The Benefits of Exercise for Family Caregivers
By: Amy Blackburn, Msg
Tags: Caregiver Burnout, Caregivers, Aging In Place, Exercise, Dimensions Of Wellness

Another way besides nutrition to set goals focusing on physical wellness is to start exercising or even increasing your daily physical activities. Physical activity (PA) is any movement of the body. Types of PA could be chores, yard work, doing laundry; or leisure activities you enjoy such as gardening, golfing, bowling, walking your dog, hiking, or any other sport. Exercise is categorized into specific types, with goals to increase or improve physical strength, power, agility, speed, balance, and mobility, or cardiovascular health. More general types of exercise are resistance or strength training accomplished by using weights, machines, cables, elastic bands, or body weight; and cardiovascular, which is consistent, continuous movement such as walking, jogging, swimming, bicycling, or hiking. Resistance training and cardiovascular exercise programs are beneficial to family caregivers because they help to increase muscle strength, thereby reducing injuries during caregiver duties, and these exercises strengthen your heart, lungs, and blood vessels.

Setting goals related to PA and exercise could also improve your emotional health because it might be a stress reliever, help you sleep, and give you more confidence as you improve your appearance. If you want to participate in something like yoga or Tai-Chi, it might help enhance your spiritual wellness, since these can be meditative and energy-tapping activities. If the type of exercise you add is in a group setting or a class, you might develop your sociological wellness as you meet new people and make new friends. Perhaps you used to be a coach, or you were an athlete and you could volunteer to coach for a team, which would tap into your vocational wellness. More and more research studies have found evidence that exercise and PA help your brain, thereby boosting your intellectual dimension of wellness.

Flexibility is often part of a workout program and could be very helpful for family caregivers. Flexibility is improved through static, slow, and dynamic stretching and PA or exercise helps with flexibility as well. Stretching to develop flexibility does not necessarily burn a lot of calories to decrease body fat, but it does help with the range of motion, body mechanics a caregiver uses when transferring a loved one and reducing pain and injury. Stretching is beneficial for everybody, from athletes to a family caregiver or even your loved one with more limited abilities.

The best, most comprehensive exercise program or routine for a family caregiver will include resistance training, cardio, and stretching. You could even tailor the routine to include exercises done with your loved one at home or in a community setting. To maintain current strength, resistance training should be a balanced, full-body workout done at least two days each week; and three days each week to increase strength and progress continually. A full-body workout might include at least one to three sets of 15 repetitions of the following: rotator cuff warm-up (since caregivers sometimes get strains or tears), torso warm-up, upper back (rowing), chest (pushing), legs (supported squats or chair stands); isolated movements of each, such as one-arm rowing (resistance bands, cables, or dumbbells), one arm press (resistance bands or cables), and one-leg extension and leg curl; with the option of completing each exercise while challenging the balance, such as standing on a cushion or on one leg to enhance core strength.

If resistance training or strengthening exercises are completed from one set to the next with minimal rest, this will also help with cardiovascular health. But it is always good to add some form of cardio for 10 to 40 minutes; an hour is not necessary if you are completing 30 to 60 minutes of resistance training, which should always come first. One way to get your cardio done is to walk for 10 minutes before your resistance or strength training workout and this will help warm up your muscles as the blood flows through your body; then walk for 10 minutes after your strengthening workout which will help you cool down your muscles. If you do not have time for a full hour of exercise, walk for 10 minutes when you wake up in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon, and 10 minutes in the evening; and you would still reap the benefits by simply doing 5 minutes of resistance training after each 10-minute increment of cardio. An example of a 5-minute nonstop strength-focused workout would be 15 rows with a rubber tubing, 15 push-ups angled up against the kitchen counter, and 15 chair stands, attempting to complete at least three to five sets of this circuit.

Stretching should always be done when your body is nice and warm, this way, all joints and muscles are lubricated once you have gotten a smooth, gradual blood flow throughout your body. Slow, static stretching can be done during a workout, in between resistance training exercises, or at the end of a workout. Dynamic stretching is better before or during a workout, and especially beneficial in reducing injury if you are about to play a sport or do something with quick movements. A foam roller can also be used in conjunction with stretching which not only helps with flexibility but can also help with muscle compensation caused by tightness or previous injuries. Using a foam roller daily can help reduce injuries, and it helps reduce pain throughout the body. It is best to move slowly and hold the spot on a tender area of your muscle, so the knot relaxes. Knots in your muscles sometimes take time and patience to dissipate, which is why it helps to be done daily.

With exercise programs, it is important to focus on your weaknesses. It is how exercise is different from PA. Exercise is targeted to specific goals in mind, especially to develop weaknesses into strengths. If you are having difficulty dressing your loved one who had a stroke and is paralyzed on one side of the body, increasing your strength will allow you to exert less energy to complete a task and you will not fatigue as quickly or cause physical strain in your body as easily.

If you are unsure about your workout program it might be helpful to consult a professional, just as you would for long-term care assistance with your loved one. A professional personal trainer would help teach proper techniques for all types of exercises, develop an exercise program tailored to your goals, and can also guide you in nutritional needs. Personal trainers with formal educations, just like the other professionals mentioned, such as a geriatric care manager or gerontologist, who have Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in exercise-related fields and also have at least five years of experience training clients will be the most qualified and worth the average rate they typically charge, which can be around $100 per hour.

If you have physical activities you enjoy and have time to do them (which you need to make the time if you don’t), then do those instead of or in addition to exercise. Physical activities that can be good for the body, mind, and soul include gardening, handy work around the house or yard, caring for pets or animals (walking or playing with them), or various leisure sports such as golf, bowling, or fishing. Even if exercise is skipped due to time or your desire to simply be physically active, it is still always good to stretch before, during, and after these physical activities to prevent injuries and maintain range of motion and mobility. You do not want to start adding PA or exercise and then get injured from it and have a setback where it prevents you from being able to care for your loved one. Start slow and do things you enjoy to not overwhelm yourself and to achieve the most benefit from it.

Since everyone is at risk for falling, something important for family caregivers as well as the loved ones you care for are specific fall prevention exercise programs. Fall prevention exercise classes can decrease falls by integrating strength training, balance and mobility exercises, flexibility, and some even target cognitive restructuring to reduce the fear of falling — particularly for older adults who have had recent falls. If you do not prefer a class setting and you find a personal trainer or exercise expert who is knowledgeable in fall prevention, a specialized fall prevention program could be developed for you and your loved one. However, for older adults a class setting is beneficial for that needed socialization — sometimes even for the isolated caregiver! It does not hurt to try a class first; you might like it. They are typically available at community or senior centers, or local community colleges or universities.

Nutrition and exercise or PA are very closely linked. If you are adding physical movement, you want to add nutrient-dense foods with plenty of complex carbohydrates with fiber, low-fat proteins, and fats rich in Omega-3 most importantly, and Omega-6; with zero to low saturated fats. If your goal is to lose body fat, you do not need to add much more calories or foods when you start exercising or start a leisure physical activity; you might simply need to add more nutrient-dense types of foods.

As a family caregiver, adding PA or exercise into your life can be difficult so you might need to examine your barriers, such as time or energy and set S.M.A.R.T. goals to address those first. Work with your social worker, gerontologist, or case manager if you are a client in a Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP) and discuss how these goals can be added to your Care Plan.