How To Balance Fitness With Life
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with work, home, relationships, hobbies, and other interests is a juggling act that leaves many stressed. And with stress usually comes one or more of those areas suffering as they go by the wayside. That’s clearly no bueno because all of those things are vital to health, happiness, and wellbeing in one way or another.1“No bueno” means “no good” in Español, or “Spanish”!
So how can you achieve balance?
ONE
Stop going all-or-nothing, like trying to go to the gym to work out every day for 2-3 hours at a time. Doing things like that is not only unnecessary and leads to eventual burnout and disappointment but also takes time and energy away from other things that those resources could be spent on, such as taking your children to the park so they can do this thing that no longer exists, which is called “kids playing outside”.
TWO
Don’t sweat it when you’re pressed for time and can’t pack a lunch to bring to work or can’t make it to the gym to work out on the way home. Instead of stressing out about missing a workout or having to eat an unhealthy meal at a restaurant, remember that one instance of one of those things isn’t going to undo your hard work.
THREE
Diet and exercise shouldn’t be constraining. If they are, the odds of you continuing are slim. So follow a diet or meal plan that allows for foods you would eat were you not trying to accomplish whatever your weight management goal is. The same goes for workout routine and form of exercise. So, for example, if you enjoy watching women contort their bodies into all kinds of unimaginable and quite erotic positions, then take up yoga!
FOUR
It’s important to take time off to physically and mentally recharge. That’s why you should make sure to understand the concept of cheat meals, cheat days, and diet breaks in regard to nutrition, and rest days, deload weeks, and full weeks off when it comes to training, as well as being sure to incorporate them when applicable.
FIVE
While taking care of yourself by food prepping and hitting the gym is important, it shouldn’t be your entire life. Assuming that you’re not a complete loser, you were someone with activities and hobbies outside of health and fitness before wrapping yourself up in your body. That shouldn’t change with your pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, as you should make room for those areas of your life that bring you joy.
SIX
Schedule social events in advance so you can make alternative arrangements by planning ahead, such as working out earlier on the day of the movie premier party that your wife’s been looking forward to or looking online for the menu of the diner where you’re meeting your side-piece after to see what fits within your calorie budget. That way, you can spend quality time with loved ones instead of declining or having to stress out about how the function is affecting you!
In this increasingly fast-paced, modern world, it’s becoming more important than ever to maintain balance, which benefits your personal health and wellbeing by helping to relieve stress, bring happiness and fulfillment, enhance the ability to be present in the moment rather than having your mind elsewhere, and elevate awareness so you can focus on the good about a situation instead of the bad.
But what is balance?
Ha, it clearly isn’t what you demonstrated to the officer who pulled you over and had you walk in a straight line as part of a field sobriety test, which you summarily failed and have since had your license suspended…again!
Nope!!!
Everything we do in life comes with a trade-off, whether that be time, energy, emotional investment, and more. Balance is what helps us tend to and nurture the different elements of our life without worrying that we’ve let something slide as a consequence of our trading one thing to focus on another.
So that’s what balance is and you should be able to achieve it with the above tips when trying to cram health and fitness prerogatives into your life among the many other things you have to concern yourself with.
Glossary: diet, exercise, fitness, goal, gym, meal plan, routine, work out, workout, yoga
