This is the time of the year when
we start thinking about Christmas. Yes I said it….Christmas!
The lights are starting to go up
with the silly season almost upon us! This means even more parties, dinners
out, drinks with friends and, for some of us, travel overseas.
It’s easy to let Christmas parties
and travel plans interrupt your regular exercise programme, but why let a
well-deserved vacation or the Christmas season destroy all the amazing fitness
gains and eating habits you’ve developed through the year?
You often have less time available
in December to get your workouts in, so why not plan ahead now?
Make your November workouts count.
Then, in December, make the most of your limited time by amping up your
workouts.
Stay active with shorter, more
intense workouts. Instead of giving up on exercise altogether, plan on
modifying your training schedule during the holidays to accommodate this hectic
period.
For example, if you’re used to
training five mornings a week, plan to modify your training for the month of
December to only three circuit training workouts every other day. Plan these
workouts around nights outs (and morning afters).
Circuit training can combine the
benefits of both cardiovascular and strength conditioning, allowing you to
maintain a healthy fitness level without putting a crimp into your holiday
party plans.
Aim for shorter, more intense
cardio training segments of 10 minutes such as running two minutes on an
incline, then reducing the incline for one minute to ‘recover’ and then repeat.
You can alternate this intense cardio workout with weight training intervals of
five minutes.
Core strengthening and stretching
can make up the last 10 minutes of your training session. In just under one hour,
you can get the most out of the time you have by working at a high intensity in
a solid calorie burning and muscle toning session guaranteed to get you through
the holidays in one piece.
A few other tips to help keep
yourself on track for the upcoming holiday season include: control your
drinking (stay away from high calorie cocktails such as margaritas and egg
nog); don’t skip meals in an effort to ‘save up’ calories, you’ll just feel
hungry and most likely eat more calories at dinner; if you are going overseas,
pack some equipment such as rubber exercise tubing or a jump rope to keep you
fit.
So, plan ahead this holiday season
and be ready to have a festive time without having to suffer from a post
Christmas indulgence hangover from too much food, drinks and not enough
exercise.
Stay fit and enjoy this year’s
holiday season!
Deanna Smith is an exercise
physiologist and Pilates instructor at Energy. She can be reached at
[email protected] or 946-6006.
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