Exercise over Christmas - How to feel more Rudolph than Santa

Exercise and Christmas typically go together like carol singing and an air raid siren.

It's cold, it's dark, the gym is closed for half a day (love a convenient excuse!), friends and family are here, my blood alcohol level is high enough to kill a horse. The list goes on.

But there is ALWAYS something you can do. Santa doesn't miss a house, so why are you okaying sacking off the gym, home workouts and any form of half decent exercise from mid December for 3 weeks?

Keeping up a modicum of activity over Christmas could well be the difference between a 2 and a 7lb gain. And it'll set your training back if you go from lion to kitten in the gym, and kitten to lion in the kitchen.

Let's be real here. It's not going to make a world of difference, and some down time is good. But half a month is 5% of the year, and if I took 5% of your Christmas dinner what would it be?

Still an excessive amount of calories? Well, yes. But it's not to be sniffed at and the benefit of exercise goes beyond weight loss.

It might be the difference between being a calm, patient parent and having an argument.

It's also about setting an example to those around you, young and old (more so the young if you're one of the old, and vice versa!). People don't learn from what they are told so much as what they see.

If you find a solution to a problem and go for a Christmas walk or jog then others will see it's possible and be more likely to join in.

Plus it will give you more wiggle room when it comes to the lovely down time we all get to enjoy at some point over Christmas.

This could come in the form of more steps (your legs still work in the cold and the dark you know), heading to the gym or working out at home.

As always run all your excuses through our handy BS detector and you'll likely see they aren't as bulletproof as you believed. There are ALWAYS ways to do a little more and so we recommend looking for the small margins to help you live a healthier, happier life into 2023.

For more helpful hints and tips and a deeper dive into Christmas exercise, check out our podcast on the exact topic here.