Next week, more than a thousand organizations nationwide will be celebrating the 19th annual Senior Health & Fitness Day. According to president of Firstat Nursing Services in San Diego, Linnea Goodrich, “National Senior Health & Fitness Day reminds us of the importance of staying active later in life.” This annual day is a great way for all those seniors who get in-house care to learn healthy nutrition and fitness techniques. They learn how to set up a safe environment and how to easily incorporate exercise into their everyday lives. Home caregivers help motivate and reassure these elderly people that they can do it and that by adding exercise to their lives they will feel better and have a greater chance of living better quality lives.
So for this Senior Health & Fitness Day, a list of three main points were compiled that should be very helpful to the elderly: first, they need to ensure their home space is safe as they probably spend a lot of time at home and will be likely engaging in their exercise routines there too. One slight fall can often be the beginning of the end for the elderly, so doing all they can to avoid that is commendable. A home caregiver is usually able to set this up for them and help them build up their confidence and their skills. Second, reintroduce exercise into the lives of the elderly, many of whom have not engaged in exercise for many years and, as now elderly people, do not know how to start. Perhaps they were pretty active as youngsters, but over the years this has gone awry and now they need assistance in reintroducing it in a fun and safe way. Third, a qualified caregiver can help the elderly stay motivated. Everyone can benefit from exercise and the elderly are no exception; they just need to be motivated and find the exercise that works for them.
Ultimately, the main aim of this day is to keep elderly Americans fit, healthy and moving. The day – that began in 1963 – is always the last Wednesday in May (May being Older Americans Month) and marks the country’s biggest annual health promotion event for the elderly. It is a time of pride, during which it shows the commitment and recognition of the country of its elderly citizens. It is a public-private partnership organized by the Mature Market Resource Center. According to the program manager for NSHFD, Patricia Henze, “our goals for senior day are to make exercise fun, to increase awareness of the benefits of a regular exercise program for older adults, and to encourage all older adults to take advantage of the may health and fitness programs offered in their communities.”