Finding Motivation to Exercise as You Age

Starting an exercise program is easy when you take time to learn what you need as a senior and start slowly. It is exciting to begin a new routine. Your hopes are high with excitement in the air. Fast-forward a month or six months, and you may find that your enthusiasm has waned. You may start skipping days and struggle to find the motivation to keep up with your goals. What can you do to stay motivated in the fitness journey you have begun? You have options. One of which is to enlist the services of senior care professionals. They can help you stay on track as you take charge of your health.

4 Tips for Finding and Keeping Your Fitness Motivation

You don’t have to struggle to find your mojo for exercise. Instead of throwing in the towel and grabbing the junk food and TV remote, take a look at these four tips to rediscover and keep your motivation to attain your fitness goals:

1. Choose Exercise You Enjoy: Prevent boredom. While your friend may be fine walking on the treadmill every day, you might prefer to walk outdoors when the weather allows. That’s okay! Choose the activities that are interesting, and you enjoy. It also helps to pick a variety of exercises from the four main types – endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility – to keep things interesting.
2. Find Innovative Ways to Incorporate Exercise into Your Day: Convenience is key to maintaining your routine. If you like to walk, take your dog for a long walk. You might want to start the day off with exercise or break it up into 10-minute sessions three times a day. Make exercise a functional part of your day, like parking further from the store entrances or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
3. Get Social with Your Exercise Routine: If you are a social butterfly, you may languish if you are stuck working out by yourself. Join an exercise class, ask a friend to join you for a walk, or take a dance class. Your home health caregiver can ensure you are social, too, with transportation services to your chosen activities.
4. Track Your Progress: Keeping track of the days you succeed in exercising goes a long way to helping you celebrate later. You can review your wins, such as graduating from one-pound weights to five-pound weights. You may record that you no longer run out of breath when you climb stairs. By creating this memory book, you have many examples to encourage you. You may even want to treat yourself when you attain a short-term goal.

Support for Your Fitness Goals Begins with Home Instead

We all need someone in our corner to cheer us and hold us accountable. Your professional caregiver from Home Instead Ottawa can help with that. Our staff loves helping senior citizens age in place. We offer tailored services to ensure you or your loved one gets exactly what they need. We can help seniors with home chores, Parkinson’s help, Alzheimer's and dementia care, and other home care services. Learn more when you contact us today!

Call us at (613) 599-6906 to scheduonle a no-obligation, in-home consultation. Learn more about the compassionate, quality senior care we deliver, every day, to families in Ottawa, Kanata, Nepean, Orleans, Rockliffe, Alta Vista, New Edinburgh, Manor Park, Stittsville, Barrhaven, Manotick, Sandy Hill, Hunt Club, Vanier, Richmond, Carleton Place, Gloucester, Kemptville