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Maintaining physical fitness and cardiovascular health is important for reducing fatigue, improving appearances, and encouraging self-discipline, but it’s important that we balance a vigorous exercise regime with the right mentality. KinFit shares some tips to consider.
Scents
If you’re not careful, the benefits of an intensive fitness routine can quickly be offset by unwanted smells. As Air-Scent International points out, the connection between scent and emotional well-being is well-documented and, if you’re regularly working up a sweat, it may be for your own good (and others’) to keep some anti-odorous measures in place. If you have a home gym, be sure to maintain a healthy, peaceful home environment by decluttering during workout sessions, adding an oil diffuser or opening windows.
If your clothes are starting to smell sweaty, there are a number of products to help out. MomJunction notes that soggy trainers will benefit from odour eliminators or, for a more effective wash cycle, it could be worth investing in gym/sports-focused detergents. For the short periods between a workout and a trip to the shower, you’ll need an effective (but not overpowering) deodorant - there is a consensus on the best available options, make sure to do some research before choosing one. Most importantly, don’t leave sweaty and used gym clothes out in the open air or you’ll likely have to live with the smell for weeks to come.
Diet
As all fitness experts understand, a good exercise regime is never as effective without an accompanying diet. But eating for the body/fitness you want, shouldn’t be an unbearable chore - if you’re willing to put in the time and energy, you can produce delicious meals and learn some impressive cooking skills in the process.
Try your hand at one of the many suggested protein, weight loss, or vegan recipes. Cooking is a crucial element in every journey towards better holistic health and it should be considered an important component of self-care. Be certain to use fresh ingredients and limit your salt and sugar intake by avoiding chips and sweets and eating more fruits and nuts.
Self-Deprecation
For many health nuts, self-deprecation is an intrinsic, necessary part of the fitness regime (though it needn’t be). If you motivate yourself via self-criticism, you may find that your mental health suffers at the expense of your physical development. In truth, there’s no reason why both physical and mental wellbeing can’t live hand-in-hand. The first step is to identify any over-disciplinarian thought patterns that you have - once you’re conscious of them, you can move towards addressing them.
One contributing factor towards hyper-critical attitudes towards body and appearance is social media. If you want to reduce your exposure to unattainable beauty standards, it may be worth limiting your access to your phone or hazardous apps that are contained within it. Quitting Instagram is likened by experts to weaning a patient off hard drugs. There are, however, plenty of proven methods and guides that can help with this - even if you don’t quit entirely, you may notice an immediate improvement in mood and state of mind, with just a few hours less per week.
Exercise should feature in all of our daily lives, but it’s important to cultivate a healthy relationship with exercise and work with your body to strive for a stronger, happier you - inside and out.
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KinFit is your home for alternative fitness. Contact us to learn more! andrew@kinfit.co.uk