Tips to help you stay active and also get a perspective on exercise over the festive period. Is it the right time to prioritise rest and recovery ready to return stronger, and meet your goals, in 2023?
Get organised
If you have exercise or activity you want to build into the festive schedule then plan ahead and communicate in advance so its more likely to happen. Maybe aim for first thing in the morning so it’s less likely plans get disrupted or motivation wanes.
Better together?
Exercise can be a shared experience or an opportunity for me-time, think about what mix of the two will work best with your schedule, whilst meeting your needs.
Assess your expectations: are they realistic? This has much wider applicability than just exercise, especially at Christmas.
Don’t beat yourself up
A missed training session isn’t the end of the world. Olympians have won medals having missed some “key” sessions in the run up to their event for various reasons. Life happens! Don’t try to make up the session, just move forward.
Is this the right time to take a break?
Not training is an important part of the training process as it enables the body to adapt to previous training and return stronger. Off-season breaks aren’t just something that benefit elite athletes, a two week break can give recreational athletes the ability to recover and recharge fully, physically and mentally. You won’t lose the fitness gains of previous training; you are giving your body the chance to fully benefit from it. Transition back to full activity levels over 1-2 weeks after taking a break.
Goal set for 2023
Start a goal setting habit; setting concrete, actionable goals will keep you motivated and on track when the mince pies have all gone and January arrives.
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