5 Ways to Add Self-Care into Your Workout Routine

When it comes to your fitness routine, you likely have specific goals in mind like feeling better, improving your health, and reducing stress. But have you ever considered that the very same fitness routine also provides you with an opportunity to prioritize self-care on a regular basis?

Self-care is well-recognized in the medical community as a beneficial treatment option for many physical and mental health problems. If self-care is powerful enough to heal, we say it’s worth adding to your Echelon fitness routine! These four simple self-care strategies will have you on your way to feeling stronger and more empowered with every workout. 

Don’t Skip Warm-Up and Cool-Down Exercises 

People of all fitness levels can benefit from a proper warm-up and cool-down routine. Not only does it help reduce workout-related muscle soreness or injury, but also helps to put you in a better headspace before and after your workout. 

It’s important to ease your body into any fitness activity. Warm-up exercises jolt the cardiovascular system into action by raising your body temperature and increasing blood flow to the muscles. The warm-up period also gives you a chance to refocus and mentally prepare for the workout.

Cool-down exercises are key for regulating blood flow and allowing your heart rate and blood pressure to return to a normal pre-exercise state. Great cool-down exercises include walking or stretching to improve flexibility and joint mobility. The cool-down period allows you time to focus on being fully present and relaxed after accomplishing a workout.

The Echelon Fit app offers a variety of warm-up and cool-down classes for each equipment type to help you maximize the benefits of your workout.

Hydrate Often

There is a reason why doctors recommend women drink eleven cups of water per day and men to drink sixteen. If you aren’t properly hydrated, your mind and body simply can’t perform at their best. Always keep a water bottle on hand to ensure you’re replenishing the body with the fluids you’re sweating out. This helps keep up your stamina and also ensures you’re mentally equipped to stay focused on the workout. 

If you’re not the best at remembering to stay hydrated, find ways to make it more manageable. Try adding in your favorite berries or citrus fruit to elevate the flavor. If you often forget to reach for your bottle, try setting break reminders to prioritize mid-workout hydration. You can even challenge yourself to drink a full bottle of water before your workout is complete. 

Prioritize Workout Recovery

Are you taking time in-between workouts to repair sore muscles, tendons, and ligaments? Rest days are a perfect time to check in with your body and lean into self-care maintenance. 

One easy way to alleviate soreness, reduce muscle inflammation, and promote relaxation is to try a foam rolling massage. Foam rolling increases blood flow and elasticity of the body’s connective tissue to help with mobility. And like any massage, foam rolling helps to break down toxins trapped in the body to give your muscles a clean slate before your next workout. 

The Echelon Fit app offers a variety of foam-rolling and active recovery classes to help you recharge after every workout.

Adopt a Meditation Practice

 

Meditation is a proven and effective strategy for reducing stress or anxiety. It can even help manage symptoms of serious health conditions like heart disease and cancer. 

Being in the right state of mind to accomplish your health and fitness goals makes a huge impact on your success. Spending just a few minutes meditating can help bring a sense of calm and balance to your day. 

The Echelon Fit app offers a variety of 5-15 minute guided meditation classes, making it easy to incorporate into your pre- or post-workout routine. 

Embrace the Echelon Community

Throughout your fitness journey, it’s comforting to know you are never alone. In addition to our variety of live and on-demand classes, you have a global community of members and instructors who are prioritizing their health alongside you. 

Find your community and follow them on the Leaderboard to track your progress, hold each other accountable, and reach milestones together. 

There is no better time to prioritize YOU than right now. Start small by adding one self-care practice at a time into your workout routine until it becomes second nature.

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New to Echelon? Explore our variety of guided meditation, stretching, and recovery classes on the Echelon Fit app for Echelon Premier members.