At least one activity a day
Establish a rule that you will do at least one sport activity a day. It doesn’t matter if it’s cycling, indoor cycling session, running, swimming, ice hockey game, skiing or power work-out in the gym. Don’t cheat and do something every day. You’ll see that you can enjoy the festive days with your family even more after a good training session. One hour of running, gym workout, swimming or indoor cycling is enough. Two or three hours of cycling outside, skiing or longer trekking is similar. Just keep the rule every day.
Find a group ride
Christmas is a good time for group riding. The majority of your cycling friends are enjoying a break from work, so why not organize or attend a group ride together. Depending on the weather and the conditions on the roads, you can ride MTB on your favourite trails or take out your road bike and enjoy some dry roads around your city. Or why not get on the more and more popular gravel bikes and explore some new farmer roads in the fields in the countryside?
Run or swim
Sometimes it’s hard to keep cycling around Christmas, so try to switch to other activities like running or swimming. You can do both early in the morning or later in the evening. And there’s a chance that public swimming pools will be less crowded these days. So do your one hour and then enjoy the rest of the day with your family, visiting relatives and enjoying Christmas atmosphere. And you will be satisfied that you didn’t miss your daily work-out.
Enjoy the winter
White Christmas doesn’t only create an amazing atmosphere, it also enables you to enjoy winter sports. Downhill skiing is not just fun and a pleasure, but it’s good exercise, too. Spending all day on the “piste” with your friends and family is great. The same goes for cross-country skiing. A three- or four-hour trip on skies is a very similar effort to an average cycling group ride. And you can still be with your family. You don’t feel like skiing? Just walk then. Mountain trekking is also a good option and a suitable activity to do with your loved ones.
Do not overeat
O.K., it’s Christmas time, of course you can forget about your diet or healthy recipes for a week or two. It won’t kill you. But be smart. Overeating is not necessary. You can taste whatever you want, picking this and that when visiting your parents or relatives, but try not to end up feeling like a balloon at the end of the day.
Race, play, compete
Christmas time is also a good opportunity to put your body to the test. The holiday week always offers a few challenges. It can be a Christmas run, a cyclocross race, an indoor cycling marathon, a Zwift home trainer on-line race, or any other sports competition. Just sign up with your friends, enjoy it and don’t forget to try your best. A good atmosphere and some intensive effort will be your reward for a little bit of suffering. And your beer or glass of wine will taste even better afterwards…
Just don’t forget to relax, too… Enjoy Christmas time with your family!
