It’s that time of year again. When you’re busy juggling family events and festive parties, it’s easy to forget about your fitness routine for the holiday season. But you don’t have to deprive yourself of the stress-busting benefits of exercise — or of fun — when you need it most! You can find ways to fit fitness in in small amounts that will help you find a healthy balance.
To be clear, a little bit of holiday indulgence never hurt anyone. But as Beyonce says, neither did a little sweat. Staying healthy is about finding a balance that it’s actually pleasurable for you to maintain. “Exercise snacking“ — doing short bouts of exercise — has a ton of health benefits, so you don’t have to spend all your family time working out. Instead, you can indulge wisely and make room for exercise in the nooks and crannies of your holiday — even if it’s just a few minutes at a time.
Some of these suggestions may seem too tiny to make a difference, but a recent study suggests that “exercise snacking can be an effective way to boost fitness and another study concluded that even fitness breaks of less than a minute may improve cardiovascular fitness. No matter how busy you are, you can definitely find a few minutes here and there!
Go for a walk outside
When holiday stress hits, lace up your shoes for a walk. This is a great way to get your mind off your to-do list while prioritizing the health and fitness goals you’ve been working so hard to reach.
Often when times are stressful, we reach for comfort. Food — especially sugar- or carb-rich food — is an easy-to-reach comfort tool. But exercise is a great way to relieve stress, too.
Research suggests that 30 minutes of exercise will help you release endorphins — your body’s natural source of feel-good chemicals. But other research shows that even 10 minutes of walking can result in lower anxiety — especially if you follow it up with a quick meditation session. Not only that, but studies also suggest that walking for 15 minutes can cut sugar cravings in half — a handy benefit this time of year.
Do 10 squats
Squats are a great lower body exercise that engages the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Performing ten of these will get your blood pumping, which will aid in pushing back those sugar cravings.
Walk around the house 10 times
Walking around your house ten times — even if you’re in your PJs — will keep you on track to your goals. Even if you don’t have time to get geared up for a blustery stroll, you can still work up a sweat by walking indoors. You’ll get all the benefits of walking without even having to leave the house!
If you want to walk even further with me and Al Roker, check out the Start TODAY Walking Challenge. With almost 120,000 members in our Facebook family, you will never feel alone! There are tons of people on call to support your fitness goals through the holidays.
Do 10 wall pushups
Sometimes you just need to distract yourself long enough to curb your cravings. Why not make friends with a wall? Here’s how: Go up against a wall and place your hands wider than your shoulders. Step back with your feet and perform 10 wall pushups. You may feel a burn in your upper body muscles. That’s good news and means your body is working!
Similar to the squat hack, performing this upper body workout will likely leave you more energized and strengthened in your commitment to your health. You may even feel energetic enough to skip the cookies. But whether you ultimately choose to eat the treat or not is beside the point. The point is that you stopped yourself in your tracks and did something healthy for your body!
Sink into a wall sit during commercial breaks
Are visions of sugarplums dancing in your head while you’re watching your favorite holiday rom com? When there’s a commercial break, drop down into a wall sit for the whole break. Don’t have a space on your wall to do a wall sit? Even better! Drop down into an air squat and hold it.
With this hack, you’re distracting yourself while watching the show. Continuously bringing your attention back to your body will help you remember that you want to choose your habits instead of drifting on autopilot. Even a commercial break can become an opportunity to get stronger!