In our fast-paced lives, the everyday demands can make it challenging to put self-care first. However, it’s not about finding time; it’s about creating time.
Many of us can get caught up in the rush of our busy schedules, so it’s important to acknowledge that caring for our health shouldn’t be sacrificed.
Thankfully, Dean Zweck, Product Development Manager and some of the personal trainers at Total Fitness have shared 30 health and wellness tips– a selection of tips, advice, and health habits.
Designed to seamlessly fit into your existing routine, you can easily incorporate these tips into your daily life – even if you just choose one.
- Healthy competition is motivating – Competing with yourself, friends, or family is a fantastic motivator for your workout. Set yourself small goals or challenges for you to work on and feel the endorphin rush as you reach them.
- Aim for 30 reps – to help endurance, strength, and muscle building, setting a specific goal will help to keep you focused and guide your next workout.
- Start small, set realistic goals – It’s not about running marathons or lifting heavy weights; it’s about consistency with activities both your mind and body benefit from.
- Get outside – Just 30 minutes of sunlight has such an impact on our well-being and Vitamin D levels. Walk to school with the kids, take the dog out, or just park further away from the office, especially as we head into darker months to help you easily add more vitamin D to your day.
- Learn new exercises in gym classes for confidence on the gym floor – Whether it’s Body Pump, Boot Camp, Kettlebells – these classes are a fantastic way to stay motivated and learn new skills through using equipment to help boost your confidence.
- Workout with a friend – Exercising with a friend motivates you to explore new gym areas, create accountability, and stay connected.
- Track your progress – Wearable technology is a great way to track your activity and see your improvements week by week. A Personal Trainer can also be a great way of staying accountable, and they’ll be able to support and motivate you.
- Unplug before bed for better sleep quality – Avoid looking at digital screens for 30 minutes before you go to sleep, as the blue light from our screens depletes our melatonin – which is vital to keep our body clocks in check.
- Wear your gym clothes in the morning to motivate yourself – especially on weekends – You’re much less likely to skip a workout if you’re already dressed and ready for it.
- Start your day with a glass of water – Staying hydrated is important for both our mind and body, it can boost your mood and improve cognitive function.
- Prioritise recovery – building recovery into your fitness routine is essential, it allows your body to heal and adapt, reducing the risk of injury, and improving overall performance.
- Work on improving your swimming technique – swimming is a low-impact exercise and when working on simple techniques to improve your overall stroke, you’re also isolating different muscles too, working on your strength and endurance.
- Incorporate posture-improving exercises – Enhance your posture by incorporating exercises like weightlifting and Pilates into your routine. These exercises can alleviate back and neck pain, aid digestion, and boost your confidence.
- Exercise anywhere – The gym, at home, on holiday, and outside… it can be done anywhere, providing flexibility and accessibility to maintain your wellbeing.
- Fuel your body – Eating the right foods for your body is essential to support recovery. If we’re not fuelled up, you won’t have enough energy to work out.
- Create your own circuit to bring variety to your workout – Repetitive workouts can lead to a loss of motivation. Incorporating circuit training can add variety and be personalised to make your workouts more challenging.
- Match your workout to your mood – Your needs matter when it comes to exercise. Be sure to assess your energy level, set clear goals and listen to your body to find the exercises that are best for you.
- Try new and enjoyable ways to move your body – It’s about finding ways to exercise and move your body in a way that suits you.
- Avoid coffee in the afternoon for better sleep – limiting your caffeine intake after 3pm might help you to achieve a restful, deep sleep. Everyone is different, so monitoring what you eat and drink day-to-day is a good way to discover if it could be impacting your sleep.
- Use swimming and heat treatments as a form of recovery – Swimming is an excellent low-intensity recovery exercise. It helps muscles and joints heal without stressing the body. You can also try a dip in a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, or alternate hot and cold showers.
- Build positive attitudes towards fitness in young people – It’s so important to set children up with a positive attitude towards health and fitness early on. A lifelong love of exercise can have so many benefits and help both their physical, emotional, and psychological development.
- Prioritise sleep – Set a consistent sleep schedule and stick to it, even on weekends.
- Add in 30 seconds of HIIT to your cardio routine – Short bursts of high intensity intervals are a great way to upgrade your cardio, it helps to burn more calories and get your body moving.
- Switch up your strokes in the pool to work different muscle groups – If swimming is your preferred way of exercising, be sure to mix up your workout using different strokes to work more of your muscles. Each of the 4 strokes works different muscle groups and can change up the pace of your workout too.
- Pause. Take time to focus on breathwork – It’s important to take time each day to be still, focus on breathing exercises to reduce stress, and regain control over your movements.
- Understand stress-inducing and stress-reducing exercises– Stress-reducing exercises include Pilates, Swimming, and Walking. Stress-inducing exercises are your higher-intensity HIIT and weightlifting routines.
- Allow yourself to be flexible – If you miss a workout, don’t overdo it next time to compensate. Be kind to yourself, ease back in, and avoid the risk of injury or strain.
- Combine swim and gym workouts for variety – Mixing gym and pool workouts elevates your fitness routine, enhancing strength, flexibility, and endurance.
- The gym is a place where you can go to fail – Exercise is something you can do until you fail. So, aim for that extra rep or mile on the treadmill – even if you don’t hit it immediately, these small steps will improve your overall health and wellbeing.
- Reward yourself – It’s about celebrating every win.