This is the time of year when I tend to fall off of the exercise bandwagon. Lots of fun holiday events and delicious holidays foods, result in changes in routine and diet. It’s not so much about weight gain, though that definitely is a concern, as it is about staying healthy. It’s easy to get run down this time of year.
Therefore, I’m challenging myself to 15 minutes a day of exercise or other physical activity every day in December.
I’ll be using Fi2B Studio for most of my daily exercise, because there are quite a few routines that are right around 15 minutes long. But you can do anything. Go for a short walk. Go up and down the stairs. March in place while you watch TV or Netflix. (The length of a sitcom without commercials is just about right).
The important thing is to fit in a little bit of exercise everyday for as much of the month of December as possible. Does this mean I’ll be burning it up on Christmas morning? Probably not. But I’ll try to get right back at it the day after Christmas.
I’ll check back in each week to talk about what kind of exercise I’ve accomplished that week and any barriers I’ve encountered or overcome.
To get you started, here are my tips for fitting exercise into the holidays.
Keep It Short
I can definitely fall prey to the temptation to be all or nothing. If I can’t do 30 minutes a day, five days a week, I feel like my efforts don’t count. Not true! Every kind of healthy movement we do throughout the day and the week makes an impact. Maybe I didn’t get an official workout in, but I vacuumed my whole house and scrubbed the bathroom. Even a few stretches or yoga poses before bed is better than nothing.
Also, better to be consistent than lengthy. If you manage to work out once a week for an hour, that’s great. But for the sake of habit building, I would argue that 15 minutes a day every day or 5-6 days a week is a better starting place. Once you have a habit of working out, it’s easier to workout longer eventually. It’s the habit that we’re going for as much as the actual intensity of exercise.
Make It Non-negotiable
Since we aren’t talking about a very long workout, I think it’s Ok to make it a non-negotiable for yourself. Most of us don’t skip showering or brushing our teeth (Ok, maybe sometimes) just because we get too busy. Fifteen minutes isn’t that long. Do it first thing in the morning before your breakfast, or right after lunch when the baby is down for a nap or right after dinner before the bedtime routine. Squeeze it in before you sit down to Netflix for the evening. (Or while you watch). Make it happen, it’s not long but it will help build a healthy habit or prevent the loss of a habit over the holidays.
Be Kind to Yourself
Being kind isn’t the same as being lazy. Push yourself to do something every day but if you forget or are feeling under the weather, it’s Ok, just try again tomorrow. The goal is to move consistently through a very busy time of year. Sure, it would be nice if you could manage every day, but just doing something as often as possible is great, considering how busy most of us are in the month of December.
Check back next week and I’ll talk about how the first week of 15 minutes day went.
If you’d like to learn more about my go-to fitness site Fit2B Studio you can find out more here. If you’d like to purchase a course or membership you can use my coupon LAUNDRYBLOG to get 30% off a membership or the code REFWUORZVCG4H to get $10 off a purchase.
Give yourself the gift of a healthy holiday and head into the New Year fit for the life you want.
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