Holiday seasons can be a stressful time for many people. Being pulled in many directions at once and being overcommitted can sometimes wreak havoc on your fitness routine and your healthy diet plan. Using fitness to handle holiday stress can help you deal with life in a healthy way and can help you stay on track for your personal fitness and health goals.
Factors affecting holiday stress can include an increase of family visits, kids being home from school, holiday treats and candies, large holiday meals, and winter weather making outdoor fitness more difficult to complete. Having a plan in place can make all of these factors easier to deal with as they arise. If you have a family fitness program in place, stick with it! Fitness sometimes requires extra effort when life gets stressful. Having a fitness program in place with your family can be your mini support team. If you all attended fitness classes or a fitness activity together on a specific day or evening, keep that going! You will benefit both physically, mentally, and emotionally from taking the time to get some personal fitness time during the stressful holiday seasons.
If the holidays bring so much stress into your life that you rarely get a chance to go to the gym, you can prepare for that by having some simple workout tools in your home for a workout you can do when you have time between activities. Having a yoga Pilates ball at home does not take up much space and stores easily. You can do a variety of different toning and core strengthening moves in between errands or appointments throughout the day to help you stay fit and stress free. Exercise bands, small dumb bells, and an ab ball are all great tools that are quick and easy to use and do not require a trip to the gym.
If meeting with friends and family add stress to your holidays, invite them for a walk or to a fitness class with you. You will be able to socialize and get in a workout at the same time. Multi-tasking by combining friends with fitness can decrease your stress by eliminating extra appointments from your schedule and freeing up some personal time. It can also help put you in a better mood by doing something healthy for you. If you are stressed out over high-calorie holiday foods, meeting friends for a fitness class or a walk eliminates the obligation of having to visit at restaurants or be tempted by all of the desserts of the season.
Don’t worry about fat loss workout plans during the stressful holiday season. Focus on personal health and use something positive, like fitness, to help you through the more stressful parts of the holidays. Working out or having a steady fitness routine helps people manage stress better, keeps your cortisol levels low, and can put you in a better mood when dealing with conflict.
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