5 Ways to Stay Fit Amidst The Festive Period

The holiday season is fast approaching and with it, a host of festive activities that will fill our hearts, stomachs and calendars. Between the last-minute dash for presents, the wrapping of said presents, visits with family and friends, and the build to do it all again at New Year’s, it can be easy to let your training fall to the wayside. While taking a break from consistent and structured workouts isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you may find yourself lamenting the pre-holiday fitness you lost, if you let too many “off days” stack up. We’ve compiled a list of 5 Ways to Stay Fit Amidst the Festive Period, so you can maximize your merriment, while minimizing the detriment to your hard-earned gains.

1. Consistency Over Volume

If you can remember one thing this holiday season, let it be this, “something is better than nothing!”… this can apply to gift-giving too ;). 20-30 minutes of exercise, whether it’s a spin outdoors while running holiday errands, a bit of dryland exercise, or a quick indoor trainer session while watching a Christmas episode of your favourite show, all count toward healthier holidays and beyond. And realistically, if you can talk yourself into a 20-minute workout, you’re likely going to feel compelled to stretch it out a bit longer, once you’ve got the momentum behind you!

If you don’t have a lot of time to spare for workouts, consider turning up the intensity! Photo de @davidfmiller

2. Short and Sharp

Building off the previous statement, if you’re working with limited windows of time, amongst the friend & family gatherings, and snowman-building, you can maximize the benefits of your workouts by increasing the intensity. You can squeeze a lot out of a 30-minute session on an indoor trainer if you include some more challenging intervals, with a short warm-up and cool-down on either side. Programs such as JOIN and Zwift offer a great selection of short and sharp workouts that get the job done efficiently! If you haven’t tried any of these riding platforms yet, it’s a great time of year to do so, as there are always a lot of folks online to connect with.

Perhaps a power meter is the gift to get you or a loved one inspired this holiday season.

3. A New Toy

Sometimes a bit of material motivation is required to keep legs turning. Whether it’s a new cycling kit, Santa-themed socks, a pair of cycling shoes or a new 4iiii power meter, there’s something about a new toy (even if it’s a self-gifted one) that can inspire action! If you’re new to riding with power data, a power meter will open up a whole new world of insight into your riding, that will have you chomping at the bit to keep the wheels spinning during the festive period. It might also be the best time to play around with a new gadget, to get all the bells and whistles memorized, so you can hit the ground running in the New Year.

4. Gamification

Keeping fit should be fun! If your riding buddies are too swamped with their holiday happenings to connect in real life, hop on one of the many virtual riding platforms for a sense of Christmas community. Programs such as Zwift offer a communal atmosphere akin to your regularly scheduled group rides, in the comfort of your home. They typically put a festive spin on things, so you could find your avatar riding in a pack of Santa’s or chasing KOM’s in the North Pole! Most offer a free-trial period, which might be a nice change of pace after the Christmas spending spree!

Ugly Christmas Sweaters and Christmas lights, adding to the festive cheer online.

5. Seasonal-Inspired Workouts

Get in the holiday spirit, while getting your heart rate up! If you’re based in wintery climates, why not incorporate some fun seasonal activities into your workout routine? A quality tobogganing/sledding session with friends and family is essentially uphill lunges with descending skills mixed in as recovery. Be a neighbourhood hero and see how many walkways, or how big a stretch of sidewalk you can clear of snow, and prove that cyclists do in fact possess some upper body strength! Ice-skating, snowshoeing, xc-skiing, snowman building… the options are endless if you get creative with burning Christmas kilojoules. Don’t be afraid to do it in a Santa suit if you really want to get a good sweat going!