Top Tips to Introducing Exercise for Your Care Residents

By Gym Provider Anytime Fitness UK (www.anytimefitness.co.uk)

Giving care residents the opportunity to participate in physical activity should be seen as a major priority. As well as the physical benefits they can enjoy, it can be a real boost mentally and give them something to look forward to during their day.

The health and fitness experts at leading health club provider Anytime Fitness UK (www.anytimefitness.co.uk), which has over 185 gyms across the UK and Ireland, have provided their top tips for introducing exercise in a care home setting:

• Make exercise functional – functional exercise is physical activity that aims to directly make daily activities easier. Care home residents that are inactive or sedentary throughout their day can lose both strength and muscle mass quickly which can make daily tasks more challenging. Simple chair-based exercises such as seated body twists, standing up and sitting down and arm raises can be inclusive for everyone and have great benefits for motility

• Make it a group activity – group exercise is a really effective way to increase the social benefits of exercise. With loneliness often being a challenge for care home residents, group activities give them an opportunity to engage with each other and improve their quality of life. These classes could be led by someone from the care home, or the care home could bring in a dedicated health and fitness expert – it’s important that those leading any exercise or physical activity are always fully qualified and trained

• Get outdoors where possible – we recently completed a survey with mental health charity Samaritans which saw people name walking as the most beneficial activity for their mental wellbeing. Getting outdoors and being active will help residents get that all-important Vitamin D which can strengthen bones, as well as the cardiovascular benefits of walking which include strengthening your heart and improving circulation.

If your care home is interested in having a health and fitness expert from Anytime Fitness, you can contact our Wellness Team by visiting https://www.anytimefitness.co.uk/employee-wellness-contact/.