Keeping on top of your fitness and training goals during Xmas can be a challenge with a marathon of Xmas dinners and over indulgence. And while it’s not a normal Xmas the combination of time off work and interruption to your normal routine can make it hard to maintain any physical activity.
Most people take some time out of normal life to indulge in some nice food, see some family and enjoy some rest and relaxation. It can also be good to take a bit of a mental and physical break from hard structured training so that you’re refreshed and motivated again in the New Year. However, you can take this to the extreme so it ends up being unhelpful.
It can be tempting to give up on any exercise and healthy eating and start again on 1st Jan. The only problem with this is that you can end up feeling pretty crappy on the 1st Jan and have quite a lot of work to do to feel better.
Also it’s quite likely you’ll want to go at it full blast in January with the danger of over doing it and getting an injury.
If I don’t run for 10 days my first run back usually makes my legs hurt for days with DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) which is frustrating in January when I want to be training hard!
If I don’t move for a week my body forgets how to work properly! So my glutes switch off especially if I spend a lot of time sitting down reading and watching TV. This is a recipe for poor movement and an injury.
If I don’t move for a week (especially after I’ve been doing regularly training) my body seizes up! I’m still dealing with a painful back and shoulder from the December lockdown.
My three top tips for training over Xmas are
- Have a plan
- Make it fun and different
- A little bit of something (even 20-30min) is better than nothing
Click here for more ideas and A Triathletes Guide to Xmas Training
Happy Xmas!