Put your health at the top of the list this holiday season. Exercise is proven to help manage stress and decrease anxiety. Integrating fitness into your daily routine will help bring balance and calm to your life during this busy period. Stay motivated throughout the holiday season by spicing up your fitness routine with these five simple tips that will help keep you stress-free and cheerful during this festive time of the year!

1. Bundle up and Buddy up

When the weather turns cold, don’t let that cramp your workout routine. Throw on some warm garb and make a consistent weekly schedule to exercise with friends. Working out with friends is extremely motivating and forces you to hold each other accountable to make those workout dates!

2. Little Things Make the Difference

Don’t underestimate the power of little things, over time these small action steps can have a profound impact on your health. Take the stairs or bike to work, try to sneak in exercise and stretching whenever you can. Perform tricep dips off a chair, push-ups during commercial breaks, and calf raises while waiting in line at the grocery store. As an alternative to the daily coffee break, try ten minutes of jump rope to rejuvenate your body and mind, or take a walk around the block with co-workers or friends. As little as ten minutes of exercise a day over the course of a year can make a huge impact on your overall health.

3. Work Hard, Play Hard

Hit the gym before the holiday party, it will make those indulgences taste so much sweeter. Try resistance training to rev up your metabolism. The more muscle tone you have the more efficiently your body will burn calories. A helpful hint: the lower body contains more muscle mass than the upper body, making the legs and butt a great target for boosting metabolism overall. That is one of the reasons why the squat is called the king of all exercises! Don’t forget to workout out the upper body as well. These muscles are particularly important for daily functions like lifting and helping to maintain an upright confident posture. Building muscle also helps create joint stability, which aids in preventing future injury, and helps maintain bone mass as we age.

4. Eat with the Season

As a healthy and environmental friendly means of supporting your local farmer try purchasing produce that is in season: pumpkins, apples, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, and chard. Eating seasonally gives you the most flavor and nutritional value, and it is also when produce is most affordable! Visit your local farmer’s market to find out what else is in season in your area.

5. Pump it Up this Fall Season

This one goes out to women especially. Ladies don’t be afraid of lifting a little iron. Weight bearing activities, such as weight-lifting help build bone density which is important because most people reach peak bone mass, when the body naturally stops making bone, around age 30. After that point, it is important to keep a consistent fitness routine to maintain bone strength and prevent osteoporosis. Muscles fibers react to movement and resistance, if the resistance is too light, the body will not be challenged to change. Women shouldn’t worry about gaining too much muscle as they produce less of the hormone testosterone which  is responsible for helping men to “bulk up.”

Keep your eye on the prize during these next few festive months and remember that anything worth having takes work! What’s your favorite go-to fitness routine that inspires and motivates you to stay on track this holiday season? Leave a comment below and let’s keep the conversation going.

xo,

Kim