Let’s be honest, we all know that Christmas and the holidays are a pretty indulgent time of the year. Even if you promised yourself you’d take it a little easier this year, you could take your eyes off the ball for just a few days and suddenly you’re about 18 iced mince pies deep, and your chiseled physique becomes what it used to be. I’ll put it away. About melted ice cream.
just me? Probably, but it’s nearly impossible to stay fit during this time. Gyms are closed, food is plentiful and calorie-dense, and drinks (alcoholic or otherwise) flow nonstop. January is often the leanest time of the year, so cutting back on exercise in December has a double effect. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve laced up my best gym shoes and tried to start a new year of fitness, even though I was in the worst shape of my life.
If you’re serious about your January fitness goals for 2025, or just want to take some extra control over your indulgent December, there are small adjustments you can make to avoid the worst effects of negative effects. , lots of changes and activities. Have a luxurious Christmas.
As one of TechRadar’s fitness experts, I’ve put together some tips to help you this Christmas. As you can imagine, some of them are very obvious, but some of the more obscure ones could make a big difference in 2024.
1. Exercise
You probably won’t be pushing your usual gym workout or run over Christmas, but even minimal exercise can help keep your body and metabolism active, offset excess calories, and increase your mobility. There are great benefits to maintaining it.
Whether it’s a quick Pilates session, a quick 20-minute kettlebell workout, or a Christmas morning walk, they’ll all help improve your overall mental health, burn calories, and keep your body moving. The benefits of exercise are numerous and well-documented, so why not do something about it over Christmas?anything – It’s better than doing nothing.
2. Stay hydrated
Like exercise, it should go without saying that staying hydrated over Christmas is crucial to overcoming the worst effects of the indulgent Christmas season. Whether you plan on drinking alcohol or not, drinking more water can aid digestion, offset salty and sweet foods, make you feel fuller, and prevent further indulgence. and Relieve headache in the morning after drinking drinks in the evening.
3. Maintain some kind of routine
Christmas is often a time when all the days merge into one. You have no idea of the date, time, where you can park your car, or how long the turkey is in the fridge.
If you can maintain some semblance of routine over Christmas, it will be much easier to exercise, keep your nutrition on track, and get back on track as the new year approaches.
It could be as simple as trying to stick to the same wake-up and bedtime every morning. If that’s not possible, try keeping your meal times consistent throughout the day or doing a short workout or walk at the same time each day. Setting a timer on your fitness tracker can help motivate you to exercise at the same time every day.
4. Ditch Door Dash
One of the worst traps to fall into during Christmas or the holidays is to completely lose the motivation to cook and instead rely on ready-made meals, quick party meals, or even worse, unhealthy fast food.
You don’t have to deny yourself every trace of a solid microwave meal or Five Guys this Christmas, but why not try meal prepping ahead of the holiday season and stocking your freezer with more balanced meals? Is it?
5. Work out in short bursts
Over Christmas, you may find yourself lacking the time (or motivation) to do a proper workout. One of the easiest ways to increase the impact of what you can control is to increase the intensity.
If you don’t have time on your day off, a short activity can be the perfect substitute for a long workout. A 10-minute workout or even a 20-minute HIIT session from one of our best fitness apps can help. We’ll keep things on track.
Remember, you probably aren’t going to significantly improve or dramatically worsen your fitness. I’m just trying to stick to small habits to prevent the worst effects of Christmas overindulgence.
6. Embrace the indoors
I understand that. Christmas is often a dark, cold, and snowy time of year, and we often find ourselves wanting to curl up in front of the fireplace with some music or a good book. But you don’t have to brave the elements to stay fit this Christmas. Instead, try taking an Apple Fitness Plus class or doing home workouts on YouTube.
If you decide to walk 10,000 steps a day in the middle of winter, you might catch a cold or not be able to go outside in the first place.
7. Don’t keep it to yourself
We hope Christmas and the holidays are a time to spend time with friends and family. If so, try exercising or training with a friend, cooking a more nutritious meal together, or going for a walk with someone. Group exercises are a great way to stay motivated and increase accountability.
8. Embrace the joy
No matter what you do over Christmas or the holidays, the most important thing to remember is to do what you enjoy. Just like with your 2025 fitness goals, building habits and making progress will be much easier if you invest in a process you love.
To that end, here are some things you can do this year to keep your engine running. Do you hate running? Go to the gym instead. Prefer something low-intensity? Try a daily walk. If you prefer to stay indoors, use probably one of the best under-desk treadmills.
