Five ways to stay active this festive season

1. Be a morning person
As they say the early bird catches the worm, and with everything being so busy in and around Christmas with Christmas shopping, food preparation for the big day, and the 5pm drinks or end of year celebration dinners, these can all get in the way of you exercising.  With the massive to do list, the day just gets away from us.  So, the best thing to do is to get up, get it done, and then get on with the rest of your day, knowing that you have ticked exercise off of your daily list.

2. Shop with your feet
Some partners might not be keen on this, but a full day of shopping can accumulate some serious steps, and as we know walking is good for our health.  So ditch the online shopping, although it’s probably too late for that anyway, and get out there and research on your feet for those last minute gifts.

3. Reduce prolonged sitting at work
Many people are trying to wrap up end of year work, or cramming in extra work before heading off for their Christmas break, but this can mean a lot of sitting time.  Some tips to try and reduce this sitting time are to park further away from your work, take the stairs where possible, take a walk at lunchtime or even squeeze in a mini-desk-workout. It’s surprising what a few squats every hour can do for your health and your quads!

4. Get more bang for your buck and up the intensity
Again, your time is precious at this time of year with so much to do, so aim to get more bang from your buck with your workouts by undertaking high intensity training.  You can get away with doing almost half as much exercise time, if you are exercising in the high intensity zone of about 85-95% of your maximum heart rate during training.  High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) also triggers Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption which is an after exercise calorie burn.  For this reason it’s much more effective at burning calories than your steady state or regular moderate intensity aerobic exercise. 

5. Phone a friend
Do you have family staying with you, or have friends on holidays at the same time as you?  Rather than only catching up over a drink or two, set a date for the morning to get exercising.  It might be a hit of tennis, golf or just a long walk.  But what an excellent way to be active and catch up on everything from the past year at the same time.  Try and make it a holiday routine by undertaking it daily.  And by having the accountability of a friend, you are more likely to stick to this routine, and it can be more fun when exercising with others.

Lisa Parkinson
Accredited Exercise Physiologist & Credentialed Diabetes Educator

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