“It’s never too early to start prepping.” A colleague said.
They were right, realizing that we had officially entered the last quarter of the year.
This was the time to begin preparing for the holidays that would swoop in without notice as soon as Halloween wrapped up.
Just like the prep that happened at the beginning of the year to improve your chances of achieving your goals - this was just the homestretch.
Most individuals blame the holiday season for their failure, as if they have no control over their actions.
The healthier lifestyle you’ve been embracing continues especially during the festivities. As a matter of fact, it can coexist.
So if you’re one who always seems to leave it to chance to keep your habits and practices going, I’m here to show you how to maintain them. Let’s dive into how to begin to set up your training structure so you’re prepared for the holidays.
Identify Schedule Changes:
A lot can shift during the holidays. You might have family over, be travelling, or hosting events. Knowing how that will impact your schedule gives you the advantage to start setting up your holiday training structure.
Things you want to note are:
- Days of travel/family visits (Is it a week, few days or full month?)
- Time constraints (e.g- having people over to entertain)
- Location change (e.g - leaving town or staycating)
- Mental bandwidth (e.g- how much will this gathering/event tax you mentally)
For example, at the end of September is when I begin to ask clients if they will be doing any holiday travelling. It gives us time to begin looking at our last training cycles, testing weeks and prepping for the new year. For some it might mean doing things before they leave and others it’s deciding to perform assessments solo this year instead of with me.
The purpose is to look ahead instead of using the holidays as an excuse to stop.
Revisit Your Goal:
This is the perfect time to revisit what your goal has been for the year. The holidays doesn’t mean you have to give up on them, it gives you an opportunity to learn how to navigate a full season of festivities.
There are various tools I’ve shared this year to help you continue moving forward by understanding how to pivot and adapt. Let’s revisit a few standard approaches:
Find Your Bare Minimums: This sets you up to continue working on your goal by choosing something you will realistically be able to complete when things become hectic. Given what might change during the holidays (location, time, mental capacity, etc) you’re setting yourself up for success by adjusting your daily benchmark to fit that. It’s not guessing and waiting until things get challenging to decide what to do.
Think on a continuum: This allows you to (a) learn to listen to your body and (b) understand how to adapt your routine to it. It encourages you to lean into doing what you can with what you have. Whether it’s decreasing the sets because you’re short on time or going for a walk because you’re not near a gym- understand what you can give.
Set the intention: Your goal will remain the same, how you get there might vary. This means being intentional and strategic with what you do. It means taking the 20 minute break you have to complete a home workout or opting to make a dish so you can choose something that’ll support your health goals.
What you do today impacts your overall goal. Even better, having an idea of how you need to adjust your actions helps you from quitting when circumstances change.
Choosing YOUR Holiday Training Schedule:
There’s one thing you have to remember. If it’s important to you, you will find a way.
Of course you’re allowed to enjoy your holidays- and I highly recommend it! But whatever you commit to doing when the holidays come around, you do it.
This is such a great opportunity to continue making progress, increase your confidence and self-trust.
If you do what you set out to do during the holidays, that’s all the proof needed that you can do the same for the coming year.
So how do you create your training schedule?
- Choose the number of days you’re committing to perform a routine
- Decide the length for each that will either maintain or improve your fitness
- Create your routines (Full Body, Upper/Lower Body Split, etc)
- Identify your bare minimums
- Schedule the days into your calendar
- Follow through until you’ve made it through the holidays
Only you are responsible for preparing your holiday training schedule. This requires you to be proactive and decide what you need to set yourself up. Create a holiday workout group with friends, join a seasonal challenge, or have a conversation with a coach to find what best works for you.
If you’ve been doing the same thing and expecting different results - it’s time to change. Whether you’ve been on track or this is your wake up to start focusing on your fitness - you got this.
-Milchu “Early Start” Perez