It's hard enough to exercise when little is going on, but add holidays to the mix and many of us find exercise moving to the bottom of lengthy to-do lists. One thing you don't want is to add more stress by trying to maintain your regular exercise schedule. At the same time, staying active in some way will give you energy, help lessen holiday tension and, of course, help mitigate some of the extra calories you may be eating.
So, how do you find that balance? These quick tips will help you plan ahead, prepare yourself for any eventuality and provide workouts to help you stay active this holiday season.
Plan Ahead
If you're traveling, planning ahead can make all the difference. Take some time to figure out what your options are so you're ready for anything. Just a few ideas:
• Search for walking, running or park trails nearby
• Look up information about the hotel you're staying at and find out if they have an exercise room
• If you're staying with family, ask if they have any fitness equipment
• If that's not an option, find any nearby gyms and ask if they let guests use their facility
• Talk to your family in advance and suggest taking a walk or doing something active together
• If they aren't into fitness, call them before you visit to tell them you want to squeeze in a workout. Ask what they recommend so that you don't interfere with family plans or hurt their feelings if you take time away from them for a workout.
Try to plan your workout schedule beforehand. Even if you have to change it (which is likely when you're traveling), you've already made a commitment to exercise. It's easier to stick with it when you have it planned than to squeeze it in later.
Get Prepared
If you're not sure about your schedule or whether you'll even have time to get in a workout, plan for the worst-case scenario. That may be staying in grandma's basement with no equipment and only 10 or 15 minutes to yourself. Try these quick tips for squeezing in a workout even when you only have minutes to spare:
• Bring a workout plan with you. Plan a 10-minute routine you could do right in your bedroom. For example, you could choose 10 exercises and do each for 1 minute (squats, lunges, pushups, jumping jacks) or check out the holiday workouts below for other ideas.
• Bring resistance bands. They travel well and you can use them for quick strength exercises whenever you catch a few minutes.
• If you have a laptop, bring along a workout DVD or try streaming workouts online such as those offered by demandFitness.
• If guests are staying with you, move your equipment (weights or bands) into your bedroom so you can sneak in some exercise at night or in the morning.
• Wear your running or walking shoes as much as you can. You may find a 20-minute window when people are napping or before dinner for a quick walk or run.
You may even want to invite some family members for a walk. Sometimes there are others who'd love to workout, but they're just waiting for someone else to step up first.
Use Every Opportunity
- Many of us equate self-worth with success. Losing weight means we're good, failing to lose weight means we're bad. If you feel like a failure all the time, it's almost inevitable that you will fail. Remember: what you look like is just one aspect of who you are. Learning to focus on who you are and not just what your body looks like takes practice. You can start by exploring your body image and learn ways to improve it.
Planning and preparing are nice, but even the best-laid plans get derailed, especially during the holidays. If you find there's just no way to get in a workout, get creative and find ways to move your body any way you can:
• Walk as much as possible. Take extra laps at the mall, use the stairs, volunteer to walk the dog.
• If you're hanging out with kids, set up a game of football, tag or hide and seek.
• Offer to help with the housework, shoveling snow or raking leaves.
• If everybody's sitting around watching football, get on the floor for some situps or pushups. If that's too weird, try isometric exercises -- squeeze and hold the abs, the glutes or even press the hands together to engage the chest.
• If you don't have equipment, pick up some full water bottles or soup cans for quick lateral raises or overhead presses. Something is always better than nothing.
