The Best Ways to Exercise When Your Mom Needs a Walker

Home Care Services Wilmette IL - The Best Ways to Exercise When Your Mom Needs a Walker

Since your mom started using a walker, she's not exercising as much. You know it's important, but she finds the exercises she enjoyed are simply too hard now. How can you get her to exercise? 
 
Go For Walks 
 
It sounds simple, but walks are the best exercise for someone with a walker. She does need a level surface. This may mean walking laps around the house, going outside and walking up and down her driveway, or walking the halls in an apartment building. 
 
What does she do if she doesn't have level areas around her home? What if she doesn't have a layout that's suitable for walking? Take her to a mall or nature park that has boardwalks, accessible trails, or paved paths. 
 
Chair Exercises 
 
Have your mom work out from a chair. Chair exercises are easy-to-follow routines that you do from a seated position on a chair. Some of the popular exercises she can do are leg lifts, arm lifts, and stretches. 
 
There are chair exercise programs for Yoga and Zumba. She can find many of these programs on sites like YouTube, which makes it easy to do at home. 
 
Swimming 
 
If your mom can swim, a pool is a great way to get exercise when balance or stability are issues. The buoyancy in a pool takes the strain off the joints and muscles, which makes it easier to do. 
 
Someone will need to help your mom get in and out of the pool. Once in the pool, a float can help support her while doing leg exercises. 
 
Walker Lifts 
 
If your mom's balance is okay, walker lifts help build upper body strength. She'll stand straight, lift her walker a few inches off the ground, hold it for a count of five, and set it back down. She wants to repeat this as many times as she can before she's feeling too tired to continue. 
 
Sit and Stand 
 
One way to build leg strength is by having your mom sit down with the walker in front of her. She stands up using the walker for support and slowly sits back down. Someone should stand in front of the walker to make sure it doesn't shift while she's standing up. 
 
Have you considered having a home care services aide help encourage your mom? She can have someone helping her out with daily fitness routines and cheering her on when she's having a harder day. Make a call to discuss the rates and home care services that can improve your mom's life. 

 If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Services in Wilmette IL, contact the caring staff at Gentle Home Services. Call today (800) 860-9823. ​
 
 

---