Make Time for Your Workout and Self-Care

As a fitness professional, I often hear comments like, “It’s easy for you. You workout all day for your job.”

No, I do not work out all day. I oversee others working out all day. For you the reader, you may manage a group of people who oversee others working out all day. You may make sure the facilities are up to a high standard so staff can oversee participants working out all day in a safe and clean facility.

How do you find the time for your own workout and time for your own self-care? To be honest, I struggle with this quite a bit. I can preach well to my clients on the importance of consistency in exercise. I emphasize the value of the balance of physical health with mental and nutritional well-being together to my classes and with clients. Do I practice what I preach? The answer is sometimes. There are seasons where I do it well, where I do not do it at all, and more often, where I do it somewhere in between.

For me personally, I am not motivated simply by the knowledge I need to care for myself. My best success is when I practice what I preach by hiring my own personal trainer, attending group classes as a participant and seeking the guidance of a wellness coach. I need others to push me beyond what I might do on my own.

Here are some self-care tips and tricks:

• Lock out time in your weekly schedule for you time. Hold that time sacred and do not allow anything to take it over. Put yourself first.
• Consider a trade with another fitness professional to cut the cost. This can be a win-win for both of you.
• Find a friend or family member to join in your journey for added accountability to adhere to your health goals. Maybe even consider a department-wide accountability group at work.
• Set small attainable goals where you can easily find success. These goals can grow and change as you move forward but setting huge multi-faceted goals will set you up to fail.
• Remember to give yourself grace. Life happens and there needs to be wiggle room to adjust the schedule and goals along the way.

Benefits for You:

I feel a little like Oprah Winfrey: “You get a benefit, and you get another benefit…” No matter what your health goals are, you will get all the benefits of whole-body wellness. Your goal may be to look great for a certain event coming up. That is a fine goal, but as you work on that goal, you will also sleep better at night, have more focus in the day, better memory, less moodiness, a stronger immune system, more mobility in your body, less stress, less depression and less anxiety. And yes, you will look dynamite for your event. Internal wellness shows on the outside like a glow.

Professional Benefits:

• By blocking out time for yourself, you will be more satisfied and efficient at your job. Putting yourself first also puts your career and co-workers first.
• Whether you hire another professional or trade with someone in the industry, working with others in your field will make you better at what you do.
• Finding that accountability group can develop deep and wonderful friendships that can weather any storm. Plus, a bonus is they are people to celebrate with as you each experience the wins.
• Celebrate each win no matter how small. It all counts and consistency compounds.
• Consider reframing your mind from W/L meaning “Wins and Losses” to “Wins and Learning.” Either there is a win, or an opportunity to gain experience and learn something about yourself so you can turn it into a win.

Find what works for you. Set your goals. You do not need to wait for the New Year or even the next Monday to start. You can start at 2 p.m. today if you want. Go make it happen.