Climbing Cathedral Ledge in NH in 2008

We’re already at day 4 of 31 Days of Healthy Ways to Enjoy the Holidays More!  Today’s tip is to commit to getting some form of movement at least twice a week . Bonus points if you are already doing that or more!  Keep it up!

For those of you who have regular exercise routines established already, this one is easy, but for those of you who haven’t had regular exercise since gym class in high school or before you had your first baby, it can be really hard to get back in to it.  You know how good it makes you feel and you know how good it is for you but you just haven’t been able to make yourself do it.  You’re tired.  You’re busy.  You have laundry to fold and dinner to cook, (isn’t that exercise? Not really).

The holidays are a perfect and important time to get back on the horse!  You’ll likely be taking in extra calories (at those parties & dinners) and your stress levels are probably high.  Committing to getting exercise at least two days a week will help you burn off the extra calories and some of that stress.  Two days is doable.  You can work in more as it becomes a part of your life.   As a bonus, exercise has been proven to boost your immune system, especially for exercise newbies!  People who exercise are less likely to get a cold and no one likes someone who’s sniffling and sneezing all over their Christmas dinner.  So be a guest that gets invited back and get some exercise between now and then.

If cold weather demotivates you and you don’t have a gym membership, there are plenty of things you can do to get some exercise from the convenience of your home.  Here are a few things to try:

1.  Have a yoga mat and an internet connection? Check out Do Yoga With Me, an entirely free streaming yoga class website.  You can choose from more than a dozen different styles of yoga classes, everything from beginner to advanced and as short as 5 minutes long all the way to 90 minutes. And did I mention it was Fabulously Free?

2.  Create a playlist of your favorite fast songs on Spotify or iTunes (or whatever your digital music source of choice is these days) and then dance your tail off in any room of your house.  You might feel silly at first, but you’ll get over it when you see how great it makes you feel!  Get the kids to join you.

3.  Visit Fitness Blender for free strength training and cardio workouts that are very well done.  Don’t have any weights at home? Do you have bottles of water?  Canned goods? Paper weights?  Get creative (but be safe of course).  My husband once came home to me doing overhead tricep presses with a cast iron skillet.  It got the job done.

4.  Drop to the floor and do a few sets of push ups, crunches, squats, jumping jacks, lunges and calf raises.   Jog in place. Kick your own butt, because you can.  No equipment needed.

5.  Lower body injury?  Search for seated workouts on youtube.  There are gazillions to try that will get your heart rate up.

6.  Have a little cash to spend and bored of your usual routine?  Check out Groupon or Living Social for great deals on local gyms, yoga studios and more.  I’ve been taking some fun Barre Classes at Strength in Balance NH and I’m about to take an Aerial Fitness workshop at Go Ninja Manchester.  Variety keeps me from burning out!

Do you need help figuring out how to fit a few of these ideas into your hectic lifestyle this December? Let’s talk.  I’d love to help you make exercise a fun priority.

Hiking in Lincoln, NH this fall