How to Design Your Holiday Workout Around Parties, Vacations and Winter

A healthy body needs a holiday workout. If you’re skipping all forms of exercise on most days throughout the holidays, you’re only creating extra struggles for yourself. Whether you’re on vacation somewhere tropical, visiting family and friends or are entertaining, you need to move around.

Standing in the kitchen while you chop and stir doesn’t count. Your holiday workout needs to include cardio, some strength training and some stretching such as yoga, too. Even if that sounds less than appealing, you’ll be glad you took a moment every day to take care of yourself in this way.

Use These Tips to Create Your Holiday Workout

Built the Right Environment

Have everything you need ready to go. This may mean having your shoes (or boots) and socks near the door, a basket of hand weights in your living room, or your yoga video set in the player. If you keep your workout equipment ready and the floor clear enough to do a workout, you’ll be more likely to do it. The less effort you need to make to complete your holiday workout, the more likely you are to do it.

Take a Prepaid Class

Try a local gym or yoga class and prepay for a certain number of holiday workout classes. This will give you a set time and place to do your workout. Moreover, since you’ve already paid for it, you’ll feel greater drive to get there and get your money’s worth. Boost the experience by pairing it with a healthy post-workout meal at a place where you love to eat.

Don’t Get Complicated

Complex holiday workouts don’t work. Keep them simple and quick and you’re more likely to keep them up. Choose a routine of one-minute sets of planks, burpees, push-ups, crunches, squats, and jumping jacks. Go for a brisk walk outside. Stick to a yoga class. Hit the gym for a session on the elliptical. Any of those options are straightforward and predictable so you can get them done and move on to the rest of your busy schedule.

Dance!

Between your scheduled workouts, you can fit a bit of extra movement into your holiday workout routine by simply dancing. While you’re cooking, cleaning or getting any of several other chores done, play some upbeat music and dance to your favorite tunes. This may not reach the level of an HIIT session, but it will still make a difference.