2018
Wealth is our Health
There are lots to celebrate this May. Along with flowers, there is Mother’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day, the Kentucky Derby and the national observance month honoring older Americans. “May is Older Americans Month.”
In the spirit of all the celebrations this month we wanted to start with the theme of our first wealth is our health and below are some solutions to breaking down your barriers to your Wellness Lifestyle.
Finding the time and interest to build physical activity into your daily life, often is difficult. We can all come up with lots of excuses to avoid exercising.
Most of us are familiar with the most common barrier (excuses) to a regular physical activity routine —-lack of time, too much Work, I’m too old, I’m too fat, my knees are hurting (this is mine), family obligations and other realities of daily life that often get in the way of our best intentions to be more active.
Here are some of the more common barriers and solutions to overcome them:
Lack of time
Identify available time slots. Monitor your daily activities for one week. Identify at least three 30- minute time slots you could use for physical activity. Another suggestion is to add physical activity to your daily routine. For example, walk or ride your bike to work or shopping organizes school activities around physical activity, walk the dog, exercise while you watch TV, even park farther away from the destination.
Lack of energy
Schedule physical activities for times in the day or week when you feel energetic. Convince yourself that if you give it a chance, physical activity will increase your energy level, then try it.
Lack of motivation
Plan ahead. Make physical activity a regular part of your daily or weekly schedule and write it on your calendar.
Fear of Injury
Learn how to warm up and cool down properly to prevent injury. Learn how to exercise appropriately considering your age, fitness level, skill level, and health status.
Lack of Skill
Select activities requiring no new skills, such as walking climbing stairs, or jogging. or take a class to develop new skills.
Travel
Put a jump rope in your suitcase and jump rope. Walk the halls and climb and stairs in hotels. Try to stay in places with swimming pools or exercise facilities. Visit the local shopping mall and walk for half an hour or more, not to shop but walk.
Family obligation
Trade babysitting time with a friend, neighbor, or family member who also has small children. Exercise with the kids go for a walk together, play tag or other running games, get an aerobic dance or exercise tape for kids (there are several on the market) and exercise together. You can spend time together and still get you exercise.
Retirement years
Look upon your retirement as an opportunity to become more active instead of less. Spend more time gardening, walking the dog, and playing with your grandchildren. Children with short legs and grandparents with slower gaits are often great walking partners. Learn a new skill you’ve always been interested in, such as ballroom dancing, square dancing or swimming. Now that you have the time, make regular physical activity a part of every day. Go for a walk every morning or every evening before dinner. Join a great health club like LIFEQUEST SWIM & FITNESS.
MAY IS OLDER AMERICANS MONTH and the theme this year is “Engage at Every Age”. Engage at Every age, emphasizes that you are never too old (or Young) to take part in activities that can enrich your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It also celebrates the many ways in which old adults make a difference in our communities.
Participating in activities that promote mental and physical wellness, offering your wisdom and experience to the next general, seeking the mentorship of someone with more life experience that you – those are just a few examples of what being engaged can mean. No matter where you are in your life, there is no better time than now to start. We hope you will join in and Engage at Every Age.
So stop making excuses and get out there and get some exercise!
