Exercise and Alzheimer’s Disease

I’d like to follow up with a little more discussion about exercise. So easy for me to recommend, and so easy to say we’re committed to it, but oh, so hard to actually implement!

When you are exhausted from the daily chores of caregiving, exercise sometimes seems like the last thing you want to do. Or encourage your loved one to do. You know it’s important, but how do you find the time? Or energy?

Before his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, Harvey was an avid marathon runner, running about two races a year. He even ran the Boston Marathon. Harvey trained for these marathons methodically, working with a schedule that included days for interval training, speed training, hill drills, and distance training. He also trained smart, careful not to injure his knees or feet.

Once he retired, Harvey was able to train harder and run more races. He even won prize money in a Mississippi marathon. My husband, the professional athlete! Even more remarkable, Harvey ran his best time at age fifty, with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, at 3 hours, 13 minutes.

After his last marathon, two years into his diagnosis, he quit running, saying it was too cold, but I suspect he was getting concerned about losing his way when training long distances.

I knew Harvey needed to keep exercising, so I bought a treadmill. I would help with the controls, but he really didn’t enjoy it. Once he needed at-home care, I had the caregivers take him to a local gym and enlisted a trainer there to guide him.

Once he could really no longer manage even that, I hired the same trainer from the gym to come to our home and work with him on our treadmill as well as with balance, weight training, and hand-eye coordination.

In the memory care unit, Harvey was a walker, sometimes even trying to run a bit.

I, on the other hand, am not a natural athlete, and I have always struggled with maintaining a good exercise routine. During Harvey’s years of Alzheimer’s disease, I knew that I needed to stay healthy, so I decided to make exercise a priority.

I mostly walked the hills in our neighborhood in the early morning before work, or else used the treadmill if it was too cold. One day, when I returned from my walk, Harvey was not at home. That’s another story! But from then on, we walked together in the mornings.
I did continue to walk on my own once Harvey was in memory care.

Your loved one may not be a natural athlete like Harvey. He or she may even have physical limitations that prohibit even moderate exercise. Still, look for ways they can remain as active as possible. Senior centers offer exercise classes as do some places of worship. It might even be something you could do together.

Like any new habit, if you stick with something for six weeks, it becomes a routine that you look forward to. I can attest!

Just do it!