The importance of self care in fitness

An introduction to self care 

Self care is an something we choose to do out of love for ourselves to improve our physical and mental health and well being. This can be in the form of activities, little or small, such as the small step of taking some time to do a face mask and enjoying a hot bath, or having your hair or nails styled. There are so many types of self care, such as exercise, taking a break, eating certain foods, and other activities, which i will explain more about. Actions of self care lead to feelings of happiness, validation, self improvement, and self love. Sadly, self care is something that can easily be forgotten with a busy modern day lifestyle, then we wonder why so many people have mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression. 

Self care allows you to be conscious of things that are happening and how they make you feel, and how to help yourself overcome anything that is causing negative feelings, and welcome the happy feelings. 

Self care in fitness 

Self care is an important part of fitness as it helps you to understand how your body responds to different exercises, when you need to change it up or take a breather, and how to prevent over exercising and injury which can happen if you ignore the signs your body is giving you. It's also important for self growth. If you want to grow in fitness you should listen to your body and understand how you can perform at your best for maximum results.

Exercise and fitness is only part of your lifestyle, and when there is something stressful or distracting going on somewhere else it can affect your performance, whether it be under performing or over performing. This could hinder progress, or cause an injury which slows down the process, therefor its important to listen to your body and incorporate self care as part of a healthy routine. 

Self care ideas

I found this checklist of self care ideas which i really like, and there is a lot of things on here that i personally practice often. Have a go at at least one, it will definitely help! Let me know how you get on in the comments below. 

 

I hope this helped! Chloe x