As the festive season approaches, many of us find it challenging to stick to our fitness goals. With tempting treats, family gatherings and a flurry of social events, it's easy to lose sight of our health and wellness routines.
The festive season often brings a hectic schedule filled with shopping, parties and family gatherings. It can be challenging to carve out time for exercise amid these commitments.
Although Christmas is an exciting time to spend with our loved ones, the mayhem can take over at times.
However, there’s no need to sacrifice a fun time at Christmas for your health; experts at SET FOR SET have highlighted seven ways to stay fit and healthy while enjoying the festivities.
Plan exercise in advance
The holiday season can be a whirlwind of activities, making it challenging to find time for exercise. To ensure you stay active, plan your workouts in advance.
Prioritise your commitments, such as shopping or spending time with loved ones, and then schedule dedicated exercise time around them.
Whether it's a morning jog, an afternoon yoga session or a full day of physical activity, having a structured plan will help you stay on track without sacrificing other festive activities.
Embrace full-body workouts
With limited time for exercise during the holidays, it's important to make the most of every session. Instead of focusing on isolated muscle groups, opt for full-body workouts.
These workouts target multiple muscle groups simultaneously, allowing you to maximise your time and effort.
Consider trying Pilates or HIIT classes, which provide a comprehensive workout in just an hour or less. By incorporating full-body exercises, you can maintain your fitness routine while still enjoying the holiday festivities.
Practice portion control
Maintaining a healthy diet during the holiday season can be challenging, but portion control is key. Enjoy your favourite festive treats in moderation, savouring each bite.
Fill your plate with a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables to ensure you're getting essential nutrients.
By being mindful of your portion sizes and making nutritious choices, you can indulge in holiday treats without derailing your health goals.
Combine protein with festive meals
If you’re eager for muscle growth, you’ll likely be on a high-protein diet – and while it’s encouraged to take advantage of the Christmas food and not be so strict with eating habits, it’s still possible to consume high amounts of protein as you embrace the festive treats.
There is an abundance of Christmas foods that are high in protein, such as Camembert, which contains around 20 grams in a 100-gram serving, and turkey, which has 24 grams in just two slices.
As well as this, you can even add protein powder to recipes to make snacks from scratch, like gingerbread men or a chocolate Yule log.
Socialise while you workout
If you’ve got plenty of loved ones to catch up with over the holidays, invite them to join you in your workout if you share similar fitness goals – not only does this kill two birds with one stone, but having a friend there can push you further and keep you motivated.
Whether you head to the gym together, partake in a class, or go for a run, bringing a friend along makes you much less likely to cancel or make excuses, which, in turn, keeps you in the habit of exercising to prevent any setbacks after the holidays.
Alternatively, walking is an excellent way to socialise and is suitable for those who prefer a moderate-intensity workout.
Opt for home workouts
If you don’t have equipment like dumbbells, you can stick to bodyweight exercises like planks, push-ups and side lunges – remember to adjust your rep range to around 25 to ensure that your muscles are adequately worn out.
For cardio, exercises like star jumps, squat jumps, mountain climbers and burpees are great to get your heart racing.
Leave room for vegetables
If you’re holding back on indulging in treats due to your fitness goals, you can introduce healthy foods into your daily routine to ensure you consume enough nutrients after having a treat.
Steaming vegetables is a much healthier way to cook them than boiling, as doing so retains the nutrients that you need to stay healthy.
Broccoli, carrots and Brussels sprouts are just a few examples of vegetables packed with nutrients such as vitamin C, an antioxidant that protects your cells and keeps them healthy.
According to SET FOR SET experts, over the holidays, people often exercise less and indulge in more foods that they typically wouldn't consume on a diet.
Given that Christmas only occurs once a year, it’s important not to feel guilty if you can’t stick to your usual routine.
“However, many enthusiasts will still wish to remain healthy over the festive period, but it can be difficult to do so when you don’t know where to start.
“With these tips, you can ensure that you take advantage of the holidays while also staying as healthy as possible to prevent a loss of motivation once Christmas is over.”