6 Easy Tips to Stay Fit During the Festive Holidays

Would you like to stick to your exercise schedule this Christmas?

Perhaps you are worried it will be difficult to exercise with countless social activities planned and you definitely don’t fancy heading out to the gym in the cold. 

We’re excited to share that with a little forward planning and goal setting, sticking to your exercise regimen over Christmas is achievable. 

In this post, we are going to share six ways you can stay fit during holidays. For extra encouragement, we’ve thrown in 6 bonus tips too. 

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

HIIT offers you the opportunity to complete a great calorie-burning activity within a short amount of time. How much time you work out for is up to you, perhaps it’s 5 minutes, maybe it’s an hour. 

HIIT workouts involve doing an aerobic exercise for around 30 secs before resting for a few seconds before repeating the exercise again and so on. After completing a HIIT workout, your body will continue to burn calories. 

HIIT is fantastic if you don’t have much time in your day to work out, but want to enjoy the benefits of a good sweaty session. If you’re looking for a HIIT routine to follow check out this fat-burning HIIT workout by Fitness Blender. 

Exercise in the Morning

Working out in the morning allows you to get your exercise done so you can then easily spend the day with family and friends. It also sets the body up to burn fat throughout the day. 

Completing your exercise before the kids wake up or jobs need to be done can reduce distractions and allow you to finish your workout with ease. 

If it helps, sleep in your gym clothes or lay them out ready, so you’re good to go as soon as you wake up.

Yoga

Yoga can be a great way to stretch out those muscles and tone areas of your body. Yoga workouts can vary in length, making them ideal to fit in between social events, and can easily be done in your living room. Why not get the kids and your partner involved and do yoga together as a family, if you have young children then Cosmic Kids is a fun YouTube channel to follow. 

There are great apps and videos online that can guide you through a workout. Yoga can also be helpful to reduce stress over the festive holidays. Why not light a candle and take some time to practice mindfulness or meditation too. 

Walking 

Getting outside walking, it can have a great impact on keeping you healthy over Christmas. Often gym classes stop running and there’s not always the opportunity to exercise at home. Follow this NHS advice about walking and make it a social activity too, is a great for getting people of all fitness levels involved together. 

To make it fun, the kids could ride their bikes while you walk alongside them, take the dog, visit somewhere new, or have races with each other, seeing who can get to that letterbox or lamppost first. 

It’s also lovely to wrap up warm and venture out with your loved ones before or after your Christmas dinner and burn off a few extra calories. Walking can also aid digestion after you’ve eaten all that turkey.  

Importance of Sleep

If you’re tired, then you are going to struggle to exercise. Getting enough sleep will help you to feel ready to work out the next day. Also, know it’s okay to say no to social events, or to leave early, in order to take care of your body and stick to the exercise plan you have committed to. 

Maintain Training Rather Than Trying to Advance

Don’t set yourself new or unrealistic fitness goals over Christmas or you’ll feel as though you’ve ‘failed’ and may become demotivated. Rather than trying to add more to your fitness routine, try to maintain your schedule. 

It’s a lot easier to keep going with exercise than to stop and have to start again in the New Year. Goal setting and drawing up a fitness timetable can increase your motivation and maintain your focus. 

If your normal exercise class isn’t running, or your gym is closed, then plan a workout you’ll be able to do. There are plenty of free apps you can download to guide you, that can be done at home, or go for a run, jog, or a walk. 

Bonus Tips to Stay Fit Over the Holidays 

• Work out with a friend to help you stay motivated
• Exercise to your favourite TV programme or music
• Vary the length and types of workouts that you do, keep it interesting
• Add a few lunges, squats, and even burpees, into your day
• Sign up to a park run, that way you’ll have to commit to training 
• Stay hydrated (we mean water, not booze - sorry about that) 

Conclusion

Exercise over the Christmas holidays can be fun. It can be a time to explore new exercise options and can get you into the great outdoors. 

It’s also an opportunity to have some fun time with family and friends. 

Remember, planning ahead and sticking to a fitness timetable can help to motivate you and achieve your workout goals. 

Some exercise is better than none. So keep moving and enjoy your festive workouts. 

By Rebekah Louise