Merry Christmas Everyone,
This is kind of the week when I really shouldn’t bother doing a blog – after all, the week is all about family and thankfulness and SANTA – and I would honestly be amazed if anyone reads it, but, well, I had an idea of something to write (which really doesn’t happen too often!) so if there is a crazy person out there still thinking about the gym and their health/fitness this week, well, this is for you!
This time of year is crazy busy for most of us…and on top of that, a lot of people are ‘out of their routine’ given they are having a few days off (even just the public holidays) AND the gym opening hours/class times are modified. I know at my place there are a heap of ‘treats’ in the fridge/cupboard and whilst I could easily say no to cheese-cake and pavlova forever (why do people like that slimy stuff???) I do LOVE fruit mince pies…and how many times can you say ‘NO’ to something you love when there seems to be a boundless supply?? That said – it is important to me to get my training done (believe it or not, it is even harder for me because a lot of the classes at the gym will be sessions I am RUNNING so I need to train solo!) so here are some food and eating ‘ideas’ I have that (**might**) help keep YOU on track.
Workout EARLY. Do the FIRST CLASS of the day. Get out of bed and get to the gym. That way it is DONE. That way you are back home before all of the ‘family’ plans for the day are underway. That way you don’t have to try and delay ‘other people’ because you just want to ‘quickly go to the gym’.
If you can’t workout early – workout to a PLAN. Sit down with your partner/kids and let them know WHEN you are going to be going to the gym over the break. Don’t let the family calendar be dominated by your workouts…but do remind everyone it is important to you and let them know when you will be going. Nothing leads to disagreements like a ‘SURPRISE’ so take the surprise out of it!
Short on Time? Shorten your workout. For the challenge folks, run through the 12-days of Christmas challenge x2 – you will be D-O-N-E in 25 minutes having accomplished your goal. If you don’t know what it is, well, there is a video on YouTube here: 12-Days of Christmas Challenge ‘EXTRA’ workout. Each of our other challenges during the year have featured a heap of similar activities – drag out your old challenge folders, pick one of the ‘extras’ and get into it! My two favorites were the Perfect Pair Plus (10x KB Swings, 10x Goblet Squats, 10x Calories – then do it 10 times!) and the Kettlebell Swing/Bike calories alternating effort thing where we did 18x Calories in minute 1 and 21x KB Swings in minute two – then again and again and again until 20-minutes was done. If you’ve “LOST” all of the content and workouts I have given you during the year, well, check out this playlist on YouTube which has a huge archive of things we have done in the challenges throughout 2019 AND in previous years: Round 1 Challenges Playlist
For those who want to do some bag work, I like the ‘CyberBoxingPro’ app and am pretty happy to set that for 10x 3-minute rounds and slog away at a bag. I guess I could go on forever but in terms of strength stuff, the 10x10x10 workout (10x sets of 10x bench press followed immediately by 10x Push-ups) is amazing, as is the same workout for squats but alternating between barbell back squats and ‘bodyweight only’ jump squats.
What else? Well, I think it is pretty simple to say that the ‘Healthy Habits’ from the 12-days of Christmas challenge are a great starting point. Drink 3lt of water every day (yes, it’s a lot but even if you don’t make it hopefully you get at least 2lt), go for a walk outside in the fresh air or spend 10-15 minutes stretching and aim to eat a balanced breakfast – protein, carbs and fats. In fact, just stay on top of your protein throughout as it is super easy to over-eat on carbs and feel full (so many ‘Christmassy treats’ are ‘carby’) and then end up tired and lethargic the next day because your protein was down.
Finally, my usual holiday eating advice. SAMPLE everything that is on offer. But don’t over-do the eating. When you are done, you should be able to congratulate/thank everyone who was involved in the cooking AND feel good enough to play with the kids in the pool/help with the washing up/play cricket down the park/whatever! There is nothing worse than that feeling of having over-eaten when all you want to do is lay down and go to sleep – but your poor old (churning) stomach feels overstuffed and your whole body feels uncomfortable.
Last of all, Merry Christmas to everyone. Please stay safe over the break – we all know the roads are crazy and people who have over-indulged will be on the roads and stressed out trying to ‘race’ to the next family location….just take it easy, get there in one piece and let’s all look forward to an awesome 2020 together.
We know this can be a daunting time. You’re probably wondering if we really are the right fit for each other. And it’s OK! Many people before you, have felt the same, and that’s why we want to offer you something special – our $29 Health Check.
Let’s work out together to see if we’re the right fit. Just hit the button below to let me know if you’re ready to see what’s included.