Getting Started with Fitness for Seniors
It’s never too late to take charge of your health. Getting started may seem a little complicated. Do you know where to begin? How much time should you invest in your fitness routine? How do you know when you have reached your goal? These are valid questions. Once you have answered them, you will set yourself up for success in attaining them. Sometimes, it helps to have extra support. When you hire the services of a professional caregiver, you have a partner in holding you accountable so that you can reach your fitness goals.
6 Tips to Get Started on Your Fitness Journey
Obtaining your fitness goals is possible, especially when getting started is half the battle. Use these six tips, and you will have won much of the fight:
- Understand How Much Activity You Need: You don’t have to worry about spending time at the gym for hours every day. Instead, you can breathe a sigh of relief and then aim for about 2.5 hours a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise intermingled with muscle-strengthening activities two days a week.
- Start Slowly to Avoid Injury: It is always a good idea to include warm-up and cool-down exercises. Remember to keep water handy and drink it before, during, and after your workout. Finally, wear clothes and shoes that will not prevent easy movement.
- Talk with Your Doctor: Your physician can offer much insight on the best exercises for your current physical level and health. Ask about the types of movements you should avoid and any tests you might need to do before you start.
- Set Your Fitness Goals: Write down what you hope to accomplish and make it specific to your needs. You might start with your long-term goal of 6 months, a year, or two years out. Then, you can break it into several short-term goals or milestones. For example, you may want to be able to walk a 5k marathon in a year. Decide on the steps you will need to make that happen and are easy to attain, such as buying new walking shoes, enlisting the help of a friend, and setting up your walking schedule.
- Keep Track of Your Progress: Mark the days you exercise or complete a short-term goal. For those days when it is harder to exercise, you will have your tracker to encourage you. You will feel motivated seeing the progress and overcome temporary feelings of laziness.
- Review and Adjust Your Plan Regularly: You may find that your goals adjust as you move forward. It is good to review where you have been and determine if you still want to head toward the same goals. If not, adjust as needed, and keep moving forward.
Gain Support in Your Fitness Journey with Home Instead
Determine to get started today on your path to better fitness with the help of a home care professional from Home Instead Kitchener-Waterloo, ON. Our caring staff wants you to succeed so that you can live life on your terms in your home. That is why we offer various services, including cooking nutririous meals for seniors, helping seniors with home chores, Parkinson’s help, Alzheimer's and dementia care, and other home care services. We support seniors and their families in making this season of life the most productive. Learn how we customize your services when you contact us today.
Call us at (519) 571-1665 to schedule a no-obligation, in-home consultation. Learn more about the compassionate, quality senior care we deliver, every day, to families in Kitchener-Waterloo, Breslau, Conestogo, Elmira, St Jacobs, and surrounding areas