How to Get your Residents to Stay

(and Not Leave) Your Physical Activities

Many seniors love doing activities. But when it comes to physical activities like exercise, a lot of seniors tend to be no-shows!

So how can you get your seniors interested in participating in your physical activities? Here are 4 tricks to get your residents to stick around for your physical activities:

1. Change the Name. Stop referring to your physical activities as exercise. Instead, refer to them as games, competitions, or tournaments. For example, instead of leading an Arm Exercise Class, host a Ping Pong Tournament or a Balloon Volleyball Championship, which still allows residents to exercise their arms.

2. Change the Reward. Add fun prizes or accolades to the games. For instance, award inexpensive trophies or homemade cookies as prizes, or simply create a nametag for the winner to wear that reads “(Your Facility’s) Horseshoe Champion.”

3. Change the Game. Add in fun elements to the games like music. In fact, consider incorporating the type of music that will be played into the title of the activity: The Doris Day Bowling League.

4. Change the Location. Host some of the games and contests in different locations throughout your facility, like outdoors in your backyard or even in one of the less-traveled hallways.

Related: How to Get Your Residents to Attend Your Activities