Hope the season is bringing you maximum joy with minimum frustration! Was just thinking about all the magazine articles and blog posts out there which will be offering up all the usual holiday advice for surviving feasts (or not giving yourself a hard time for indulging–that seems to be a new theme this year), and well meaning, but often over complicated holiday workout plans.
I think the cliche of “no matter how slow you go, you’re still lapping everyone on the couch” is a good think to keep in mind during the holidays. Mainly, making an effort to stay reasonably active and keeping portion sizes reasonably appropriate. One year, my folks and I were on different but similarly low carb eating strategies – and while our plates were just as full as everyone else’s, the choices of what we chose to eat (plenty of meats, green vegetables, one small dessert) ensured that instead of passing out on the couch, we decided to take a fun walk on the beach. We also didn’t have that painful “omg I am going to explode” feeling either. AND by eating the good things we wanted, and plenty of them, we didn’t have to deal with anyone giving us a hard time. They just failed to notice in our joyous heaping plates there wasn’t any mashed potatoes or sugary items. So this is also a great approach for side-stepping any “well meaning” passive aggressive attempts to derail your healthy life choices.
As for working out anywhere, if you’re into calisthenics and/or Convict Conditioning then you’ve already got this one figured out, so carry on! If you are looking for something a little different and have a moderate to light kettlebell or Ultimate Sandbag at your disposal you can put together a short list of exercises and follow the AMRASP* approach during a set amount of time. Here’s a kettlebell example my small group did last week:
We warmed up with Primal Move and Paul Wade’s Trifecta before setting the timer for 21 minutes and doing as many rounds as safely possible of:
- 20 Kettlebell Swings
- 10 per side Renegade Rows
- 5 in both directions “around the world” aka “slingshot”
- 10 per side one leg deadlift (optional kettlebell)
Or just set a timer and practice meaningful get ups – with or without weight or a kettlebell. Be safe with this, but doing get ups with odd found objects can be a lot of fun too – Ultimate Sandbag of course is just perfect but you can also be creative with items ranging from a flat soled shoe, a partially loaded duffle bag or backpack, or whatever may be at hand.
And if all else fails… fire up the interval timer on your smartphone to the tune of 8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off and do some burpees…. NOT right after lunch though, and repeat as necessary
Have a great holiday and even if you do overindulge, one meal does not mean the end of the world. Get back on that horse.
*Yes, I did just make up “AMRASP” It means As Many Reps/Rounds As Safely Possible. Keeping good safe form in workouts allows maximum results, and can prevent injury, embarrassment, and inconvience during the holiday season – and ALL the time really.
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