Ah December holidays. Full of parties, braais, picnics, lazy days and dinners out. And then super tight trousers once January hits. If you want to avoid the traditional year-end weight gain, staying active over the holidays is one way to ensure you don’t pick up any unwanted kilos. Here’s how.
Get it over and done with
Sure, nobody likes waking up at the crack of dawn on holiday. But if you want to get in some exercise, it really is the best time of the day to do it. Midday is too hot, and who knows where the afternoon will take you. Would you really want to cut an impromptu lunch or wine tasting short to go for a 5k run? Absolutely not. Then get it over and done with as soon as you can, and enjoy the rest of your day guilt-free.
Take it easy
There’s no need to join a gym on holiday and continue with your everyday routine– unless you want to, of course. But simply staying active doesn’t have to be that intense. Swimming, walking and light jogging are all good forms of exercise, and won’t intrude on your off time that much. In fact, you could even get the whole family to join in and make it part of your holiday routine. There’s no reason training can’t be fun!
Use what you have
No fancy gym equipment on hand? Your own bodyweight will do just fine. Keep limber with at-home exercises like squats, pushups, lunges, planks, burpees, mountain climbers and more, and put your own conditioning circuit together for a no-stress sweat session. You might not have any weights to use, but you won’t have any excuses for not working out either (sorry!).
Get moving
Don’t want to do any kind of ‘formal’ exercise? As long as you’re moving, you’ll be OK. Get up, play with your kids or nieces and nephews, walk around Christmas markets, dance to your favourite songs, go for a swim in the ocean, play table tennis – as long as you’re not lying on the couch all holiday, whatever you do to keep moving is fine. You won’t lose any weight, but you’ll still keep active and limber, and you’ll still keep fitting into your favourite clothes long after New Year, too. Happy holidays!
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