How to keep fit and festive in December – no party poopers allowed
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Dec 20How do you keep fit in December? It’s a short month in many ways because the last week is ensconced in Christmas, school holidays kick in a bit before that, and the clammer for finishing Christmas shopping and doing a full month’s work in a little over 2 weeks can mean diary carnage for many! So when and how to workout, especially here in the UK when it’s dark most of the day!
We’ve been doing what we can as a team and thought we’d share some of our tips to help you keep fit in December too. Here are five workouts to keep you moving while making way for mince pies and mulled wine.
Workout plans
You can’t afford a PT (or you’re not allowed to meet one in person) but you definitely need some instruction. Then you need a clearly laid out plan to follow that will also fit into your week. We love this December workout plan from the Fit Father Project that encourages you to find 30 minutes five days a week and includes strength training (fill some shopping bags with cans if you don’t have dumbbells!), HIIT and fat burning.
It’s a 30-day plan, so you can take Christmas Day off!
The 5am club
Yes, Louise has been getting up at 5am some days to cram in a workout. Head torch, trail shoes, out the door. Why, oh, why? We hear you cry. Well, quite simply, fresh air and movement make for both a happy and healthy self. It hasn’t been about securing a PB or ramping up the effort, Louise’s December workouts have been purely about keeping moving and sane! Follow more of the team’s fitness antics on Facebook and Instagram
Anyone else an early bird or late night exerciser?
Isolation exercises
Isolation exercises have a whole new meaning in 2020! But we’ll stick with the original idea for this one.Isolation exercises target one muscle group at a time. They’re great for honing one particular area and for injury recovery too while keeping active.
If you have access to a gym or weights then some of these will be easier to complete or more challenging but there are plenty you can do at home, improvising as required. We find this list of them from The Fitness Tribe very comprehensive and it just goes to show how much you can vary your workouts to keep things interesting too.
Fitness challenges
Typically a thing of new year resolutions and fitness subscriptions, fitness challenges aim to focus and motivate you to keep fit consistently over a period of time. There are quite a few to choose from that are running in December too – to help you keep the mince pie muffin top at bay.
This one from endurance training guys Training Right in the US will certainly keep you busy, if you’ve got 10 hours a week, or you could just opt for the 1,000 press ups part of the plan!
This one from Blogilates is a printable calendar checklist of workouts that you can complete with the support of their app (free to download with lots of free content although there is a paid for aspect too check it out before you discount it).
Take a lunch break
Insane idea, we know. But if there’s a time of year when a lunch break brings optimal value, it’s now. The sun doesn’t get very high in the sky but go find it on the days the skies are clear and even when not go breathe some fresh air. Set yourself a 30-minute window to run, walk, cycle. Yoga flow by a window if it’s teaming down outside and you really don’t fancy braving it.
Take some time for yourself and enjoy the great outdoors.
Keep fit in December ready for next year
Besides sanity and wellbeing, the other bonus of keeping fit in December is that the January mission to get fit is already underway and won’t be quite so daunting.
Wishing you a fit and well month and a very Merry Christmas 🎄
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