Across Illinois many of us recently saw the season’s first snow fall. While it can be tempting to hunker down as the evenings grow darker and colder, it’s important you don’t let the winter weather and holiday season keep you from healthy physical activity habits.
However, that’s exactly what happens for many. A survey by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center polled over 1,000 U.S. adults and found that about 45% said they take a break from exercise during the holiday season. More than half of the surveyed adults reported feeling more tired and having less time for themselves during this time.
It’s clearly challenging to stick to an exercise routine and active lifestyle habits during the holiday season. Travel, hosting, family gatherings, special events, and childcare responsibilities during school breaks all pile on to shift your priorities. It’s tempting to fall off your healthy habits, promising to re-engage in your health and fitness goals with the New Year. But it’s important to find ways to continue moving during the holiday season to preserve your health and well-being, even if it looks different than your usual routine.
Whether you consider yourself a fitness buff or not, physical activity can be an important anchor in your life, from walking the kids to school to attending a group fitness class at the gym, physical activity provides an outlet for stress management and a source of motivation, positive social interactions, and self-care. When a busy holiday season pushes your exercise habits aside, there can be a compounding effect, where dropping one healthy habit (like exercise) alters other healthy habits, like your post-workout balanced breakfast or your sleep schedule. That’s why it’s helpful to keep some routine of physical activity, even if it looks different compared to the rest of the year.
Fortunately, there are many strategies you can employ to enjoy the holidays while still prioritizing your health. First, approach the holidays with a healthy mindset. Avoid an “all or nothing” mentality. Missing a workout or over-indulging one day doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel and completely fall off your routine until the new year. You can get right back to it the next day! This mindset also means you can be flexible with your workouts. Even a short, but intense workout can be enough to impact your health. In fact, a recent study found that even just 15-20 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week, that’s just a few minutes each day, was associated with a decreased risk of heart disease. Maybe you can’t make it to your usual hour-long fitness class at the gym, but you’re able to squeeze in a quick 10-minute HIIT workout.
The holiday season is a great time to establish traditions. This year, I encourage you to start at least one new tradition that gets you moving. Here are a few you could try:
- Sign-up the family for a Turkey Trot 5k event. This is a great opportunity to boost your motivation by having something to train for!
- If you’re traveling, see if there is a parkrun near you. Parkrun is a free, beginner- and family-friendly 5k event that takes place every Saturday in many locations across the country (and the world!). Some locations even host an extra event on Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day!
- If you’re feeling cooped up in the house with family or visitors, or if you’re looking for a way to connect with family from afar, consider creating a scavenger hunt challenge. Here’s a scavenger hunt I made for my family, you can use this one or create your own!
- If you have a large family gathering, start a new tradition of playing a sport – soccer, basketball, pickleball – whatever sport will get everyone moving!
- Find a holiday workout challenge or create your own, you could even make a workout advent calendar!
- Go for a long walk or hike after a big holiday meal!
Don’t let the change in routine during the holidays get in the way of your health and wellness goals. There’s room to incorporate physical activity while still embracing all the holidays have to offer. What new tradition will you start this year to make movement part of your holiday season?
About the Author: Caitlin Fredericks is a statewide Physical Health Specialist. As part of the Integrated Health Disparities program, she provides education, programs, and resources to reduce health disparities in physical health. She is an ACSM certified personal trainer and an ACE certified group fitness instructor. Caitlin has diverse experience working at the intersection of education and physical activity and is actively collaborating with local coalitions to strengthen our community. The Integrated Health Disparities program tackles health issues with an integrated lens of physical, mental, and community health providing programs and resources to address health inequities.