Feeling sluggish, exhausted and out of sorts? While the festivities can be a barrel of fun or a great end-of-year excuse to let off steam and indulge, they can also be stressful, tiring and take you out of your usual fitness routine. If you’re already lacking in the exercise department, the added weight of the party season can really take its toll on an already, less than fit physique. Instead of giving up before you get started take positive steps to get yourself out of the post-holiday slump
At this time of year many people suffer the after-effects of the New Year with a general sense of anticlimax and negativity pervading their thoughts. You might have been thrown off course by the change in lifestyle during the festive eating and drinking frenzy. If you’re not feeling ready to leap into your old exercise routine or jump into the year with a workout then you need to change your mind set and routine of indulgence right now. Only then will you rise to the occasion and have a fitter and healthier 2013.
- Clear up and clear out – after a holiday abroad you come home and unpack. After the festive season it’s worth clearing out all the ‘debris’ from your holiday, cleaning up and injecting some new energy into your home and lifestyle. This includes looking at your exercise gear and throwing out anything that’s had its day. If you’re don’t have simple workout clothes or your current ones are looking drab, then the New Year sales might be a good time to invest. New clothes, new attitude!
- Take the opportunity to reassess – the saying goes that a break is as good as a rest. Use the time you’ve had away from your usual workout schedule to look at how you can shake it up. Perhaps there are some new classes or training sessions you want to try? What is it you don’t like or what is it you love about the way you exercise and keep fit?
- Cut yourself some slack but not too much – when you’re worn out, the last thing you need is energy zapping pressure. You might need some alone time, or downtime following the Christmas holidays to recover. Give yourself time to readjust and get back in the saddle before you start heading in any new direction. Don’t take too long though otherwise you might not gain any momentum.
- Start moving in every part of your life – going from nought to 100 in a day is not always beneficial. If you’ve not been exercising for a few weeks, or if you’ve been off course for far longer, then you need to get going slowly to begin with. Start walking and doing moderate exercises in your everyday life rather than throw yourself into a myriad of fitness classes of intense training. Build up what you do over time rather than burn out right at the start.
- Exercise now before your future begins – it’s easy to feel immobilized after a period of being sedentary. At the same time the cogs of the mind are often running at full speed while you get to grips with what you want, where, how and why. New Year is all about future plans but it’s all too easy to put off doing something today because you’re deciding on a strategy. Get fit while you’re still working out all the details of what you want to achieve. It’s often by starting to do something that decision making becomes easier.
Need help getting out of a post-holiday slump? If you want to try a new fitness program or springboard into a whole new lifestyle then contact us so that we can work with you.