National Fitness Day: how our care home residents are keeping fit

Today is National Fitness Day, when we highlight the role that physical activity plays in leading a healthy and happy life.

It doesn’t matter what your age, exercise and physical activity are beneficial for our overall health and wellbeing. And this is no different for those living in care homes.

At Exemplar Health Care, we encourage regular physical activity and exercise to keep people’s minds and bodies moving, and improve the overall quality of life for people living in our care homes.

Benefits of exercise for care home residents

There are lots of benefits of exercising for care home residents.

• Functional fitness: Care home residents who are inactive or sedentary for long periods of time can rapidly lose strength and muscle mass, which can make daily tasks such as getting dressed, walking and taking part in activities, challenging. Exercise strengthens our muscles, supports key movements and improves mobility, which helps to make daily activities a little easier and promotes independence.
   
• Social engagement: Group exercise can be a great way to get together and have fun. Loneliness is often regarded as one of the biggest challenges facing those living in care homes, so group activities that encourage people to engage with each other can have a significant impact on quality of life.
   
• Mental stimulation: Exercise and activities that challenge residents and offer an enjoyable outlet can help with mental stimulation and wellbeing, which can have a positive effect on mood, mental health and self-esteem.
   
• Fun: Exercise isn’t just about health and fitness, it can also be a lot of fun! Having these types of activities scheduled can ensure they have something to look forward to.
   

How our residents are keeping active this National Fitness Day

Keeping fit can mean something different to all of us!

Exercising doesn’t need to be complex – it can be something as simple as taking a walk.

This National Fitness Day, take some inspiration from those living and working in our homes, who have been sharing their best workout snaps.

Exercise and relaxation at Fairwinds

Our residents and colleagues from Fairwinds care home in Rotherham regularly take part in exercise and relaxation classes.

This is an easy way to keep active and mobile, and can done from your own living room. There are lots of relaxation videos online.

A gym session from Willowbeck

The gym isn’t for everyone. However, gyms do provide the benefit of lots of equipment to support your workout.

This week, one of our residents from Willowbeck care home in Sheffield enjoyed a good workout in his local gym.

Fun exercise classes with friends at Yarningdale

Exercising with friends is a great way to stay motivated – you’re less likely to cancel your workout if you’re meeting a pal.

The team at our Yarningdale care home in Ripley love getting together to keep moving – and as you can see, it brings a smile to everyone’s faces. 

Exercising for a good cause at Parkside

There are lots of fun fundraising events that involve exercise, and knowing that you’re fundraising for a good cause is a great motivator.

Well done to the team at our Parkside care home in Tipton for taking part in the Birmingham Memory Walk and raising over £250 for the Alzheimer's Society.

Residents and colleagues from the home walked 3.5km around Sutton Park last week, and continued the fundraising back at the home with a raffle and bake sale.

Holistic care with Exemplar Health Care

At Exemplar Health Care, our care focuses on more than people’s health and medical needs.

Each of our homes has an experienced Nurse-led management team and a trained in-house team of Registered Nurses, Health Care Assistants and Life Skills/Activities Coordinators, as well as access to our central clinical experts and Behaviour Support Specialists.

Some of our homes also have in-house Therapy Teams, including Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists.

This enables people to access holistic care and a range of services in a community-based home that’s closer to their friends and family.

If you're looking for a complex care placement with a care provider that puts people at the heart of everything it does, contact our Referrals Team.

Or if you share our values and want to work in a rewarding career in care, check out our latest job vacancies.