Maintaining a fitness routine can get hard over the holidays. Thankfully, there are lots of tools and tips to keep you motivated.
Theholiday seasonis about a lot of things. Food, loved ones, and super snuggly sweaters. But exercise? Not so much. Even hardcorefitnessfanatics might lose their motivation over the holidays. However, there are lots of fun and effective ways you can stay motivated all winter long.
Here are five holiday fitness tips to help keep you in good elf, erm, health. 😉
5 holiday fitness inspiration tips
Here are five fitness tips to help keep you motivated over the holidays:
Keep reading for the deets on each.
1. Figure out what inspires you
If you know what motivates you, you can surround yourself with it. That might be a bunch of holiday fitness quotes stuck to your fridge. It might be an 80s hair metal playlist. Inspiration is different for everyone.
Making even small adjustments to your environment and the media you consume can help. In a2021 study, researchers looked at the #fitspiration Instagram trend. This was widely reported to have a negative impact on self-image andbody satisfaction, particularly among women.
Women interpreted a self-compassion message far more positively. Meanwhile, men responded best when there was no text caption at all.
That said, you might want to look in detail at how you’repumping yourself upif you feel unmotivated.
2. Adjust your expectations and your workout
According to a2021 study, people tend to prefer exercise over leisure activities (e.g. watchingNetflix) because of a perceived reward. The idea is that if we feel better, we look better. The sense of accomplishment is sufficiently greater than the pleasure we’ll get from rewatching another five comfort episodes ofThe Office.
During the holidays, the pleasure of not exercising increases dramatically. You’re not binging old shows, you’re connecting with loved ones and exchanging joy. The perceived reward of exercising might seriously struggle to outweigh all that.
You’re basically bartering with yourself here. Don’t be afraid to compromise a little. It’s fine to skip a gym session if it falls on the same day as your office party. If you’re traveling to see family and can’t get to thegym, don’t stress about it.
3. Workout with others
Exercising in groupshas been shown to enhance our enjoyment and perceived benefit from working out. If you’re a solo fitness type and you find your inspiration wavering over the holidays, joining a group in the short term might help.
There’smore than one type of motivation. Autonomous motivation is when we inspire ourselves, we self-start. Controlled motivation is when there’s outside pressure encouraging you to do something… like an exercise group.Researchshows controlled motivation can help folks stick to their regular fitness routine.
Here are some examples of group motivation:
4. Switch up your routine
Familiarity breeds contempt, they say. Since our motivation to exercise is driven byperceived reward, exactly how we perceive that reward is important. Doing the same workout that you’ve been doing all year risks feeling stale, thus less rewarding.
Changing up your exerciseroutineturns it into a fresh new set of accomplishments. That means plenty of dopamine hits to counter the seductive lure of the couch. Maybe there’s a new class you’ve been meaning to take or a new muscle group to target. Now is the time.
5. Give yourself a present
Hey, it’s the holidays. While you’re busy bringing good cheer to others, don’t forget to treat yourself. This is especially true if you’re managing to stick to some kind of exercise routine. Because even a slightly reduced workout schedule will do a lot to mitigate the seasonal health impact.
It’s important to make sure exercise stays fun throughout the festive period with incentives like this. Someevidencesuggests when we’re in a good mood and our dopamine levels are high, we receive rewards more positively.
Whendopamine levelsare low, we respond better to guaranteed exchanges. We want to know that, we’ll get something for our efforts. That’s not the ideal mindset for exercise, it’s risk and reward that gets the blood pumping.
The holidays are for having a good time and celebrating (or commiserating) the year. That’s notmoreimportant than your health, but you don’t need to choose between partying and fitness.
Maintaining the motivation to exercise lets you enjoy the holidays without worrying as much about that January turkey gut. Sure, it can be tough to tear yourself away from the stuffing and go to the gym, but you’ll thank yourself later.
