Maintain Your Workout Routine While Visiting Family for the Holidays

Going home for the holidays usually means lots of relaxing with family, playing games, watching movies, and eating plenty of good food. 

Unfortunately, our workout routines generally take a back seat due to the busy schedule, which could negatively affect your overall progress. Still, sacrificing quality time with your family and spending your holiday in the gym is no fun either. So, what is there to do?

In our quick post today, we share our tips on maintaining your workout routine while visiting family. You’ll learn roughly how much you need to exercise with our personal training tips to sustain your fitness level. 

Create a Workout That You Can Do Anywhere

If you’re used to going hard at the gym, it can be challenging if it doesn’t have a location in your hometown. To avoid any setbacks, we recommend creating a workout that doesn’t require a lot of equipment but still sufficiently maintains your fitness level. 

Bodyweight exercises are fantastic for this. Think push-ups, squat and plank variations, lunges, among many others. You can create a small routine that you can get done in the morning. 

Make a Realistic Schedule

With the social obligations around the holidays, there’s usually very little time for your typical workout routine. Instead, make a realistic schedule that you can adhere to without sacrificing too much time with your family. Many find it easier to schedule their workouts in the morning when other family members might still be asleep. 

Remember just 10 minutes of movement is better than nothing, plus it will boost your energy and help you feel less guilty indulging later in the day. 

Focus on Short, High-Intensity Workouts

If possible, try focusing on short, high-intensity workouts to make up for your regular longer sessions. 

You can incorporate some personal training by doing virtual sessions while keeping the intensity at 70 to 75 percent of maximum heart rate. If you’re going away for an extended vacation this holiday season, be sure to keep this up two to three times per week with each workout lasting 30 minutes to minimize a decline in your cardiovascular fitness.

Set Short-Term Goals

Goals are excellent motivators when it comes to losing weight or maintaining your current fitness level. However, when setting goals during the holidays, make them realistic to ensure that you succeed. If your goals interfere too much with your lifestyle then you’re setting yourself up for disappointment, which is why we always encourage you to find a balance between lifestyle and fitness. 

For instance, you could set a goal of exercising at least twice per week during your visit. Or it might be more specific, like running one mile, three times a week.

Seek Support From Family

It’s always more enjoyable to work out with other people, and if you could get your family to go along, you don’t have to compromise any quality time. There are plenty of outdoor activities you can do together that will help the whole family get moving.

Try Virtual Coaching

If you’re worried that you’ll get stuck or don’t know where to begin, then getting personal training through virtual coaching is a great idea. 

Virtual coaching can help keep you on track by giving you a schedule to adhere to. We can customize a program to ensure you reach your goals and keep up your fitness during the holidays. 

Doing your best to maintain your fitness level during the holidays is essential to prevent any setbacks in your progress. Even taking three weeks off can cause a significant dent in your improvement. Fortunately, there are loads of ideas on how to incorporate personal training while visiting family.