race within the area, you may just read about an octogenarian or other elderly individual competing for the first time.
So how can you help the elderly individual in your life get the proper level of exercise? If you don’t know what’s safe for that individual, then you should hire a professional elderly care provider who has experience working with seniors to get them in shape and fit. There are certainly risks involved when helping an elderly individual get fit, such as pressing too hard, going too fast, or trying to do too much.
Not only do you need to be concerned with their cardiovascular health, but you may also have to contend with certain injuries, arthritis, weakened muscle structure, and more. If you don’t have the proper training or regimen in place, you could actually cause more harm than good.
Exercise and getting in shape are still crucial for almost every single elderly individual. April 21st through the 27th this year is Medical Fitness Week and that is a great time to consider looking into what types of exercises that your elderly loved one can take part in, regardless of his or her physical limitations, injuries, recovery process, and more.
First, speak to the patient’s doctor or other medical practitioner to determine what, if any, limitations should be placed on the exercises or activity levels that they participate in. Second, find a quality elderly care provider within the area who can either come to your loved one’s home to work with them, or that has a studio where you could bring your loved one. Senior centers sometimes offer exercise and fitness classes that you could look into.
This year, make getting exercise and getting fit a priority for elderly care. You’ll be doing your loved one a great deal of good, as well as yourself.