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Changing your life with LiFE

Adding the balance and strength activities into your life is a matter of changing the way you do things. Changing the way we do things and our habits is not easy. There are things you can do to help you to remember to do the activities in the program.

Start with just a few activities, then when you begin to remember to do these routinely you can start to add more. You might need to use some prompts to remind you. Think about when and where you are going to start doing a LiFE activity. If you write this down it may help you to remember or you might prefer other prompts. For example, placing a cup somewhere it isn’t usually placed such as on a higher or lower shelf can be a prompt to bend or stand on toes when getting something out from a shelf.86

Help yourself to remember to do the activities

Here are some ways to remind yourself to do your activities.

• Link the balance and strength activities with regular daily tasks.

The task becomes the reminder, for example, doing the washing up reminds you to do a tandem stand.

• Come up with your own ideas for balance and strength routines.

When you think of the ideas you are more likely to add them into your life. The therapists are there to help, but if you gradually work in your own ideas you are much more likely to continue doing the activities for longer.

• Look for opportunities to do the LiFE balance and strength training activities.

For example, don’t see stairs as a problem but as an opportunity to get stronger legs.

• Use your daily tasks as the prompt to remind you to do an activity.

Some examples might be: cleaning your teeth reminds you to lean side to side; getting a morning cup of tea reminds you to tandem walk to the kitchen.

• Change where you put things.

For example, you might move the toothpaste off the top of the vanity and keep it in the cupboard below the basin so that you have to bend your knees to get it twice each day to clean your teeth.

The more you do the activities the more they become part of your habitual way of doing things. You need to do them often and keep progressing. 87

Recording your activities

In the early stages of the program it can be difficult to remember to do the activities. A useful method to help you to remember is to write down what you plan to do and what you were able to do. When you write it down it helps to reinforce the activities.

To make this easier for you there are some LiFE activity recording sheets available.

The activity recording sheets have all the balance and strength activities on them. They have space for you to write down which daily tasks you could or will include the activity in. They also allow you to record which days you were able to do the activities on.

The Activity Planner is a recording sheet for you to plan which activity you are going to do, the day(s) when you will try to do it and the number of times you were actually able to do it. In the early stages of the program it can be helpful to count how often you do an activity so that you can gradually increase the amount that you do.

Using these recording sheets, at least the first few weeks, is a very good way of helping you to remember to do the activities.

These sheets are available from the trainer’s manual.

If you are not sure about any of the activities check with your therapist first.88

Increasing your physical activity

This program will make it easier for you to become more physically active. As your strength and balance improve you should make the effort to increase the amount of physical activity that you do.

You can enhance your physical fitness by being more active in your daily routines. The following are some examples:

• Change the TV channel at the TV instead of using the remote.
• Walk all the way to the traffic lights to cross the road.
• Park slightly further from the shops so that you have to walk.
• Walk to the shops instead of driving.
• Get off the bus a stop early and walk the rest of the way.
• Use the stairs when you are able.
• Walk to the neighbours’ instead of using the telephone.
• When you have visitors suggest a walk outside before having tea or a meal.
• Lift and carry the groceries yourself.
• Stand to do the ironing and fold the clothes.

Look for ways to make changes to the amount of activity that you do.89

This is the end of the first phase of the LiFE balance and strength program. The LiFE activities have all been designed to help reduce your chance of falling and to keep you active.

You have learnt the principles behind improving your balance and strength.

You have learnt how to incorporate balance and strength activities into your everyday tasks and routines.

You have changed some of your habits by thinking about what you do and how you do it.

You have found opportunities to include balance and strength activities into your daily routine.

You should keep trying to find ways to challenge yourself.

If you think you have mastered these challenges there is a second volume to give you more ideas on how to keep challenging yourself.