Stick With What Works

Keep your routine through the holidays.

People want to maintain their fitness levels during the holidays.

We want to eat healthy and keep up our workout routine, but we also so many other obligations at this time of year.

Cookies to bake,

Food to cook,

Presents to shop for,

A house to clean,

Decorations to put out…

Everything needs to be done right away, now!

Everything seems more important than our fitness and wellness.

One of the best ways to stay on track with our goals and not procrastinate is to Plan ahead and stick to our routines.

Some ways to keep our routines are:

·      Rearrange our schedule. If we know we’re going to be skipping evening workouts for a party or a shopping trip, try scheduling a quick morning workout instead of taking the usual after-work trip to the gym.

·      Divide and conquer. We can break a longer evening routine into 20 to 30 minute blocks in the morning and during our lunch break. Tabata timing is excellent for working IN a work OUT. http://www.tabatatimer.com (free online timer and explanation of Tabata Training)

·      Take the stairs. Add some cardio by skipping the elevator or the escalator at the mall.

·      Walk a little farther. When out shopping, take a couple laps around the mall before heading into stores, it may help you map your route to less holiday standing in lines by seeing which stores are less crowded.

·      Park a little farther from the store. Not only will you get a walk in, you will avoid the frustration of circling for the ‘best spot’ and you will be providing free holiday kindness by leaving the closer spots for older people and people with small children.

·      If you attend a party where there is dancing, DANCE!

Workouts can turn into your holiday celebration, too.

Hum as you walk, shop, cook, clean, drive, and move through your day.

Humming presents many benefits.

It is a naturally soothing and calming thing to do.

Whether you are humming to your favorite tune or trying to free your mind, humming helps.

Humming allows you to take in more air while releasing more, which will automatically soothe the body and open up your airways which helps you breathe, and elevates your mood.

Be flexible.

Sticking with a fitness & wellness routine during the holidays requires you to be flexible and bend your fitness routine so it does not break.

Remember, maintaining your self-care is what keeps you ‘Jolly and Bright’ throughout the year and lowers your stress levels naturally.

~Patti