Self-care is a term that has become increasingly popular in the fitness community, and you’ll hear everyone throwing it around or showing the world their self-care routines. This isn’t a bad thing at all: irrespective of where we’re at in our fitness journey, we all know for ourselves that self-care is relevant, but that doesn’t always lead us to deliberately carving out time in our day to practice it.
Often, this is because we hear influencers and gurus talking about the importance of self-care, followed by advice that only a small percentage of people can follow; because let’s be real, if you’re busy, working hard, have a social network around you, and run a rammed weekly schedule, you probably don’t have time to soak in an Epsom salts bath for 3h a week, optimise your routine by meditating between 4am and 8am, and journalling for 2h every night.
This can lead to the internalisation of specific ideas of what self-care looks like, and therefore feeling like unless it looks like “X” then it doesn’t count as self-care, or it’s not even worth trying. Does that feel familiar?
Unfortunately, putting yourself at the bottom of the priorities pile because you feel like you don’t have 10h to dedicate to spa days and ongoing sports massages can become a hinderance to day-to-day functioning, even leading to burnout. With regards to your physique goals, burnout can present itself as a lack of motivation to train, do your cardio, prep your meals, or even pay attention to your sleep hygiene. We’ve all been there and unfortunately, the glorification of the “grind harder” mentality can lead to poorer results – all because we think we’re doing ourselves a favour by not prioritising basic needs and self-care!
I’ll be the first to put my hands up and say that I know I’ve neglected (and often continue to neglect) my own needs: personally, it tends to happen when my workload increases and I run my life like a military operation, and I genuinely feel like I’m too busy for “self-care”. Getting to bed on time feels like an achievement!
The problem is that in the past, I felt like I didn’t have time for self-care because I had a limited idea of what that was: for me, it meant having a bath, exfoliating my skin, and doing a face mask, all things that require a lot of time to commit to. So of course I wouldn’t have had time for that, but what I’ve realised over time is that actually, self-care can look like anything I want or need it to look like.
Therefore, I realised I had to start taking the advice I was giving to my clients: you cannot pour from an empty cup – and as such, we need to ensure we’re putting our own oxygen mask on first! This forced me to re-think how I defined self-care and consider how busy individuals can make time for it too.
What I’ve realised is that you can create small moments to explicitly take care of yourself across the day or even across the week, without it feeling like a big commitment. Not only can this improve your mental wellbeing, but it will also ensure that you stay focused on your goals, continue to enjoy the fitness journey you’re on, and don’t end up grudging it because you’ve left yourself to hang loose. A great physique is cool, but it loses its power if it’s paired with a miserable, neglected mind.
Thus, I’ve committed to always make self-care (in any shape or form) a priority for me, and I remind myself of this daily by using the acronym KISS: keep it simple smart.
So, how can we KISS when it comes to self-care as busy people who care about their health?
1. HABIT and ROUTINE
Like with any new habit or routine, one of the easiest ways to ensure we make space for taking care of ourselves is to tag this process on to something we’re already doing, as opposed to trying to pick up a new behaviour. For example, after doing your cardio or hitting the gym, when you step into the shower you could give yourself an extra 5minutes once a week to just chill in there (and maybe sing a song too!). If this doesn’t seem feasible, even splashing out on a more expensive shampoo can feel like self-care! What I’m saying is that the best way to start taking better care of yourself is to add it on to something you’re already doing, so it doesn’t feel like a chore. Think about what kind of self-care behaviour or activity you might want to implement (something that takes less than 5min) and consider what existing routine you could piggy-back it on to.
2. Go with what feels easy and comfortable
Self-care isn’t all about face masks or moisturisers – it can literally be not listening to a podcast or music when you’re out getting your steps, and focusing on paying attention to your surroundings! It can also be treating yourself to a fancy tea brand for your evening cuppa, or buying a soft blanket you can lie under when chilling on the sofa in the evening. Rather than overwhelming yourself by buying a 5-step kit to gratitude, start with the easy things and build up from there.
3. Take note!
Often, we go about our days without even pausing to breathe when we’re sitting on the toilet!! So, taking notice of the things we’re doing can be a great way to feel more assertive in your self-care. You may never bat an eyelid at the process of boiling the kettle, cooking your meals, stepping on the stairmaster, or walking into the gym, but if you pause and bring in an element of mindfulness into something you’re already doing, it can feel very empowering.
I know this is a very brief introduction to what self-care might look like for you, but you have the freedom to be as creative as you want. If you feel that you’re constantly struggling to manage your stress levels, feel rushed off your feet, or like you just don’t have time for anything to be enjoyable, seek out the 1min daily respite SOMEWHERE so that you don’t burn out. Not only will this help you feel mentally stronger, but it will also have an inevitably positive effect on your physique transformation journey.
