The worn out adage that you can’t take care of everyone else until you take care of yourself is still true. Self-care was a trendy term during 2017 that seemed to urge us constantly to spend more time taking care of ourselves. If you read anything about “self-care” this year, you might have noticed that it included everything from longer bubble baths to learning to meditate, to the perfect essential oils for better sleep.

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How you choose to practice self-care is less important, than that you do. If you’re more interested in the sweaty workout form of self-care, FitClub has you covered.

Fitness as Self Care

A hard workout absolutely counts as a form of self-care. Psychologists believe that “vigorous exercise” for twenty to sixty minutes each session at least three times each week is a quality form of self-care. Not only does vigorous exercise burn calories and improve cardiovascular health, but it also releases endorphins and reduces stress, both essential qualities of worthwhile self-care.

To increase the emotional advantages of your exercise routine, the American Psychological Association recommends that you concentrate on long, slow breaths even while you exercise and that you take note of how you feel emotionally before and after your workout. Reflecting on your workout and taking time to calibrate your “emotional temperature” reinforces the mental and emotional growth that occurs during a physical workout.

Fitness as Personal Time

Escaping to FitClub to practice self-care also has the added benefit of allowing you quality time with yourself, away from the demands of the office or your family and friends. Securing time each day to spend with yourself, working towards a healthier life and your own personal goals allows you to eliminate the distractions and noise that are inevitable in every busy person’s life. FitClub also offers massage appointments and meditation classes if you need to expand your ability to cut down on the noise and chatter of the day to day life.

Self-care should be about rewarding yourself with what you actually want to do, instead of the list of what you have to do throughout your day. Learning to listen to your body and responding to the movement, exercise, and strengthening it needs promotes an overall healthier lifestyle and happier state of mind.

Are you overdue for self-care?

While self-care every day is the ideal, some of us really struggle with making time for ourselves with competing family and work demands. If you have noticed that you are abnormally irritable, feeling burnt out, or just generally feel lethargic during the course of activities you usually enjoy, you are overdue for self-care.

Whether you’re new to FitClub or a regular, making time for self-care can provide the balance that we all need to live our best lives and better care for those around us.