In between Christmas and New Years might be the oddest fitness week of the year. Many people are coming out of a stressful holiday run up full of work parties, last minute shopping, travel, family gatherings, tantrums (from kids and adults alike), and an endless supply of sweets, alcohol, and rich, dense foods. However, the holidays are not over; we still have New Years.
This week is therefore complicated. For many, you are still on vacation, traveling to see family and thus away from the pool and your typical routine. Even if you are at home but have not been sticking to your training schedule after holidays, you might be questioning how to get back into triathlon training or whether you should even get back in the water and workout. There is always January 1st, right? WRONG!
Here are some tips to get you through this week and start 2017 on a better foot than if you took this whole week off to eat leftovers and watch sports as tempting as that might be.
- Something is better than nothing: While the pool might be closed, you are traveling with family, and you are away from your bike, you can still do something no gym required like walking (even around the airport, which actually makes a good track of sorts and people watching too), core work, yoga, pushups, sprints, plyometrics, stairs.
- Similarly, if your pool is closed, use this time to get your dryland in. You can turn this week into a run or bike focused week with lots of core and mobility work to supplement. In particular, I love using the Vasa during this time of year when pool hours (and time to get there and back) are limited to keep my feel for the water sharp and my form on point.
- Try to get back into your routine this week. Since both holidays fall on the weekends, it’s easier to get back into your typical routine from Monday through Friday. Try to get back into it if you can, and you will be thankful you did next Monday. Which leads me to my next point….
- Don’t give up hope and hit the reset button: Just because you might have had one too many treats last week and enjoyed yourself (and I’m not criticizing you at all in this. You should have had a good time) does not mean you have to beat yourself up this week and write off the whole week as a failure. Like I said in point two, use this week to get back to your training plan.The power to change is NOW not January 1st at 12:01 am.
- Prep for 2017: While January 1st is an easy mental day to turn over a new leaf. You can easily make today the day you do that. Start writing down (or rewriting) what your goals are (if you have not done so already) and far more importantly, setting up the habits that will enable you succeed in them.
We have plenty of posts on habit making on our website so if you want to get a head start on your New Year’s resolution check them out here and here. The years might be dated but the message is still current.
