Keep your holiday fitness routine going all season with these tips. Whether you’re a runner or enjoy other fitness exercises, the holidays can be a challenging time of year. With all the parties, the cold weather, and tempting holiday eats, it’s easy to skip workouts and overindulge.

The holiday season is always very busy: family time, dinners, events, and end-of-year work deadlines. With so many commitments, it can be easy to let your holiday fitness goals slide, but keeping to your running goals and routine will help you stay healthy and happy.

Why Run During the Holidays?

Regardless of if you love the holidays or not, it can be a stressful time. There is a lot of juggling to do, which makes running and fitness so important for stress relief. Exercise is an outlet that can help boost your mood and banish stress.

The holidays are also a time of overindulgence, with delicious, rich foods and a few extra glasses of wine, so maintaining balance and getting outside for fresh air is necessary. When we take an extended break from fitness, we can lose a lot of what we worked for, with a noticeable decrease in cardiovascular health and some muscle loss.

If you can maintain even a few weekly workouts, you'll feel a lot better over the holidays. Below are some of our top holiday fitness tips to stay active:

Tips for Maintaining Your Fitness

Strive for Maintenance

Now is not the time for reaching your personal best times for trying to hit new records. Instead, focus on the maintenance of your fitness. If you are a beginner or just getting back into running, aim for 2-3 runs per week at 20 minutes for a great start. This is realistic in a busy week, and you can even squeeze in your running on a lunch break or before work. This is a great time for base runs to maintain your endurance and fitness level.

Plan Ahead

When you are planning out your holiday events, take the time to schedule runs and workouts in advance. This will become more real and feel like a tangible weekly task that will motivate you to keep running all season long.

Create a Festive Playlist

Bring on the holiday tunes! So many big celebrities have created upbeat remixes to Christmas classics and Hannukah songs that are brilliant to play for your run. There are also plenty of Kwanza songs to choose from.

Find a Race or Competition for a Holiday Fitness Boost

The good news is that most cities and towns offer fun, holiday-themed runs and events, and there are even virtual holiday run options too. Some of the runs even encourage runners to dress up in festive looks! Find a festive run in your area, and maybe you can ask your near and dear to join so you can keep doing what you love with the people you love. Even if it's not your best time, you'll feel an immense sense of pride in completing something just for you. If you want to participate virtually, many holiday races now offer virtual options that you can do with your family and friends too.

Focus on Balance

Things are going to happen over the holiday season that you can’t always control. Maybe you must work late and miss your training, or you had a few too many drinks with friends and opt for the additional sleep instead (this is necessary too!) It’s okay! You can try again tomorrow. Focus on balance, and opt for healthy food while at home, drinking plenty of water and knowing that rest is also key.

Join Fitness Challenges with Your Friends and Family

There are plenty of charities that appreciate your support. Why not take part in a festive fitness challenge with your loved ones to keep your holiday fitness streak running strong? For example, you could do the 25 miles of Christmas or 50 miles to 100 miles! Create an online fundraising platform to stay motivated and donate dollars to your favorite charity.

Short Still Counts

If you find you’re short on time, compromise with an equally important short distance run (even 1 mile) where you can focus on speed or do some hill work instead to really get that heart rate up.

Mix It Up

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Cross-training is a great thing for runners and shouldn’t be overlooked in your holiday fitness plan. Why not keep things interesting with a HIIT workout at home, which can be 20 minutes, or try something different such as dance class, yoga class, spin class, or a weight workout. Your holiday season is likely much busier and different from your normal routine, so let your workout reflect that fun and variety.

Make Your Runs Social

Get your running buddies together to mix fun and fitness by running before a holiday happy hour or arrange runs in neighborhoods where you can see all the fun Christmas lights and holiday decorations along the way. Or route your run to a local café that features sweet festive drinks to fuel up post-run.

Join a Running Group

If you aren’t in a running group, this is a great time to join one. It’s a fantastic motivator, a way to meet new folks, and really helps with structure. A running group can be in person or online if you feel the commitment to an in-person group is too much.

Make New Healthy Traditions

The holidays are wrapped in traditions and routines for many people, with activities they have been doing for decades. Why not create a new holiday fitness routine for a healthy tradition with your loved ones?! Sign up for a race together, join a fitness challenge, or do a family walk together after holiday meals.

Ask Santa for Fitness Gear

Have you been eyeing a new tracking watch? Or maybe specific winter running gear, running shoes, a GPS running watch, or running socks? Allow yourself to treat yourself to some new running gear this holiday season. It’s been said that the right gear will help motivate you and improve your confidence!

Jingle All the Way

Focus on the joy that holiday fitness brings. Exercise is a natural stress reliever in a traditionally high-stress period, and helps keep your mood high, energy up, and creative juices flowing. Holiday fitness routines can also help you enjoy the physical benefits of exercise. Routine is usually very helpful for runners, so sticking to one will be good, but go easy on yourself. The holidays. are fleeting so try and enjoy what you can without being too hard on yourself. If you miss a workout, you can get back to your regular program the next day.

Marissa Del Mistro is a writer, editor, and always on the hunt for the perfect workout. Marissa absolutely loves trail running, dancing, and cycling. When she’s not writing, Marissa loves cooking, podcasts, traveling, and exploring her home in the beautiful unceded Coast Salish Territory of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ nations.

Holiday Fitness Tips to Stay Healthy and Active