7 Great Ways to Balance Personal Fitness and Self-Care

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​Photo credit: Pexels

Guest blog, written by Sheila Olsen of fitsheila.com
7 Great Ways to Balance Personal Fitness and Self-Care

Working out regularly is an important part of self-care. However, there’s more to self-care than just checking off your exercise regimen. Finding ways to balance both physical fitness and self-care is an increasingly important objectiveof many people and the fitness industry as a whole. Here are some great ways you can balance your fitness routine with self-care.

Create a Relaxation Regime 
Easy things like taking your dog for a walk, cooking something healthy, or immersing yourself in a book are all ways to relax yourself. Try to create this regimen before bed so you can wind down and sleep more soundly. Good, quality sleep will help you with productivity as well as coping with some of the more difficult aspects of your day. Find a roomin your house that can operate as a place for meditation. This can be your own bedroom or another area of privacy. 

Evaluate Your Goals
It’s important to enjoy your workouts and to have goals you actually want to achieve and not just because other people have done it. One recommendation for your fitness goals is to give them some serious variety. For instance, if you typically ride a stationary bike or go running, try to throw in some swimming or a little weight training. This can work some different muscles and improve an area you’re not accustomed to working out.

Stay Hydrate 
Research has shown that modest dehydration can reduce your peak performance by up to 40 percentin some environments. Drink more water throughout the day, even when you’re not working out. Staying hydrated can decrease bloating and help you function a lot better. You don’t have to suddenly switch to drinking a gallon of water a day; just drink a little more 

Get in Some Extra Snoozing 
While we all know that being tired can reduce your physical ability, it is also true that exercise can help you sleep betterover time. They exist in a cyclical relationship. Try to darken your bedroom, and find some nice pillows. Noise machines can also help by cutting out any distractions that might keep you awake. If sleep is something you struggle with and you often feel too tired to work out, try to do easier exercises when you’re tired.

Do Recovery on Your Rest Days
According to Greatist, taking a cold bath, drinking chocolate milk, or rolling out your muscles with a foam roller are all scientifically backed waysyou can help your body recovery effectively. Do some stretching and work on massaging those sore muscles. If you work out pretty intensely throughout the week, go easy on yourself and just go for a walk. If your workouts are less intense, then your recovery days can be more active.

Eat Tasty, Healthy Food You Love
Make sure what you eat includes food you genuinely enjoy. If you don’t like salad, you can still eat other healthy food and be happy with yourself. There’s a whole world of healthy food out there that is still delicious; you just have to find what’s right for you.

Manage Stress
For the areas of your life you can control, write down solutions to problems and actively work to solve them. For the areas you can’t control (like an injury), try to find ways to accept that you can’t control it and learn how to work with it and make it work to your advantage. Meditation can also help with stress management; you can use simple breathing techniquesto help you relax. 
By creating a relaxing regimen, taking recovery days, eating healthy food, and staying hydrated, you can balance fitness with your self-care routine. It’s an important part of taking care of yourself, and you want to be able to keep pushing forward.

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