Make time for Holiday Fitness – 10 top tips!
I hear it EVERY year…”I’m too busy to workout!” Well, one of my favorite parts of my job is helping people overcome the obstacles that get in their way of becoming a healthier, stringer, better version of themselves.
So, here I go…here are my top 10 tips to make time for fitness this holiday season
#1 – Plan it. Start now! The holiday season comes every single year yet, every single year we are surprised by how busy we get. DECIDE right now to keep your fitness on your priority list. Take care of some of the holiday busyness now, by knocking some of those things that will keep you from working out off of your list…Ie. shopping (don’t forget those teacher, hairdresser and babysitter gifts that always catch us off guard) meal prep, Christmas cards, family photos.
#2 – Schedule it – Make a commitment right now to the days you will commit to working out (even if it is a little bit less than you are used to – keep moving), the sessions with a trainer you will schedule, the programs you will purchase (I have a great idea for you right HERE), the group classes you will take, who you will walk with…
#3 – Find hidden pockets of time – We each have 168 hours in a week. I promise you if you sit down for just 10 minutes and write down all of the things that you do every hour of every day you will find pockets of time that you could fit in a short workout or add some movement. For example, are you sitting in the car waiting for a child to finish dance practice? – Go for a walk. Do you watch 2 hours of TV every night? Do commercial break workouts or cut down to one hour of TV leaving 1 hour to exercise. Do you drive to the post office every day? Could you walk there instead? Do you have to practice spelling words with the kids? – Do it while walking on the treadmill.
#4 – Identify your obstacles – What is it that keeps you from working out? Jot them down – putting pen to paper is amazing! Identify those things that get in your way consistently and MAKE A PLAN to get around them. Are you too tired in the morning? – Could you go to bed just 30 minute earlier. Is your bed cozier than your motivation? – Sleep in your workout clothes or keep your room cooler in the morning
#5 – Do mini workouts throughout the day. Even though a 10 minute spurt of exercise might seem like it won’t do anything…It will. Check out my article about the negative effects of sitting too long HERE. Even short bouts of movement will keep your metabolism from getting sluggish as well as give your brain a boost and help you focus better. Take a look at your 168 hour list and see where you can squeeze in just a few minutes here and there.
#6 – Just commit to 5 minutes. Seriously, by the time you pump out 5 minutes of vigorous movement you will get the feel good endorphin chemicals in your brain moving. When your 5 minutes up you will most likely tell yourself “Dude, I can totally do 10 minutes” and then it becomes half an hour just like that. I can’t tell you how many times this has worked for me and my clients. Even if it doesn’t become 10 minutes or 30 minutes, you still got in 5 minutes of activity and THAT my friend is a WIN!
#7 – HIIT IT! And by HIIT I mean High Intensity Interval Training. That is,
short bouts of really hard work followed by a short recovery (for example :30 work followed by :30 recovery repeated for 10-12 minutes or so) HIIT workouts have been proven over and over to give you a big metabolic bang for your buck. Even if the workout is short, but intense, you will blast your metabolism (calorie burning rate) for HOURS – I mean like 12-36 hours – after the workout! HIIT is a MUST if you want to burn fat fast! A jump rope is a great tool for HIIT workouts
#8 – Workout at home – If time is really your obstacle to holiday fitness then plan to do your workouts at home for the busy holiday season. This will save you the time it takes to drive to and from the gym as well as the time it takes to check in, hit the locker room and socialize. There are tons of body weight exercises you can do if you don’t have any equipment, and, resistance bands are a great, affordable option.
#9 – Include Family! – Sometimes people feel like their workout gets in the way of family time. Play the WII or Kinect with your kids. Do mini workouts together. Try this awesome Deck of Cards workout:
Assign each suit (hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades) an exercise like this
Hearts: push ups
Spades: Squats
Clubs: Lunges
Diamonds: Tricep Dips
Each time you flip a card, do the exercise that corresponds with that suit for the number that shows on the card. (Jack = 11 reps, Queen = 12 reps, King = 13 reps, and Ace = 14 reps) Ex 10 of diamonds = Tricep dips.
The kids will love it and you will break a sweat while having some holiday fitness fun! Elf on the Shelf LOVES this game! 😉
#10 – Look for time during your workday
*Take the long way around the office to the water cooler
*Use the restroom on another floor
*Hand deliver a message rather than use email.
*Use part of your lunch hour to take a walk
*Schedule “workout” meetings. Do you have a gym at work? Can you have some of your “brainstorming” sessions while on the spin bike?
To wrap this up in a nice little statistic bow – Did you know that the average person gains 7-10 pounds between Halloween and Christmas! Don’t let that happen this year!
Look at all those places you can fit fitness in! All these things really will add up to a healthier, more fit you by the end of this year! Don’t give up. Employ just a few of these ideas and let me know what works for you!
Need more help? If you need a road map and accountability to keep you on track with your fitness goals this holiday season you will definitely want to check out our Small Group Training here at the studio!
