Silly season is upon us. 

The time where people love to boycott their fitness goals for a whole month (8% of the year) with the mindset of “I’ve earned this and I want to have fun, so I’ll just start next year”. 

Which is the equivalent of “I’ve blown a hole in one tyre, so I might as well cut a hole in the other 3 tyres”.

I get it. I love a beer as much as the next bloke (or lady), but one thing I aim to do over this Christmas period is, rather than throwing in the towel because I had a big weekend or a blowout on the snacks, I’ll aim to double down on the good days when I can, knowing that if I can go into a bit of damage-control during the week, I won’t feel (and look) as shit as if I just gave up and wasted a whole month of the year and blamed it on society and X-mas gatherings.

I know what you’re thinking, “so I have to give up the fun and be one of those social pariahs just so I can look good? Not happening. Not after the year that I’ve just had”. 

But that’s not the case. You can still have your fun and enjoy some big (biiiig) weekends if that’s what you want to do, but just know that there need to be some trade-offs during the week so you don’t blow out and become a sloppy mess and feel shit about yourself come January 10th when everyone starts to realise their procrastination needs to be paid back (just like a credit card). 

So, here’s some actionable steps

1. Plan your boozy days and stick to them.
   If it’s not in the calendar, stay strong and say no. By assessing how many boozy lunches, dinners or full blown parties  you’re going to be having in the month, you’ll realise that there’s probably a lot. So it can help to say NO to the casual beer on your off days.

2. Reduce your daily calorie intake by 10-20% during the week to help make up for the over-indulgance at the X-mas parties or gatherings. Whilst it’s easy to throw in the towel for the month and eat anything & everything, it’s the daily habits that will make a huge difference. If you can manage 20% reduction for 5 out of the 7 days each week, it will bring you back to neutral and way further in front for 2022.
Track your calories and macros in Myfitnesspal.com

Follow our principle of eating high-quality foods in the right quantities for your goals

3. Train or move as often as you can.
Whilst you might not be in PR territory, if you don’t hang on to what you’ve currently got, it will be a long time before you’re back there.
Keep your major lifts ticking over along with some fitness.
If you can’t make the gym, maintain your aerobic capacity with some outdoor work like running, riding, swimming or just a casual recovery walk.
Whilst you deserve a break and don’t need to flog yourself, try and stay active with non-fitness related activities to keep the body moving.

But, if all else fails and you really want to enjoy yourself, don’t beat yourself up and feel guilty. You are entitled to enjoy yourself and do whatever you want to without feeling bad about it. 

We will be here for you when you return and have worked some pretty incredible miracles in the past 🙂 

Just note that like most gyms, we do get super busy in the New Year Rush, so if you were planning on joining in 2022, put your name down now so that we can at least get the ball rolling for you upon your fitness return. 

Jump on this link to submit an enquiry and we can walk you through the process for how it all works.