Top 6 Tips for the Holiday Lifters
Hard to believe but once again, it’s that time of year when the food is abundant and delicious, the days off from work are finally upon us, the opportunity to slack off a bit, act like holiday lifters, presents itself and shoveling snow becomes a daily ritual. That’s right, the Holiday Season is here and what that doesn’t mean is you have to take this time to completely ruin everything you’ve been working for. All of that hard work you’ve been putting in to build a physique you can be proud of is not something you want to just let go by the wayside because you can’t stand the thought of sharing any of your cookies with jolly old St. Nick. So, in order to keep you where you’re at or even maybe a little better than that, here are 6 great tips you can abide by to help get you through the Holiday Season without destroying all that you’ve accomplished.
Tip #1: Keep Training Even As Holiday Lifters
No one said you had to shut it all down during this time of year as if it’s some right of passage and your muscles won’t know they’re not getting stimulated to grow. We’re holiday lifters not holiday sitters. So of course you’re going to keep training and sticking to your plan. The only suggestion would be to allow some flexibility in there with respect to how long or how often you train so that you don’t miss out on all the wonderful opportunities to share this time with friends and family by thinking you have to stick with your regular rigid schedule, so become holiday lifters.
Tip #2: Be Strategic with Your Food
Chances are there’s going to be lots of food around and many of the types of foods you don’t normally find in your meal plan. So, to take this into account and to allow yourself to indulge just a bit, try being strategic with your ‘fun foods’ and build it into your nutrition plan. You could plan to have your big holiday meals on a day you would normally schedule a cheat meal. You could save the high calorie meals for the post workout or you could use all of this food to jump start your offseason. However you approach it, do so with some plan in mind so as to not find yourself eating all over the place for no particular reason.
Tip #3: Take a Day
Even though it was just mentioned to keep training, don’t be afraid to take a day off here and there as holiday lifters. You have to keep in mind that the gym will always be there for you but time with friends and family, especially on those special occasions, won’t. You don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to spend time with loved ones just because you feel like you need to get that workout in or your muscles might disappear if you don’t train. That’s nonsense. If it means you miss a workout to enjoy a special moment, just miss the workout and don’t give it another thought.
Tip #4: Get more Sleep
One of the most neglected aspects of what we do is the amount of actual sleep we get in a twenty four hour period. We are all busy trying to get ahead and make our lives what we want, and because of this we sometimes don’t get the required amount of sleep to really pack on muscle. If you have some time off during this holiday season, then put it to good use and get your sleep. It will do wonders for you physically and mentally and set you up for some great workouts to come. Holiday lifters need their sleep too!
Tip #5: Try a New Gym
With that time off you hopefully have coming up, why not go and try a new gym. You’ve settled in with a place that conveniently fits into your crazy daily schedule and that’s perfect. Without it, you might not get to train otherwise. But on your downtime, maybe you could benefit from seeing what else is out there. For example, have you been to Brickhouse Gym yet? If you haven’t, you should. We have more than everything you’ll ever need from a gym, so take that day off and wander over our way to see what we have to offer, including all of you holiday lifters.
Tip #6: Get Something New
Who doesn’t love a gift right? Well, whether you’re buying yourself a gift or getting something from someone else, now would be a good opportunity to get something that will excite you and that you can use towards your training. Whether it’s a new workout accessory, some new workout clothing, a piece of equipment or that new gym membership, just go ahead and get it for yourself. When you look good and feel good, your training is good too, even when you’re in holiday lifters mode.
The Holiday Season can be a magical time in a holiday lifters training calendar simply because you can allow yourself to be open to more options. As strict as you are all year long, and you have to be in order to see success, this time of year just seems to be a little lighter and dare I say a little more carefree. The stress of everything may have been holding you back from some real progress so maybe by lightening up a bit, you’ll see new gains. You want to enjoy yourself during the Holiday Season and it’s important that you do so lift and be merry and we’ll see you at the gym.
Happy Holidays to all you holiday lifters from all of us at Brickhouse Gym!
Author: Dana Bushell
Gym Star Team Member
