“Balance” is one of those buzz words that we hear all the time in the health and fitness world. It’s often recommended to eat balanced meals, to balance our running with strength training, and to keep our muscles balanced. These recommendations are all intended to be useful, but it seems that more often than not we may be left wondering what exactly that balance should look like?
The truth is, it’s different for everyone. Not only that, but it changes for each individual in different circumstances. A balanced routine right now might not provide you with the same level of balance 6 months from now. As I was doing my long run last week, I began thinking about this and what balance means to me in different areas of my life. How do I know when I have found that “balance” that everyone speaks of? How will I know when I have done too much in one direction or another and need to make a change? I think these are some of the most difficult questions to answer. I’m not here to tell you how to find balance, but to tell you that while it’s something to work for, it may not be easy to identify or maintain.
Let’s start by looking at some ways that we may be told to “seek balance”:
Nutrition: Eat mostly “healthy” foods but indulge occasionally as well
Running: Balance hard running with easy running
Recovery: Take enough rest days, but not too many, and get enough sleep, but not too much
Injury prevention: Find a way to do core work, yoga, strength training, cross-training, foam rolling but also find time to actually run
Muscles balance: Strengthen all the key muscle areas but also keep them flexible
Life: Work hard, but also find time to enjoy yourself
I could probably go on, but you get the point. Most of these are so arbitrary, although some have general guidelines but may need to be personalized to meet one’s individual needs!
So what are some ways to know if what you are doing is working for you? I don’t think there is a magic answer, but I think it comes down to intuition and experience. You need to know yourself, and know when things aren’t going well. Just because you could get away with 6 hours of sleep a few years ago doesn’t mean that you don’t need more than that now. Maybe during your last marathon training season you were able run 50 miles a week, but this time around you just feel like something is off and need to cut back.
In most of these cases, we need to make decisions for ourselves. Professionals can help, but again, they are usually basing recommendations off of generalizations.
Balance is a wonderful goal, but it’s not realistic to be 100% in balance all the time. Those of us who have Type A personalities may find this difficult to wrap our brains around, and we are the ones who really need to let go of this idea and think of balance as more of a “range” in most cases, or an intention that is very fluid. We need to constantly be adjusting and reevaluating to find where we need to be!
While this sounds overwhelming, it should really be pretty simple. Do what you think will work best for you, and if it stops working, try doing things a little bit differently.
On a sidenote, I am a Libra and we are known for trying to find balance!
What do you think about the search for “balance”?
What is one area where you struggle to find a good balance for you?
What is your zodiac sign? Does its description fit your personality?
[Tweet “On Seeking Balance: In running, life, and everything in between. @runningoutowine #coachescorner”]
I’m joining the coaches’ corner link-up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs!
I’ll also be adding this to Amanda’s Thinking Out Loud link-up!
I’m a gemini and sometimes, I totally fit what they say about geminis! I am not bi-polar but will change my mood on a whim depending on the day lol. totally agree about balance! I always say that it’s something that is forever changing. I absolutely cannot survive on too little sleep, never really could but most especially now! and, what I ate a few years ago is not enough for me now that I run more. gotta constantly readjust!
Exactly! Some people can handle less sleep than others, but its also important to look at yourself and make sure what you are doing is working for you now. Things change so much and I have definitely noticed the changes since I document it all on my blog!
Yup, definitely agree and things really can change without realizing it and what fits your life at one point won’t make sense at another. I know that I probably don’t fit the ideal image of a balanced life/personality (Scorpio so we are intense :)) but I’m the only one who can tell when it’s truly out of whack. Knowing yourself is totally key.
Yes so true! And luckily we have our blogs to show us how things change over time:)
Balance is always a working progress for me. I know I don’t get enough sleep. I force myself to get up in the am only after having about six hrs to make sure I get my run in, bc I know it will not get I if I sleep in.
Its definitely tough to fit everything in while still getting enough sleep!
I feel like I’m overdoing it right now in some areas of my life and in my training. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get myself back to some equilibrium soon… I can’t afford to get injured! Thanks for linking up!
Its good that you know yourself enough to recognize it! That way you can make the changes before anything goes wrong.
I love your point of making balance a range, I think that is the perfect way to go about it. I think the search for balance is infinite – we are always changing as humans, as well as our environments and the situations around us. For me, finding that middle ground where things don’t seem to forced but may challenge me to be out of my comfort zone slightly is a good balance.
Thats a great way to define balance!
Finding balance is a struggle for me. Mostly I struggle with finding enough time to achieve balance! I’ve been thinking that I’d like to start going to bed earlier, but then I feel like I don’t spend any time at all with Adam during the week. He gets up after I leave for work so we don’t talk in the mornings, so the evenings are the only time we have to spend together. If I could just inherit a lot of money from someone and quit my job achieving balance would be easier 😀
The time thing is a tough one- there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything plus get enough sleep! I’m hoping I can win the lotto and stop working, then I would have plenty of time to do all the things I want to do.
I know a lot of teachers struggle to find balance with work but I really don’t! Sometimes I worry that it makes me not dedicated enough, but I refuse to take work home at night and on the weekends. I refuse to stay late. My rationale is that even if I did stay late or take work home, there would ALWAYS be more to do. I will never get it all done, so why not just work the hours I am paid for? Then I can come back the next day rejuvenated!
Thats really good that you can find that balance! Its way better than being stressed out 24/7 about work!
I work really hard to keep things in balance in my life, even when fate throws trouble my way. Since my son broke his leg, it’s been a struggle to stay on top of everything. I’ve been doing ok, even when work is trying to pull me away from my mom duties. Gotta love that. I’m actually pretty surprised by their lack of support!
Thats pretty crazy that they havent been more supportive! Good for you for being able to maintain some level of balance even when things are hectic!
I really like and agree with what you said about balance being a range. I tend to treat it as a spectrum and am constantly seeking a happy medium based on the circumstances. I don’t follow horoscopes but I do fit my sign quite a bit. I’m a Virgo and I’m definitely reserved, detail-oriented, and exacting at times!
I like the idea of looking for a “happy medium”. That’s a good goal to have with most things!
I’m Aquarius, and there some descriptions that are spot on. Intelligent and independent, yes, stubborn, oh dear me, yes on that too. But I come from a stubborn family. Right now my balance is being lazy after a big race and enjoying my down time. I don’t have much when training, so it’s nice to be able to do some things I had to put on hold.
That is a perfect example of balance- working hard and then taking some rest to recover!
Love this post. I think we’ll always be striving to find that balance, and it looks so different for every individual. It also changes based on the time of our lives. I’ve worked hard at finding a balance for myself and it’s definitely not easy. But I do think finding what works for us is important to live a healthy life.
It totally is different for everyone but also changes based on the time in our lives- which makes it so tricky! But like you said, finding what works for you is key.
Ooooooh, this post is a thinker! Glad I had my coffee first. My life becomes more balanced the further away I stand when I look at it. Like, if someone were to come along and check out a day in the life, then it would be wildly unbalanced but changing up the perspective (taking GIANT steps back) so that the days, weeks, months are spread out then yeah, eventually it balances out. It’s just so hard with this many people in a family always dealing with extreme situations (*cough* teenagers *cough).
I love the idea of standing away to look at your life!! I think THAT is what we should be looking to balance- the overall picture, whereas day in and day out things might not be totally balanced and that’s ok, if it evens out in the end.
As a trainer, coach and stretch therapist I am always trying to help people find balance, especially within their bodies. Ironically, I’m one of the most imbalanced people I know! Working on it though. Great, thoughtful post. Thanks for linking up.
I think its a work in progress for most of us!!
The whole balance thing is farce. Or to your point, changes all the time! I feel like I was really balanced about a month or two ago, and now I’m completely out of sync and it’s stressing me out. I’ll find my way again eventually 🙂
You will definitely find your way again. I think its so common to have periods of time when we are not in balance and need to work to figure out what has to give a little.
Great post! This is something I’ve thought about a lot. My biggest struggle with balance is when I make running a priority over everything else. Someone gave me a tip to think of balance over the course of a year, so that when you’re training, running may come first but when you’re not training everything else takes precedence. That’s been working really well for me!
Thats great advice! I think we need to look at the bigger picture to determine if we have found a good balance.
Balance is so essential – but also so difficult! Not only is it different for everyone, what “balance” is for you also changes with your life! What might work one week might look totally different the next!
Exactly! We need to know ourselves, and also be willing to check in and make changes as needed!
I think you’re right on with this, Lisa! As someone who’s totally Type A I often have an all-or-none mindset, leaving the whole balance thing difficult with a lot of aspects of life. If I could follow a “balance plan” it would be the right thing for me! I find it definitely takes some good self awareness to practice balance in running and nutrition in a healthy way.
So true! The Type A personality makes it really tough, but unfortunately there’s no magic formula to follow!
All I know for sure is finding balance takes effort and will continue to take effort for our entire lives. It also requires you to feel unbalanced at times in order to then take a step back and remember what being in balance means and feels for you. I don’t think we would even realize what our “balance” is unless we experience the other side from time to time.
For me right now I’m struggling to find a balance with blogging. I’m feeling like its taking too much time and yet I’m still not doing all I want to do or getting to read all the blogs I love to read.
That’s so true- we need to experience what it feels like to to be balanced in order to recognize what we need to change to get back to where we need to be!
I definitely think it’s important to have balance as an end goal, but you’re right, 100% balance 100% of the time is such an impossible goal. And also, how BORING would that be.
On another note, I’m Sagittarius which either means I’m all for balance, or I take balance way too far since apparently I’m half horse, half human. Spin that how you wish.
You’re right, that would be so boring! Our attempts to find balance (or not) are what make life interesting!
I feel like it’s a lot easier to keep life balanced when I’m not trying to micromanage things, if that makes sense? Like I need to look at the big picture rather than each individual day because while those might be way out of whack, I still might be doing okay overall. And you’re totally right that balance changes over time as priorities change, and that certain times of our lives might -not- be balanced depending on what the circumstances are. So many gray areas 😆
That definitely makes sense! Its all about the big picture- day in and day out we might not be balanced, but whats more important is what we are doing overall, and how all those little things add up.
I think I’m always looking for balance but have to realize that balance might mean good enough, not necessarily ideal. As a young professional in NYC, with a boyfriend and friends who work typical hours (9am-9pmISH) and a natural early riser tendency and wanting to run in the morning, because I’m training for my first marathon, there is no way I can get the 8-9 hours of sleep I need each night, spend quality time with the people I care about, and stick to a training plan. So it’s going to be more like 6-7 hours of sleep, I run when I want but maybe once a week a workout gets skipped, I try to cook to save money but sometimes I buy lunch out because I was short on time to grocery shop that weekend, and maybe that’s the balance for now.
I think as long as it all works out in the end, and you are doing what makes you feel your best overall, then you are on the right track!
The search for balance is NOT easy in an imbalanced world, but I think what healthy living blogs have taught me about balance is that it looks different in different seasons. Sometimes it means more chocolate and less running and sometimes, more running and less chocolate, but I’m thankful that we aren’t robots and that humans are all different when it comes to what works for their health and daily routine.
Such a great point! We are not robots and can’t expect to operate like anyone else. And yes to balance looking different at different times!
I definitely agree with you in this. I’m always trying to find the the exact right formula to success but the truth is, what is right is relative to the circumstances at that time and can change from week to week. It can definitely be frustrating at times when it is constantly changing but I try to just listen to myself and cut myself some slack when I need to take things down a bit from the weeks prior.
Exactly! It sounds like you have the right approach!