This time of year is typically a time where it’s all about getting ready for Christmas. Money is coming out of our bank accounts from every direction paying for presents, we prepare to wrap work up for the year and preparation starts for making Christmas day as perfect as possible. Unfortunately, our exercise routine and our diets go out of the window. I completely get this, and it’s something that I plan for in the back of my mind with my clients. This year is especially different, as we’ve just come out of another lockdown, where many people didn’t exercise then either. You may be wondering to yourself; “What’s the point of working out for three weeks, to then take another two weeks off for Christmas?”. Well, this is where I will explain in my blog how I am approaching these 4 weeks with myself and my clients.
For me, the main thing to do at the moment is to get yourself as prepared for January as possible. It’s inevitable that some of us will have New Year’s resolutions, and we’ll fail at them because we can’t build our goals into our routine. Therefore, why not spend these 3 weeks perfecting our routine and integrating exercise and a diet into what we do, so when January rolls around we already know what we have to do so we can give ourselves a kickstart. Spend some time now thinking about if you’re going to set any resolutions, and what you’ll need to do to make this happen and smash your goals. Working out a programme for exercise can be pretty straight forward so it’s definitely something you can sort out by the time January rolls around. As always, hiring a PT or online coach to help design a programme will be a massive help to you.
Your diet is also something that you want to perfect in your routine before January comes in. Let’s be honest, there’ll be some serious number of calories being consumed over the Christmas period – and too right as well. This year’s been stressful enough and we need a couple of weeks to completely relax! The only issue with other indulging over the festive period is that it’s quite easy to allow that to become your routine, and the excess calories will soon turn to fat. So, if you can get a good routine now with your diet, eating three meals a day, a couple of healthy snacks and cutting amount large amounts of alcohol; then it’ll be easier to pick that back up in the new year. Like I said, trying to reach your goals without a routine is going to be a tough, so this December make sure you work our all the answers to your routine problems early, and cut out all the potential excuses that will creep in!
Another good use of these 3 weeks is to just try something new! You’ve got a short bit of time that just feels like limbo while we wait for Christmas, so why not have a go at something you’ve always wanted to get into. Whether this is running, weightlifting, a new sport or just a different style of training like circuits, it’s only 3 weeks of your life with a break at the end anyway. So, if you don’t like your new hobby then you can just go back into your old routine when January comes with no harm done. Trying something new will also give you some motivation to get going as well, which is something we all need at the moment as the nights draw in and the days get more cold and wet. It’s easy to put off trying something new, so why not just spend this limbo time between our last lockdown and Christmas break broadening your horizons!