3 Tips to Stay Fit Through the Holidays
Welp…it’s that time of year.
Snow is falling everywhere back home in the Midwest, while the sun continues to rain down out here in California.
I apologize to anyone reading this who is in said snow, I have no problem admitting I have become very spoiled by the weather here.
But hey, it got kind of chilly here last night to the point where I noticed and thought for a split second if I should be wearing something warmer. That thought quickly went away, though, when I realized that it was probably in the high 50s or something.
Whatever the weather is like where you are, it’s this period from mid-November through the end of December where a decent amount of people “shut down” for the year when it comes to their health and fitness goals. And it’s understandable.
It’s dark. It’s cold. Party invitations are popping up every 3rd email and January 1st will be here soon enough…why not just wait until then to start fresh??
That makes sense, right?
It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition.
You don’t have to put everything on hold and lose all the progress you made through the earlier parts of the year. In fact, you can improve how you look and feel through this holiday period!
Just incorporate the 3 tips I laid out below and you can weather the storm and go into January well on your way to CONTINUING to improve, rather than starting back at square one.
Use These Tips to Thrive Through the Holidays
#1: Don’t worry about being perfect
Being realistic is not really my thing, but I’ve learned that being realistic doesn’t necessarily mean being a pessimist.
In other words, I don’t like to say that, “You will miss workouts…or…you will eat poorly.” However, during this time of year, YOU WILL.
And that’s perfectly cool.
If you go in with a mindset of perfection, and then you slip up, what’s the back-up plan? Often, there is none and the whole plan is thrown out the door in exchange for one of those big freakin’ chocolate bunnies they have at Target.
Instead of trying to be perfect, go in focusing on making good choices the majority of the time.
Have a humongous dinner at your in-laws one night?
No worries, look at your calendar for the following day and make sure that you fit in time to get a protein-rich breakfast the following morning.
In other words, follow-up a blow-up with a positive action. Do the one thing that will get you back in the game and don’t put it off! The more immediate the positive action takes place, the less likely you will be to dwell on the “mistake”.
As long as you go in with the mindset that there WILL be mistakes (you will miss workouts, have one-too-many cheat meals, etc.), you’ll be just fine.
Worry about being a beast come January!
#2: Pass on the Smirnoff
I know, all these social events, being around families, and celebrating life make it hard to keep the alcohol consumption down.
But if there has been one thing that I have noticed as a CONSISTENT THEME across all the clients I have worked with, it’s that cutting down the alcohol yields tremendous results and, more importantly, is NOT as hard to pare down as they thought it might be.
If you consume alcohol regularly throughout the year, I challenge you to limit your Buds over the next month-and-a-half. Crazy, I realize that, but trust me when I say you will feel so much better and have the proof looking back at you in the mirror.
There is no doubt that you will eat candy that’s sitting around at the office and have huge meals with your family and friends. But no one is forcing you to drink. This is the area where you can make up a lot of ground!
Instead of alcohol, some of my clients drink club soda and/or sparkling water, if they need some sort of taste, other than plain water.
As with the first point, don’t try to not drink completely. But if you are a 3-drink kind of guy/gal, aim for 2. If you usually go for 2, shoot for 1.
I think you will be surprised how much more energy you will have through this incredibly hectic time, while feeling a little tighter to boot!
#3: Set up shorter workouts
Do you normally hit the gym for an hour, 4x/week?
As you can probably expect, that time commitment may be tough to meet when you will be having after-work commitments and travel.
You need to have an arsenal of 2-3 workouts that you can perform that will take no more than 20-30 minutes and require minimal equipment. This way, you can exercise anywhere.
After all, when that snow turns to ice, it’s not exactly fun risking your life to drive to the gym!!
I remember when I was driving to the gym I worked at in Ohio and when I went to stop at a stoplight…I kept going.
Luckily, it was super early and no one was driving through the intersection or I would have been toast!
Anyway, below are 2 circuits that I often give to clients when they travel. Of course, everyone is an individual and you may not be able to perform some of the movements, so if something hurts, just…stop it.
In each of the circuits below, there is a core, push, pull, and a lower-body exercise. You only need a small pair of dumbbells, but if you don’t have access, no worries. For the pulling exercises, just pretend you are holding weights and focus on retracting your shoulder blade to really work your upper back.
Holiday Time-Saving Circuit A
Get-Up (Elbow) x 6 each
Tempo Pushup x 5 reps with a 4 second lowering phase (video shows normal pushup)
Split Squat x 10 each
Renegade Row x 8 each
Repeat the above 3 times with 60 seconds rest in-between circuits
Holiday Time-Saving Circuit B
Deadbug x 8 each
Forearm Plank to Pushup x 4 each
Goblet Squat x 12
Single-Leg Glute Bridge x 10 each
Repeat the above 3 times with 60 seconds rest in-between circuits
The above circuits shouldn’t take you any more than 20-30 minutes, at the most.
The cool thing about them is they will train your entire body, which will stimulate your metabolism. In general, the more calories you can be burning at rest, the better, but especially at this time of year!
Conclusion
Your body does not have to succumb to the holiday season. You have the power to make positive choices and ensure that you are really ready to kill it in the New Year. Use the 3 tips above to help yourself look and feel great, while still having a lot of fun!
You can celebrate with one of those big chocolate bunnies on New Year’s Eve.
Dominate All Life,
Kasey, CSCS
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Jay Howard Ginsberg