Starting a Fitness Routine: 5 Ways to Get and Stay Motivated

Getting into the habit of exercising or starting a new fitness program sounds easy enough. But it’s the actual execution of the daily or weekly routine that can get tricky! It can be tough to commit to a new exercise routine if it is challenging or new. However, Fellowship Square offers these five simple tips to get and stay motivated.

Be Accountable — For many people, accountability is a big factor when it come to exercise. Whether meeting a trainer at the gym, heading into a “weigh in” or simply meeting a neighbor for a brisk stroll, it’s important to know that “someone” has an expectation that needs to be met. Having a responsibility to someone else can make it a lot easier to motivation one’s self. Seniors that want to start a regular exercise routine can sign up for classes or ask a friend to meet them for an activity to help with accountability.

Remember Why — Some seniors exercise for the fun of it (group sports such as tennis, water aerobics or even golf make a fitness more fun!), while others are intend on losing weight or improving their health through a regular fitness routine. Regardless of what the reasoning, it’s important to keep that reason in mind when it comes time to put on those jogging shoes and get moving! 

Set Small Goals — Losing 100 pounds and reducing cholesterol via exercise are big goal, which can be accomplished. However, they will take a lot of time, effort and dedication, and oftentimes some setbacks along the way. Instead of having a loved one get discouraged or intimidated by a big goal, suggest breaking large goals down into little ones (say, five to 10 pounds at a time, or even week by week). Accomplishing these smaller goals on the way to achieving the big goal will help with morale and to keep the motivation going strong to the final end goal.

Mark it on the Calendar — Many people are married to their schedules. They mark in teatime with friends, movies with family members or doctors appointments. But time for fitness or exercise tends to get put to the bottom of the list and, ahem, many times simply forgotten about. Exercise should be scheduled into a daily or weekly routine just like any other appointment. That way, it is much more likely to get accomplished.

Recognize and Reward — Making headway toward a fitness goal is not easy. For many people, it’s simply not enjoyable and therefore hard to make a priority. First, it’s important to find the right type of fitness that is fun for the senior (or switch up the routine to avoid boredom) and it’s also a good idea to build in rewards for a job well done. For example, after a month of sticking to regular exercise routine, a reward of a new haircut or a shopping trip can be just the recognition needed to keep the senior motivated to exercise their way through another month! Keep in mind, while tempting to “treat” a loved one with ice cream or a sweet treat for all their efforts, try to avoid food as rewards. 

Fitness and exercise routines can be a fun and enjoyable part of every senior’s day. As a caretaker or loved one, be sure to find out what they like to do and explore how to turn that into an exercise they can do on a regular basis.