It’s easy for some women to feel like they are playing a superhero in a movie – and if someone were sitting in front of a television watching, it would be one heck of a storyline. Let’s cue the scene…
A “Super-Mom” in need of proper rest and recovery
Your alarm clock goes off at 5am... You turn it off and feel how comfortable you are under the covers. For a split second, you think about falling back asleep until you remember nothing changes unless you do and the commitments you already have scheduled for the day. So, you hop out of bed and into your gym clothes to get in a quick workout before anyone else even thinks about waking up in your house.
You finish your sweat-dripping workout and jump in the shower to freshen up and get yourself ready for… and there they come. Off to the races! The pitter patter of little feet running into your room to say “good morning, mommy” with excitement and smiles on their faces. You quickly hop out of the shower, get yourself ready, and then move onto getting your kids dressed, feeding them breakfast, and ready for school. They hop on the school bus for a day full of education and likewise, you jump in your car to head into work to meet your deadlines and complete the projects on your desk.
You button up loose ends at work, look at the clock and realize you need to head out to catch your kids getting off the school bus. It was a tough day at work and the stress levels almost got the best of you but you pushed through. You meet your kids at the bus stop, head home, and are able to get in some playtime with your kids before it’s time to make dinner for the family. On tonight’s menu is everyone’s favorite, chicken parmesan. You clean up the dishes and before you know it, bedtime is here and you give your kids a bath and get them ready for bed. You lay down next to them in their bed and read them each a bedtime story and get them all tucked in for a good night’s sleep.
Then, in what seems like a blink of an eye, it’s getting late and you decide to get yourself ready for bed so you can rest and do it all again tomorrow. You go through your nightly ritual which includes washing your face, putting on your moisturizers, and any other face/body products you use religiously and slip into your pajamas and bed. Lights out and you close your eyes for some much-needed restful sleep.
Why the story?
You’re probably wondering why I got all theatrical to start off this article. Honestly, it’s because I wanted you to think about your own life, your own routine, how much you accomplish each and every day, and then continue to do it, again and again, each day. How close was the story above to your own daily life? It might be fairly accurate to what you go through on a daily basis. You’re honestly a living and breathing super-mom – and I’m sure your family thinks the same.
So, where am I going with this?
If I were to guess, you live an insanely busy life. Always on the go and always trying to put everyone else ahead of yourself. And that’s admirable. But, in the long-run, you need to also make sure you’re taking care of yourself. You’re no good to anyone else if you aren’t around – get it? Your health and recovery are an extremely important and vital part of your productivity each and every day.
You are constantly trying to push your body and mind to the limit – in the gym, at work, at home, with everything you do. That’s just who you are. Unfortunately, all of that can come to a screeching halt if your body can’t effectively recover from the stress you put it through.
Your nightly routine absolutely matters
You’re on the BeautyFit website because your health and fitness are a priority, right? You want to be able to perform at the highest level possible – and why wouldn’t you? Recovery is 100% vital to every single thing you do on a daily basis. On top of getting the minimum of seven hours of recommended sleep each night, you need to have a routine that is effective in promoting recovery – both muscularly and mentally.
When you are in the gym, you are essentially tearing your muscle fibers (creating micro-tears). The only way that your body is able to rebuild those muscle fibers and allow them to become stronger is by not only providing your body with adequate rest but also providing it with the nutrients needed to promote full recovery. This can be in the form of food and supplements (powders, pills, topical creams). Your body needs amino acids to shuttle out to the muscles and start the rebuilding process. Protein from your diet can be broken down into usable amino acids, but sometimes the need for additional amino acids due to not getting enough through your diet alone. But, none of this is possible without first taking control and making your recovery a priority.
Not getting enough rest can cause you to wake up in a fog. You can’t think clearly and your cognitive performance is suffering. This isn’t good on many levels. Your productivity at work suffers. Your active play with your kids suffers. And you find yourself yawning and dozing off several times throughout the day. It doesn’t have to be like that if you focus on creating a schedule and nightly routine that can enhance your rest and recovery each night.
Additionally, if you aren’t able to recover properly, it can cause damage to the muscles through overuse, hindering your progress and results from the gym, but you could also notice a decline in your health and that you’re getting sick more often. Consider lack of recovery as kryptonite to your super-mom powers. If you want to be able to give it all you got in the gym and still be able to run around and keep up with your kids, you need to be focusing on your recovery.
Look at your schedule, where can you fit in rest? A nap during the afternoon sounds good, but not only do you not have time for that but, it won’t be enough to help with your overall recovery.
Therefore, the only “best time” to help your recovery is at night. You need to focus on you sometimes and after you put your kid’s down for bed (assuming you have children but either way it wouldn’t matter) makes for the ideal time of day for you to accomplish just that. Maybe settle into the evening with a nice warm shower or bubble bath and finish it up with some delightful smelling moisturizers to keep your skin healthy and youthful. From there, your comfy bed is calling you and it’s lights out.
Do you want to crush your fitness and life goals? Then get your recovery game right.
- BeautyBum Nighttime ~ Anti-Aging Stress Release Body Lotion
- BeautyBurn PM ~ Evening Appetite & Sugar Suppressant
- BeautyRecover ~ BCAA Refuel