Dominate Fitness Through The Holidays

Dominate Fitness Through The Holidays

A lot of people struggle with fitness and nutrition in general and it becomes an even bigger struggle during the holidays, and can even be challenging for those of us with a good grasp with our fitness and nutrition.

Lets face it, the holidays bring people together, and usually the center of all our gatherings is food... LOTS OF IT!  We have those family members that really lay on the pressure as well, and when you politely say no to a certain dish or dessert they won't take no for an answer.  With the pressure applied AND being surrounded by a lot of great tasting foods, it can be hard not to waiver.  So with food at the heart of the matter here are some tips to dominate your fitness through the holidays.

Tip #1 - PLAN YOUR WORKOUTS!  Seems obvious, right?  I can not emphasize the importance of being intentional and honoring the commitments made to yourself. Map out your schedule now through the end of the year, include all Christmas Parties, Travel, or any extra curricular that is out of your norm. Now plug in all your workouts around the crazy schedule the holidays bring. Be smart about this too... so as an example...  if you see a 4 day period in which you are heavily traveling and know your workouts aren't likely, use those 4 days as a de-load, schedule some time for walking but really AMP UP your workouts around this mini de-load period. Share this schedule with someone who is very supportive, being accountable to only ourselves in the midst of a chaotic schedule often fails... but having someone who knows your intentions will help you on follow through.

Tip #2 - NEVER, NEVER, NEVER ARRIVE TO A HOLIDAY GATHERING ON AN EMPTY STOMACH!   Its like being a sheep walking into the lions den. Your appetite and self control are no match for the extra good food, and the well meaning family and friends encouraging you to divulge and binge on everything in site.  I recommend sticking to your meal plans up to the time of your gathering. Then get your shaker bottle out and scoop and down an Isalean Shake. I prefer this protein because it is grass fed undenatured whey from New Zealand. No artificial anything in this shake and is very filling. Slam this shake just before you arrive, and by the time dinner is served, you will have a much easier time with portion control!

Tip #3 -  MAKE WATER YOUR DRINK OF CHOICE.  With the volumes of food that will be in your line of site at each of these gatherings. You can maintain control of what you drink. Water doesn't have calories, and will further help control your appetite. I realize that going an entire holiday season without an alcoholic beverage is just plain unreasonable for some people. If that person is you, I recommend that you slam a big glass of water before your first drink, place a limit ahead of time on how many drinks you are going to allow yourself to have and stick to it, and have water in between each drink. You will find that you are still enjoying yourself, that you are staying within moderation, and that you are keeping yourself hydrated in the process.

Tip #4 - AIR SQUATS FOR 60 - 90 SECONDS BEFORE YOUR BIG FEASTS!   LOL... Yes, I have been doing this tip for as long as I can remember (and the people that knew thought I was crazy... I have since moved this tactic to the bathroom behind closed doors!) and recently got validated by Best Selling Author Tim Ferris in his book "The 4-Hour Body" On pages 104 - 107 of his book he talks about the science of why this works!  (I knew it all along, hahaha... but it definitely is nice having some scientific research backing this tactic!)  The short answer from his book [pages 105-106, The 4-Hour Body]  "It brings glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT-4) to the surface of muscle cells, opening more gates for the calories to flow into. The more muscular gates we have open before insulin triggers the same GLUT-4 on the surface of fat cells, the more we can put in muscle instead of fat"

There you have it, apply these 4 tips this year and enjoy yourself, and the company of family and friends without feeling like you are compromising your health and fitness goals.