How to Stay on Track During the Holidays: Simple Tips to Help You Stay Active and Healthy

Dec 8

Tips to Maintain Your Baseline Fitness and Enjoy the Holidays

Oh boy, those holidays sure do take their toll on people’s fitness. Even the most ardent fitness fanatics can easily lose their way when the call of time with family and friends becomes too strong. Then you make those New Year's resolutions to get back on track.

What’s one missed gym session, eh?

A small drink won’t hurt too much, will it?

And a culinary treat or two… well, you’ve been good all year. Indeed, a small blowout won’t do too much damage, will it?

The real problem isn’t any of the above. It’s that one missed gym session often leads to more. One drink after work becomes a night out. And that party food? It’s irresistible, isn’t it?

Before you know it, you’ve piled on a few pounds and lost a bit of muscle strength.

It’s going to be tough to keep exercising during the holidays. There are so many pulls on your time, and so many temptations in your way.

These tips will help you to stay on track with your exercise during the holidays, and still, allow you to enjoy yourself to the max.

The challenge of physical activity during the holidays

Jenna Langhans, one of the trainers here at Reload, is used to the exercise lull as we head toward the holidays and then the rush back into exercising after. She says:

“We always see surges after the holidays. We see everyone making their New Year’s resolutions to come back to the gym and get in shape. We hope that everyone is consistently staying on track and healthy in a sustainable way throughout the year, but we know that’s not always the case. It gets a little bit difficult with the holidays – Thanksgiving is followed pretty quickly by Christmas and other holidays.”

The events of the last couple of years, the way that the Covid pandemic forced people to switch to virtual and now that gyms are fully open again, have made things a little more difficult to predict. Sometimes people try to cram in all their training before they travel. At other times gyms can be like ghost towns – especially during the week between Christmas and New Year.

With everything else that is going on during the holiday period, many people find it challenging to continue with their exercise regime.

“It’s hard to stay motivated or to find the time,” says Jenna. “People can’t stay on top of their workout routines. It’s hard to find the equipment if they aren’t at their normal gym. But there are ways to work out. Training is possible under many different circumstances, as we’ve found out in the past couple of years.”

4 Tips for exercising during the holidays

Part of Jenna’s role is to keep her clients motivated to sustain their exercise routines. Understanding how challenging this can be during the holidays, she says there are four key strategies to continue to exercise wherever you are – in the gym, at home, or elsewhere.

#1: Take it easy

“If you’re struggling to stick to a very strict routine, it’s ok to come off that program for a little bit while your schedule is sporadic and then go back to it when you have more scheduled time. In the meantime, just find different workout options for you.”

Don’t beat yourself up if you must come off your exercise schedule. Everyone’s life is different, and you have different pressures and calls on your time. The holidays are a time when everything gets condensed. Something has to give. Just remember to pick back up with the exercise as soon as you can after the holiday buzz has died down.

#2: Try circuit training

“The number one alternative for me is circuit training. You can do this with body weight or with weights. You can do it at the gym, or inside or outside when you’re home. It helps to stay on top of your fitness and still get in a really good workout.”

It’s relatively easy to design your own circuit training routine. Create a 10-minute exercise routine, and do these three to five times consecutively.

Simply pick, say, 10 exercises that cover all the bases. A squat; a hinge; a push; a pull; a carry; a lunge; etc. You can add dumbbells or kettlebells to this, and add in some cardio work such as jumping jacks or pogos.

A circuit training regime like this is easy to set up and is easy to fit into any daily schedule wherever you happen to be – even in a hotel room. You’ll get a good sweat on, get your heart rate up pretty quickly, and can play with your rest and recovery times to maximize results.

And remember, not having any weights available is no excuse!

“Your body is your best tool,” says Jenna. “You have it with you all the time, and use it all the time.”

#3: Think outside the box – there are plenty of ways to exercise during the holidays

“I love running outside when I go home. January is too cold, but November and December it’s still okay.”

Running is great exercise, and you don’t have to run outside. A treadmill or a box gym where you can use a treadmill is also an option if you have access to it.

You could try dancing – a dance cardio class is great exercise and great fun. Or maybe Pilates. There are plenty of ways to exercise outside of the gym.

#4: Focus on fresh air and movement

“All movement is beneficial. If the option is to move or not to move – then move. Get that heart rate up.”

Holidays with family or friends should be the perfect time to connect and make memories. You’ll sit down, eat good food, talk, play games, and drink. It’s part of the rich tapestry of life. It’s part of what makes us human. But please, remember to move!

“Anything is better than not moving at all. Even if you’re tired and not up to training, that’s okay,” says Jenna. “You don’t have to do a training session. You can just get out and move your body. Keep it moving. Something as simple as a walk if you’re not feeling super motivated. Just move your body!”

Be kind to your body

“It doesn’t have to be a specific training program that you are sticking to. If you can’t stick to a regimen that you had before, take the break – but keep moving,” is Jenna’s key advice.

As we’ve described in this article, there are many ways to keep your body moving, work on all you need to work on, get your heart rate up, and still enjoy the holiday to its fullest.

You don’t need to maintain a regimen of super-intense workouts. Have fun exercising during the holidays, and mix and match exercise intensity. This will help you maintain baseline fitness, and make it easier to return to your full exercise regimen after the holidays.

“It’s harder to fall off completely and then get back on,” says Jenna. “From personal experience, if I go away completely and then try to get back into my normal routine straight away, my body screams, ‘What are you doing?!’ Maintaining that baseline, it’s less of a shock when you return.”

When you come back on January 1st, with your New Year’s resolution etched in your mind, ease into it. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you don’t have to get back into full swing on day one. It’s more beneficial to progressively move back to full training.

Get online to maintain your exercise mojo during the holidays

You don’t need to go to the gym to get yourself a terrific workout.

Here at Reload, we offer in-person and virtual training. Our Kettlebell Club runs twice a week, both virtually and in-class (we even have someone from France in the club), and in different time slots. We also offer group and 1-to-1 personal training, both in-person and online. There’s no need to cancel your training session – you can still get it done in your own home, without coming into the gym!

The bottom line is this: the holiday season makes it tough to maintain your exercise regime, but it isn’t impossible. You can get online and stay in the game, and there are many ways to keep exercising during the holidays. It’s crucial to keep your body moving while enjoying the time away from work and with friends and family. We’re here to help you do that:

Looking for more info? Check out our podcasts and webinars.

Reload Programming