Active living > Motivate and support your members as they make change

Motivate and support your members as they make change

Your ultimate goal is not to inform your members about active living, but to encourage them to become more active. Support and reinforcement for doing something is important. Here are a few ideas:

• Make every activity an opportunity for active living: Include a ten minute exercise break in a bridge game. Start a "frequently active awards program." Grade the activities that you offer in terms of their contribution to active living. Provide one point for each 10 minutes of movement. For example, a 30-minute walk would get three points, but a bridge club would not get any unless they added ten minutes of exercise during the bridge game. Encourage members to accumulate more points each week or month.
• Offer personal encouragement of your members: Recognize the changes individuals have made. Have a simple recognition ceremony every six months for people who have met their active living goals for that period.
• Start a "Keeping active and independent club" for people who would like a buddy for mutual encouragement. A buddy could be someone to walk with or someone to offer support and encouragement. Support may be as simple as a weekly phone call.
• Promote active living throughout the year: Cold in winter and heat in summer discourage many older adults from walking outdoors. Encourage members to find safe alternatives when walking outdoors is a problem.
  

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