Promoting Workout activities

We know that exercise is essential to our health. It helps us overcome many diseases and improves our quality of life. Studies have shown that people are more motivated to start exercising if they know they will get support from their family, friends, and society at large. That’s why it is important to promote physical activity in a way that will encourage others to participate.

The article below discusses the promotion of physical activity in our daily lives and offers some advice on how we can encourage others by participating in their workout sessions or joining gym equipment either from home gym equipment or commercial gym.

Promoting workout activities can be hard when you have a busy schedule, are running low on time, or don’t have the proper knowledge on how to go about it. The great thing is that these days, you can find all the information and support you need for any workout activities. You can study the process for a quality workout activity through social media or contact a certified personal trainer to help you gain more knowledge. 

Currently, you can find different workout equipment out there that offer different tactics to help you gain more strength or knowledge in workout exercise. 

It can be hard to know the best fitness routine to follow to meet your goals, but with the right knowledge and guidance, it is easy.

First, you need to identify your goals. What does working out mean for you? Is it about weight loss or just feeling better about yourself? After you have figured out what would motivate you, it’s time to find a workout that matches your needs.

Below, we have listed the best way to promote workout activities: 

• Consider societal, cultural, and time issues related to low participation in older women when planning physical activity programs and policies. 

• Emphasize the benefits of personal health and assist caregivers with access to convenient opportunities such as home-based programs, with electronic/telephone-based consultations for support. 

• Engage cultural organizations to advise on cultural sensitivities related to physical activity programming.

• Reinforce physical activity as a mechanism to promote positive mental health and social inclusion. 

• Emphasize that regular participation in physical activities can decrease the symptoms of depression and anxiety in older adults and result in psychosocial benefits as well. Participating in physical activities with others can boost feelings of support, belonging, and positivity— feelings that are integral to mental well-being.

• To assist in changing the behavior of older adults, successful programs need to incorporate strategies that: 

• increase knowledge of the vital role physical activity plays in one’s health and function, 

• provide information on the theory and practice of how to exercise safely, and 

• assist in setting goals and maintaining motivation.

• Emphasize the benefits of physical activity in preventing and managing chronic conditions. 

• Provide examples of how exercise helped to improve the condition or quality of life of older adult peers. 

• Recommend consulting with qualified exercise specialists to increase confidence in participating in physical activity. 

• Emphasize that all physical activities can be modified to accommodate various chronic conditions. 

• Promote resources that explain the appropriate type of exercise for each chronic condition.

Incorporate continued long-term contact, counseling, and support into your programming. Support can come in many forms and can be chosen to best suit each individual. Engage participants to determine which form of support to incorporate into your program (e.g., face-to-face meetings, telephone chats, Internet-based website tracking, etc.)

• Seek funding opportunities or subsidies to support a program. 

• Recruit volunteers to provide recreation services. Contact local colleges/universities to provide volunteer opportunities to new fitness professionals. 

• Identify and promote activities that are just as effective but do not need expensive equipment or gym memberships (e.g., home-based programs, walking for exercise). 

• Advocate for increased access to facilities and opportunities in low-income and underserved areas.

• Factors such as convenience, aesthetics of facilities or parks, and ease of parking should be taken into consideration in planning new and assessing existing programs. 

• Consider places where older adults may already gather (e.g., places of worship, community centers, etc.) to increase the convenience and appeal of a location.

• Focus on individually tailored programming to address multiple barriers related to engaging older adults in physical activity (e.g., transportation, time preferences, schedules, etc.). 

• Take into account the qualifications and characteristics of fitness leaders, as these factors may influence the initiation or maintenance of a physical activity program. 

• Consider engaging community partners in facilitating a physical activity passport campaign to allow individuals to try different activities. Finding activities that suit individual needs and interests is essential in keeping older adults motivated and active. 

• Invest time into keeping an up-to-date resource of available options for older adults in your community (e.g., a list of local pools and swim times).

• Recommend scheduling an appointment to be physically active or incorporating physical activity into current interests (e.g., dog walking, shopping, socializing, etc.). 

• Develop or recommend home-based programs that do not require travel. 

• Emphasize that incorporating short bouts of daily physical activity is better than not engaging in any activity at all. 

• Identify strategies to incorporate physical activity into smaller 10-minute time frames (e.g.,)

• Encourage the whole family to get involved and participate in physical activity together. 

• Recommend involving a fitness buddy to increase accountability. 

• Encourage primary care physicians to promote and prescribe physical activity. Physicians are seen as a highly credible source of information and are aware of a person’s medical history. 

• Provide physicians with sources for referral (e.g., local public health units, community health centers, certified exercise specialists, etc.)

• Emphasize that effective programming has been shown in a variety of settings for older adults (e.g., fitness facilities, community parks, individual homes). 

• Make clients aware that home-based programs can be just as effective as group fitness programs or fitness facility memberships. 

• Tailor programs to meet the needs of participants. 

• Offer programs that incorporate a multi-setting approach to suit the needs and preferences of participants.

• Consider home-based programs with occasional gatherings in community settings and establish online communities for a sense of group belonging. 

• Encourage older adults to participate in outdoor physical activities in groups or pairs for safety reasons.

• Physical activity messaging may not be as prominent in all communities or within areas of communities or be relevant enough to incur a behavior change. 

• Choose awareness campaigns targeted to your audience for maximum effectiveness. 

• Partner with organizations, seniors groups, older adult peer role models, and/or health professionals who can assist in increasing awareness. 

• Incorporate action steps that older adults can take to become physically active into awareness campaigns.

• Take into account issues that may deter older adults when choosing where and when programming is located and scheduled (e.g., some older adults may feel vulnerable to traffic or crime). 

• Support improved access to places where older adults can be active, such as walking trails, bike paths, and classes at fitness facilities or senior centers. 

• Advocate for age-friendly, inclusive communities to allow for increased physical activity.

• Encourage a transportation buddy system. 

• Identify public transit options and special service options. Many cities offer specialized transit services for older adults with mobility issues. 

• Arrange for transportation alternatives for older adults with limited mobility or safety concerns or during the winter months. 

• Encourage home-based programming and establish online communities for a sense of group belonging or incorporate telephone consultations for added social support.

Reference: PARC_Best Practices Guide