Merry Fitness? Lawd that’s cheesy. I can’t help it though, I’m a proud cheeseball and I’m all for self-acceptance.
I often hear how impossible it is to find time during the holidays for a workout. Those of us who are able to continue, and thrive, in our workout routines must be gym freaks! Well, we’re not freaks. It just feels good. You never regret working out.
Below are 5 of my tricks to get your holiday workouts done with a smile:
1. I go to sleep early so I can wake up early and feel awesome. Doing so honors my circadian rhythm, which is the body’s natural inclination to rest at dark and rise at light. Every system within our body and mind, even emotions, functions, grows, and repairs according to this rhythm. I learned the secrets to waking up feeling like a million bucks a few years ago and I’m addicted. More on that over time.
2. I give myself time to build energy into my mind and body before I go spend energy. I like to wake up early and put on my fuzzy slippers with a steaming cup of coffee, light the fire, turn on the Christmas tree, and sit in my comfy chair and play with my iPad for 20 minutes. It feels indulgent and lovely. Isn’t this a delicious way to start the day?
3. Speaking of delicious I would never ever workout without a fabulous breakfast and keeping hydrated with clean water. Here was my fabulous breakfast today!
It is homemade pork sausage, a tomato roasted in my toaster over, and spinach and mushrooms sauteed in a little pasture butter. It’s on a salad plate, not a whopper dinner plate. The whole breakfast took ten minutes to make – the same tame it takes to drive to McDonald’s and hit the drive through. And I had leftovers for days!
Here’s the sausage recipe:
4. I listen to my body. If it’s in the mood for a ripper, game on. If it wants something less, I do less. Today I spent 45 minutes at the gym, 20 of which I spent on a treadmill at a fast walk pace at a high incline. Then I did three rounds of a full body circuit, which included lunges, push ups, pull-ups, squats, and come core work. I left feeling energized, not drained – which – p.s. is how workouts should make you feel. My 45 minute workout took only 5% out of my day. That’s almost nothing.
5. I schedule it in my day either before I go to bed or first thing in the morning. I keep my appointments. And, ideally, I’ll make that appointment before I have to be somewhere else on the way so I don’t flake out while I’m there. Not that I would, but it’s good to have a safety. For example, if I have a 10am appointment and I get my butt to the gym at 8:30, I’m locked in for an hour. That sneaky strategy works great. For me, doing it at the end of my day is setting myself up for failure, because as the sun sets, I’m ready to relax.
Happy Friday and best wishes for a workout today that brings you energy.
Love,
Andrea
