Staying Active
Why Stay Active?
Staying mobile—being able to move comfortably—feels good. And it does so much more! It keeps us healthy.
Staying active helps us:
- Live longer
- Stay out of hospital
- Avoid falls
- Continue to live independently
It also:
- Boosts our mood
- Improves our sleep
- Sharpens our focus…and more
Mobility works best as a form of preventative health. It’s something you can do that helps prevent illness and injury.
Staying mobile is for everyone. Although aging brings changes in mobility, there are many ways to manage these. This page is a starting point.
Things You Should Know about Mobility
You can stay mobile as you age.
If you lose mobility, you can regain it.
Formal exercise or sport are not the only options for staying active.
Six Tips to Get Moving
Lifestyle changes work best when they suit you. Think about your budget, your energy levels, your support system, and above all, what you like. If there is an activity you used to like that you can no longer do, find something similar. Also, try linking a new activity to something you already love. If you like nature, join a birding group. If you like music, try a dance class, or listen to music while you ride a stationary bike. Find something you will want to keep doing. If you have specific needs or goals, you can work with a physiotherapist or kinesiologist. You don’t need a doctor’s referral. See Help is Available, below.
Joining a group or having a buddy for activity means you are more likely to stick with it. If you have a friend who is active, ask to join them. Check out your local community centre or seniors’ centre. You can find activities ranging from ping pong to walking groups to ballroom dance classes.
Need help finding these resources? Call or text 2-1-1, or go online at 211.ca. It is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day in more than 150 languages.
There are 75-year-olds riding bikes up mountains, 85-year-olds trying chair yoga for the first time, and 65-year-olds learning how to get around with a walker. All these people are success stories because they are staying mobile.
All movement has health benefits. Gardening, fishing, fixing things around the home, cooking, and cleaning all keep you fit. Things you do as part of daily life, like making a snack, doing laundry, or walking to the corner store or bus stop, count as activity.
Learn how to make your home safer and easier to move around in HERE. Just creating more space so you have room to move can make a difference.
Work with your health care provider to find the right mobility aids (canes, walkers, crutches, grab bars, etc.) if needed. Ask for tips on how to use them most effectively. Also, work with your health care provider to plan ways to get around easily outside your home.
The science of motivation tells us that most people do well with plans, goal setting, and rewards. For instance, if you have a pedometer (a device that counts your steps), you’ll want to see those numbers go up.
There are lots of fitness apps that make activity tracking easy and fun, or you can keep things simple with a paper tracking chart pinned to your fridge.
Also, don’t hesitate to call a friend or family member to tell them about your latest success. Some people buy themselves gifts when they reach goals.
Healthy Lifestyle = Better Mobility
This improves your energy and mood which makes it easier to engage and be active.
See an eye doctor regularly and wear your glasses when you need them.
Get your hearing tested regularly and wear hearing aids if you need them.
If your doctor says it’s okay, consider cutting out medication that might be making it hard to be active.
When researchers look at what behaviours are connected with living a long life, social engagement comes out as number one.
Tips for Caregivers
Allow the person you’re caring for to do as much as they are able for themselves. Notice and celebrate the physical things they can still do. If possible, let them be the ones to get up and let the dog out, make tea, wash the dishes, and do other tasks. All this counts as activity. It will help them remain mobile.
Help is Available
Help is available in your community. You can meet with a physiotherapist, kinesiologist, or other trained health care worker. You don’t need a doctor’s referral to see them.
They will work with you on your personal needs and wishes. For instance, perhaps you want to feel steadier on your feet (improve balance). Perhaps you wish you were more physically able to get to your book club. You might work one-on-one with them or in a group.
Find this support through your local seniors’ recreation centre, ask your doctor, or call 211.
Getting Mobile Again After a Setback
Life has its ups and down. These affect our activity levels at any age. Luckily, there are ways to get moving again. Also, health care providers can help you.
Recovering from surgery and hospital stays
Mobility and general physical health are what most influence how people recover and whether they go home or to long-term care after a hospital stay. But older people in hospital are out of bed only 54 minutes every 24 hours.
In the hospital
Let staff know you want to stay as mobile as possible. Ask for their help and advice. You can do bed exercises, or if you are able to walk around, find a destination in the hospital you can visit each day.
Leaving the hospital
As you prepare to leave the hospital, your health care team will work with you to create a discharge plan. Once back home, follow the discharge plan. And don’t be shy to ask the people in your life to help keep you active!
Getting moving after a pause
A vacation, a change in the weather, or something as simple as an exercise class being cancelled or a walking buddy moving away can mess up your routine. Don’t give up! Look for a new class, or a new buddy. Switch activities. Or you may simply need to start again, but slowly. No matter what, moving will help you stay healthy and feel good.
Looking for inspiration? Here is a story about 90-year-old Solange Lemieux. Just weeks after emergency surgery for bowel obstruction, she was back home and feeling as healthy and able as ever. This didn’t happen by luck. Solange took part in a trial program which focuses on bed mobility, balance, walking, and climbing stairs while in hospital.
Similar hospital programs have led to 19% fewer major complications and deaths for patients who participated.
Based on her experience, Solange says, “Too many people seem to think, I’m old, I can’t do this. And they seem to lean back and slow down. I think people think about the future too much. You have to work from day to day.”
Resources
24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults aged 65+
- View guidelines
- Short but full of great information from ParticipAction and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology
- Click on ‘Resources’ to find easy-to-use infographics
24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults aged 18 – 64
- View guidelines
- Short but full of great information
- Click on ‘Resources’ to find easy-to-use infographics
Guide to Exercise from Osteoporosis Canada
- Guide to exercise full of great information
- View guide
Inactivity Prevention Package
- 15 exercises, with diagrams and clear, simple explanations on how to do them correctly and safely
- Learn More
Your Plan to Get Active Everyday!
- This 32-page booklet from the Heart and Stroke Foundation has information for all-ages
- It offers tips on how to sit less, how to make an activity plan, and an activity log
- View booklet
Tip sheets
- Call 8-1-1 (or 7-1-1 for the deaf and hard of hearing) toll-free in B.C. to talk to a qualified exercise professional for free
- Ask questions and get advice about physical activity and advice
- Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m Pacific Time
- Translation services available in more than 130 languages
You can also connect with HealthLinkBC’s qualified exercise professionals by email.
Osteofit and Get Up and Go classes
- Fall prevention classes offered in various community and recreation centres in B.C.
- Learn More
Be Active—First Nations Health Authority
- Exercise programs, contact to many First Nations sports clubs and associations (golf, soccer, canoeing, and more), links for more information
- Learn More
ISPARC Move | Play | Compete – Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity & Recreation Council