Staying Fit Over the Fattening Holidays
The holiday season can make it hard to stick to your fitness schedule. Between the chillier temps, holiday pies, land cross-country travel, it can be pretty tough to stay active during the holiday season. Family obligations, work parties, and last-minute shopping means that hitting the gym often gets delayed or crossed off the schedule altogether. But staying active can be easier than you think. Try these tips and motivational techniques to make fitness part of the celebration all holiday season long.
- Get out there: On a cold day, don’t just snuggle under the blankets with eggnog. Take advantage of the winter season to take a snowy hike, go sledding, ice skating, build a snowman, or shovel snow!
- Work inside: If it’s too cold to leave the house, find clever ways to get exercise indoors. Climb the stairs, do some weight training with heavy household items, or pop in a fitness video for some quick indoor cardio
- Set a challenge for yourself: try a new exercise, hit a new personal record, test a different yoga pose,
- Make a goal: Arrange exercise appointments on your calendar and keep them, just like you would for any other appointment. Make your exercise goals realistic and be consistent with following through with them. Consider tradeoffs too, like a 10min cardiovascular exercise for every $10 spent on holiday shopping
- Sign up: register for a race, competition, or a fitness-themed vacation in the early months of the new year so it will motivate you to stay in shape all holiday season long
- Get social: Find a holiday workout buddy for mutual motivation to prevail with pre-dinner workouts or post-shopping runs. You will hold one another accountable and you will stick to exercising more regularly
- Gift yourself: Don’t indulge in Christmas cookies, Instead, treat yourself to new fitness apparel or equipment to boost your motivation
- Start a fitness tradition: There are tons of family-friendly holiday-themed running events in most areas. Sign up the whole family (don’t forget the costumes) for a fun Santa Run or Jingle Jog. Before you know it, the annual race will become a family tradition!
- Find a deal: Many gyms and exercise studios offer deals and specials during the holidays. Do some research and sign up if you find a sweet deal. If you’ve recently joined a gym, take advantage of a free consultation with a personal trainer to learn some new moves and perfect your form with exercises you may be doing incorrectly.
