How To Stay Active During The Busy Holiday Months

The holidays are some of the best times of the year in my opinion. You get to enjoy time away from work, see your friends and family you may not have seen in a long time, and best of all, you can enjoy tons of yummy foods!

Because of all this, however, it’s easy to let your goals slip by the wayside and use the festivities as an excuse to stay on track with your diet and training schedule. It’s also easy to slip into that food coma post Turkey Day feasting, but that isn’t going to help you reach your goals.

Here are a few tips I have found helpful to keep me on track with activity during the holidays.

Plan in advance

This is definitely number one. You already know you will be short on time, with temptation everywhere you turn, so plan our your workout schedule and some of your meals ahead of time so you don’t have to stress about staying on track as much.

– READ MORE: 5 Ways To Motivate Yourself Through Winter –

Go outside

If you live near a city, there is a good chance there will be some community activities going on surrounding the winter months and even if you don’t there are still plenty of ways to get outside and get active.

Whether it be a tree lighting, going ice skating, or building a snowman – instead of staying home, venture out into the cold with your friends to enjoy some of the fun. You will benefit from extra activity by walking around outside versus sitting indoors, and you will enjoy good times with your loved ones.

Home workouts

Holidays may mean your gym is closed. Bad weather may mean you can’t drive or get anywhere. But you can fight these obstacles by making sure you have some great home workouts that kick your butt and don’t require a lot of equipment.

Home workouts tend to be a little more simple and less time consuming since you don’t have to go to a gym or use equipment, but you can still get a great full body workout in. If you travel for the holidays, these workouts can go wherever you are so you won’t miss a beat in your fitness schedule.

Fitness gifts

If your friends and family give gifts, ask for fitness related presents. Chances are if you get that new FitBit that tracks your heart rate or if you get a super cute new pair of leggings, your motivation will go up a notch to get out and get active.

Workout at work

If you work over the holidays, run the stairs or do some walking lunges. I know this may sound crazy, but coming from a nursing background, I know that some times of the year are slower than others, especially during the holidays. If you have a job with some more down time this time of year, use that extra time to run up and down a couple flights of stairs or do walking lunges to your water cooler.

Your co-workers may think you’re crazy, but you’ll be burning extra calories and will feel a lot more energized and you may even motivate them to join you.

Holiday fitness challenges

A lot of people I know love to participate in runs (5K, 10K, marathons) and during the holidays there are plenty of holiday-themed runs and charity events you can take part in.

This gives you a goal to work towards, a training schedule leading up to the event, and when you finish you will have a huge sense of accomplishment that help keep your momentum going all the way through the new year.

Even though the holidays are the best time to relax and enjoy your loved ones, that doesn’t mean you have to give up on your goals. Don’t use the holidays as an excuse to slip up on your diet or not get in your workouts – plan ahead, make it fun, and include others to make this holiday season your healthiest yet!

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