Tips to help Older Adults stay Active

Community or group workout is a prudent answer for the menace of muscle loss and weak bones due to ageing process. This not only improves quality of life of the older adults but also motivates to realise their self worth. I prescribe group workout or in fact, work out with your doctor (myself). With quite a few years of this practice I saw enormous change in my older patients with a positive impact towards body and life. Doctors can be best motivators for an inspirational elderly story.

I usually begin with

Communicate the importance of exercise

Talking exercise and listening for any obstacles to compliance impacts leaps and bounds.

Access to community workout space/groups/fitness clubs of older adults. Not necessarily gymnasiums but usually found in close proximities. A mix age group workout motivates good enough to achieve consistency.

Reach out to local qualified fitness professionals facilitate group of 4-8 people offering  better participation than larger classes with more personalized attention along with an environment that allows social engagement.

Prescribe short walks with a friend, family member, or neighbour. Have the person start with 30 minutes of walking or rucking (walking with a weighted backpack) most days positively impacts ones behaviour as well as body.

Encourage patients to talk about their exercise. Every other patient I begin by discussing their exercise routine. This leads to positive reinforcement of workout routines, participation and such conversations help those who prefer to exercise solo providing motivations for movement. Start by mention of one idea, question, or observation related to physical activity during casual catchups or chats.

Recommend resistance training. I prescribe twice or thrice per week apart from aerobic exercises. A total of 32% of the participants in the JAMA Network study had cardiovascular disease, nearly 34% had osteoporosis, 70% had arthritis, and more than 20% were living with diabetes.

Not the least - Expect pushback. Encouraging older adults to exercise is hard because many are resistant to it. Do it anyway. Some will listen and that makes the effort worthwhile. I try to provide as much information as I can about what happens to aging bodies if they don't train. These people are likely to fall, they die earlier, and have a poorer quality of life. But when they start exercising, they feel better immediately. The best way to make sure is to workout with them. For last four years I have been working out with community including my patients. Motivation and admiration goes hand in hand but above all consistency pays them off in the end.

This Could Be Key to Motivating Older Patients to Exercise - Medscape - March 27, 2024.

In the end, I believe that the medical community should proactively encourage more people to participate in strength training to help reduce their risk of osteoarthritis and other chronic conditions.

Strength Training Promotes Knee Health, Lowers OA Risk - Medscape - Nov 02, 2023.