Horsham-based female personal trainer, Becky, is a cancer and COPD specialist, as well as training other clients via an independent gym. With December rapidly approaching, here are her tips on how to cope with the most wonderful time of the year in terms of your fitness…
First things first, I’m not here to tell you to maintain full throttle and take no days off at any point of the year. Rest and recovery is important, as is living your life the way you want to! For many people in the UK, that involves attending a number of parties and social events during December, as well as spending a time with friends and family whilst appreciating a variety of foods.
And no, I’m also not going to tell you to “get back on track” or do a “new year, new me” come January. I encourage clients to be consistent both with their training and their rest, so that they see regular progress and don’t burn themselves out. Here are my suggestions for December…
Party as you want to
Deprivation only makes us resentful, and life is for living. These days, my own approach is to choose social occasions that are meaningful to me, so I’m picky about parties, but that’s my choice, not yours.
If there are loads of things that you want to do, go ahead. If there are fewer opportunities coming your way, that’s ok too. There’s a next step once you’ve made your decision…
Be realistic about training in December
As well as party invitations to navigate, many of us have additional responsibilities and commitments. If you’re having to run children all over the county in order to get to performances and parties of their own, or help someone be at hospital appointments, or do the rounds of a range of friends and family, your usual routine is going to have to take a hit.
Again, my own approach is that my training helps me to stay physically and mentally balanced – it’s time when I’m working on myself, for myself, rather than taking care of anyone else, and that’s really important to me. It may be less so for you. But, if you’re like me, look at the calendar in advance and map out when you’re going to fit in a session per week in the early part of the month in particular.
Cutting back because there are other things on your list is totally acceptable – I hate feeling like a failure, so I’d much rather under-plan than have to later skip things I thought I could do.
Try and do something
We all know that there are physical and mental benefits to training – we wouldn’t do it otherwise. At this time of year when our routines are off and our nutrition is variable, the big bonus I see and feel in myself is that moving literally keeps my body ticking over. I love being at one with the sofa and my bed for a day or two, but then I start to feel my age (or older). My system feels sluggish, I feel fatigued, and I have to clamber over the mental hurdle of getting going.
Then I feel better. And the positive feeling is back, and I’m returned to my flow of being positive about training.
It isn’t always that simple. But again, if you can carve out a piece of time to get your body into a good place, you may find the festive period less overwhelming and about what you give to other people, and more about what you’ve done for yourself.
January will be easier
There’s no two ways about it: train at least a little in December, and you won’t have such a mountain to climb in January. Whilst gyms and fitness classes can be unpredictable, we do often find that they are quieter in December, so it can be nice to make the most of that too (August is the other time of year this happens, FYI)!
One of my favourite words comes in here – consistency. Even if you’re fitting in fewer sessions, or have lowered the intensity due to fatigue or lack of time, just getting across the threshold of the gym will help you in that medium term.
Hitting the sweet spot of rest and training
If you’re really savvy, you might plan in a full week off. I encourage people to take one approximately once every 12 weeks anyway, and so if, like me, you’re one of those people who can think ahead, it might also be worth scheduling this in for the week that looks like it’ll be the most chaotic for you.
It’s easier said than done to have no guilt about moving less and eating more, but if your week off is something that should happen anyway, it may take the sting out of that concept for you – there’s no harm in tricking our brains occasionally. Rest is part of caring for your body, take the opportunity to go and enjoy other things.
Now go and enjoy whatever you choose!
And, if you want some help now or in the new year, let’s chat.