The holiday season is one of the most magical times of year.
Enjoying quality time with family and friends.
Exciting, if not slightly unnecessary, gifts and presents.
Parties and lazy, relaxing days…
…about those parties and lazy days…although these are activities we all look forward to during the holiday season, these are also the things that have the most potential to trip up our health and fitness goals and to put a screeching halt to the progress we’ve made.
Instead of participating in “blowout”-style celebrations or swearing off afternoons of Christmas movie binging altogether, we want to discuss some tips to help you find a happy medium. It’s very possible to have a lot of fun while finishing off the year off strong.
Let’s look at 7 effective holiday fitness and nutrition tips. These will help you stay on track when the eggnog starts flowing!
Make a plan (which events you’ll attend; how long you’ll stay at each event)
If you’re anything like me, you probably start to receive invitations for holiday parties and events by the end of November. This is great news because when notifications go out this early, it’s much easier to develop an event attendance plan.
Planning which events you’ll attend during this hectic period and, ideally, how long you’ll stay at each event allows you to also plan your holiday fitness schedule. Knowing that you have an early-morning workout planned for the day after a big party is a good way to motivate yourself to leave the party at an appropriate hour.
Make a plan (what you’ll eat and drink at events)
Of all of the holiday traditions, the one that is most inevitable is combination of holiday parties and unhealthy food. Gingerbread men and candy canes are delicious, but they don’t do much to advance our holiday fitness goals.
In many cases, these parties are organized in somewhat of a “potluck” style where attendees are encouraged to bring their own dishes to share. If this is the case, opt for a healthier dish that can not only serve as your “go-to” food when you’re tempted with another Christmas cookie, but can also be the healthy option that many other attendees are (secretly) hoping for.
Check gym hours
It’s important to realize that all of the wonderful people who work at your local gym (assuming you still have a membership) want to enjoy the holidays, as well. Because of this, gyms often have drastically reduced hours during the holiday season, especially in the days leading up to and just after Christmas and New Year’s Day.
As depressing as it is to be unable to get in your workouts when the gym is closed, the good news is that gym personnel are usually very good about putting out notifications about schedule changes. Be sure to take note of these, or to ask gym workers directly if you can’t find them, so you proactively plan around the amended hours.
Have home gym equipment
Most of the year, having a home gym is great for providing training flexibility, privacy, and cutting out commute times and gym fees. An added perk is that during the holiday season, changes to your local commercial gym’s hours of operation have little-to-no effect on your training schedule.
If you’re concerned about potentially being unable to work out as you would like and would like to keep your holiday fitness levels high, consider picking up some home gym equipment before things start to get too crazy. I promise that Santa won’t mind if you unwrap your shiny new power rack a few weeks early!
Plan to do something every day
Every day doesn’t have to be a dedicated training day and every workout doesn’t need to be a “blockbuster” session. However, during the days and possible weeks where your routine is likely to be a little different than usual, plan to engage in some type of physical activity every day.
This activity can be as simple as running around in the backyard with your kids and all of their new toys. It can also involve doing a quick set of push-ups or air squats during each commercial break while watching A Christmas Story for the fourth time. By doing something every day you not only engrain the habit of being active, but also, every little bit of work contributes to your overall holiday fitness development levels.
Buy yourself a health and fitness gift
We mentioned earlier that gifting yourself a health or fitness-related item is a great way to keep your holiday fitness levels high. This is not only a great way to reward yourself for all of your hard work throughout the year, but can help you to train at home or potentially even on the road during the holiday season.
Your fitness gift can also be useful for getting started with any health and fitness plans that you have for the new year. Whether this is a new barbell or even something more simple like a set of resistance bands, new gear can be especially motivating. With that being said, we suggest that you…
Don’t wait until the new year starts to train/make changes
We’ve all seen the “new year, new you” types of ads and you’ve probably even made promises to yourself about changes you intend to make to your diet and current training routine. However, as unorthodox as it may seem, you don’t have to wait until the new year begins to get things started.
When it comes to starting any type of new, healthy habit, the best time to start was sometime in the past. The second-best time to start is today.
(Plus, those first few weeks of the new year are always a real doozy at the gym. Getting started now can better help you to establish your new routine before things get too busy!)
Happy Holiday Fitness Season
As we’ve discussed in this article, the holiday season and holiday fitness do not have to be mutually exclusive terms. With a little bit of planning and a willingness to put in a little bit of effort each day, it’s possible for you to have your happiest and healthiest holiday season yet!
