5 Tips To Keep At It During The Holidays

The times around the holidays are crazy: shopping for presents, baking, decorating, and much more; on top of normal daily tasks that you have to do: food prep, drop the kids off, work, and the list goes on. So here are my list of 5 things you can do to help keep you in the fitness spirit this holiday season!

1. Try to get in at least 10 minutes of activity a day.

Whether you challenge yourself to a 10 minute AMRAP of burpees, or go outside for a walk, any activity is better than no activity! If you can't make it to the gym, find a few minutes to get the body moving!

2. Make good choices.

Now, I'm not saying to only eat chicken and veggies and don't eat any dessert. That is absolutely not the intent of this! I believe everyone deserves some sweet treats every now and then - especially around Christmas! My suggestions are to cut out what you can, when you can... Don't have that Coke soda, instead grab a glass of water. Instead of loading up your plate with 4 dinner rolls and a half of piece of chicken, maybe it's only a 1/2 a dinner roll with a full piece of chicken and some veggies. When in doubt: eat meat and veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar.

3. Stand when you can.

The holidays usually come with sitting around watching TV, playing games, opening presents, and more. Sitting for extended periods of time can come with a number of ramifications: muscle degeneration, tight hips, low back pain, knee pain, compromised breathing mechanics, and the list goes on. Obviously, it's hard to have a quick fix for sitting almost all of your life... But a tip to get you moving this holiday season is for you to time yourself. Yes, I said it - grab a stopwatch or use your phone and for every 30 minutes you sit, stand or move around for 2 minutes. It's hard to undo a lifetime of sitting, but standing for a little bit at a time is a good start!

4. Stay "mobile".

Grab a roller, lacrosse ball, or anything you can find laying around the house and spend 10 minutes loosing up the tight areas. We spend time during the cool down doing lots of mobility exercises. Pick a few and get to it!

5. Be happy!

The holidays are meant to be a joyous time! Don't be a scrooge - spend the quality time with family, get outside, find something that you haven't done in awhile and make some memories! If there's a day you can't make it to the gym, that's ok. Follow one of the tips above and get after it the next day! All will be ok!