20/12/2014
9 Stay-fit training tips for your holidays
Training during the holiday season can be difficult, but some simple tips can help you maintain and improve your fitness.
This week represents something of an invisible cliff for even the most active person, and for the next two weeks or so, our fitness falls at a fast pace amid an influx of holiday parties and social gatherings until it’s time to make a resolution to start working out again at the turn of the year.
But don’t fear! We got your back – Don’t let yourself go and keep in mind you have the Discovery World Triathlon Series Cape Town to work towards. Here are nine tips for maintaining your base level of fitness through the New Year. You only need 30 to 60 minutes a day!
1. Set goals
The holiday season is a great time of year to focus on smaller, more attainable goals to bring you closer to your big outcome goals (such as the Discovery World Triathlon Series Cape Town event). For example: Workout every day for 30 minutes – 10 pushups in the morning, go to bed by 10 every night and do some strength training twice a week.
2. Grab a buddy
The holidays are a great time to catch up with out-of-town friends who might be home visiting their own families for a few days. They say friends who train together stay together, so grab that friend and you could have 30 to 60 minutes of chatter and the endorphins would be a bonus!
3. Get a routine man!
Running around to holiday parties, visiting friends and traveling to see family can make it easy to fall out of rhythm, but establishing a consistent routine to follow can help keep you on track amid the chaos. Set the routine and stick to it! Make sure you inform the family of the same.
4. Step up the intensity once a week
Once a week, step up the intensity of one of your running workouts with a short, fast interval session on the roads or a progression run on the treadmill. Not only will these types of workouts break up the monotony of running easy all the time, but they will also give your fitness level a quick boost and set you up to start the new year off in better shape than ever before.
5. It’s all about the planning
You know you will be traveling to meet up with friends and family out of your area, so before you go, check out possible training routes for running and cycling or maybe even a dam for swimming in their area. If you cannot convince them to join you, at least you will have new scenery for a change.
Let those you’re visiting (or that are visiting you) know ahead of time you’re planning to work out. This will create the time and space you need, but also create a level of accountability to actually get off the couch!
6. Avoid temptation
It is so easy to get carried away with the buffet table. Avoid the temptation and don’t overdo it. Allow yourself to splurge, but keep it on the down low. Don’t let it become a regular habit and find a healthy balance – this way you will side step the holiday tummy!
7. Join a gym
There’s no reason to dismiss a once- or twice-a-week routine of functional strength and mobility exercises that will help improve strength, burn fat and ward off injuries. Get outdoors or do an indoor session.
8. Cross-Train
This does not mean to go from one party to the next! Want to remain active and fit but just not feeling up for a run? No problem. Thirty to 60 minutes of aerobic non running activity, such as swimming, a spin class or boot camp, can be a great way to replace a handful of your running miles during the off-season and give your body and mind a break from pounding the pavement. If you in Cape Town you could even hop on the bike and share the beauty of this place with your family – by bike! Don’t forget those helmets.
9. Go easy on the alcohol
Catching up with friends and sharing a bottle of wine with family from out of town is a fun way to celebrate the season, but excessive intake will load the extra kilos on your summer body. Limit yourself to one drink at holiday gatherings and have your next day’s workout in mind before you reach for the next one.
