Published on: 26-Oct-2024
Introduction
Holidays are a joyous time! As friends and family begin to visit, and every meal turns into a feast, going to a gym can begin to seem like a distant memory. While going to a gym every day might not be feasible every day, it is possible to build healthy habits and adopt a holiday fitness routine from the comfort of your home, but should you invest in a home exercise routine?
Benefits of Building Fitness Habits at Home
By working out at home, you can build a healthy lifestyle from the comfort of your home. The benefits of physical activity aren’t hidden from anyone, but there’s more to a workout routine than just going to the gym. By building exercise routines that you can do at home, you save time and money that would’ve been spent on the gym. You also don’t need to share your equipment with other people.
Moreover, you get to decide what type of physical activity you want to engage in. Just imagine using your backyard as a place for weight training by placing monkey bars there. How fun would that be? Just make sure that you keep your outdoor space both functional and inviting by maintaining your backyard. Regular upkeep, like trimming the lawn or adding a weed control fabric to protect plants, keeps it lush and green, making it the perfect workout spot. The better maintained your backyard is, the more refreshing and invigorating your workouts will feel.
5 Ways to Achieve Your Fitness Goals at Home During Holidays
Here are five ways you can achieve your fitness goals and lead a healthy lifestyle even during the holiday season:
Create a Dedicated Workout Space
To create a daily routine that you can follow and build an exercise habit, you need to set a place that you can workout in without hassle. Whether it’s your living room, your bedroom, spare space in your garage, or even your backyard, find a place where no one will disturb you. Since a lot of friends and family usually visit during this time, it can be difficult to go to the gym every day. By creating a dedicated space for your holiday fitness routine, you can easily adhere to your commitment to stay active. Something as simple as 30 minutes of moderate exercise is also enough to get a quick workout in between the celebrations.
Set Achievable Goals
Every person’s fitness levels are unique, and so is their ability to engage in physical activity. That’s why it’s crucial to set clear goals that are in line with your current fitness level. You can use a fitness app to track your progress or even consult a fitness expert to set clear expectations regarding ways to set a daily routine, balanced diet, and mental health.
In order to lead a healthy lifestyle, it’s important to understand your strengths and weaknesses. Are you more comfortable working out at a certain time of day, such as evening? Or do you want to work out a couple of times a week instead of every day? It’s all perfectly acceptable. Adopting a holiday fitness routine is all about finding what works for you and protects your cardiovascular health, so use the trial-and-error method before committing to a routine.
Find Home-Friendly Equipment
Depending on the space you have at home, creating a commercial-level gym from scratch might neither be feasible nor practical. Therefore, you should focus on adding exercise equipment that can be easily used and stored at your home. While a home gym, even for a holiday fitness routine, can be as extensive as you want, a few essentials can work just as well to make regular exercise a part of your routine.
Essentially, a jump rope and elliptical machine for cardio, resistance bands, kettlebells, dumbbells, a squat rack for strength training, and an exercise mat are enough to complete your home workout routine. These exercise equipment will help you practice a wide variety of exercises involving your upper body, leg muscles, cardiovascular exercises, and body-weight exercises.
Make Fitness Fun with Friends and Family
Achieving fitness through exercise requires a strong will to change your lifestyle and manage your mental health and overall well-being. However, finding the motivation to do so every day can be hard. That’s why including your family and friends in your holiday fitness routine can make you more accountable towards your goals. Holidays are the best time to work out with your loved ones, so use it wisely.
You can match your workout clothes with your workout partner, do fun challenges together, and engage in a wide variety of workouts ranging from basic exercises to more complex cardiovascular exercises. While having workout apps and workout programs for yourself can be fun, they can’t replace the requirement of having a friend around, especially when you’re trying to achieve fitness through exercise.
Don’t Forget to Nourish Your Body
As important as it is to have a proper exercise plan or program in place, it’s equally important to adopt healthy eating habits for more prominent and permanent results. It’s so tempting and easy to indulge in all sorts of unhealthy food behavior around the holiday season. Even with a set holiday fitness routine in place, you might not be able to achieve your fitness goals unless you steer toward a balanced diet.
The impact of healthy eating habits on our lifestyle is so great that multiple studies have shown that diet has a long-term impact on our health. Apart from mindful eating, it’s crucial for you to drink plenty of water, maintain an active lifestyle, and make well-informed decisions about what you’re putting in your body. The way you decide to nourish your body can make or break your ability to build healthy habits at home.
It’s a Wrap
It’s easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of holidays and forget about our health altogether. That’s why building healthy habits and following a holiday fitness routine is essential for our physical and mental well-being. To achieve our goals and lead an active lifestyle during the holiday season, we must focus on mindful eating, cardiovascular exercises, aiming for a full-body workout, and incorporating healthy habits into our everyday activities. As the holiday season approaches, remember you’re responsible for your health, so make smart decisions as you celebrate this joyous time with your friends and family.
The post How to Build Healthy Habits Without a Commercial Gym appeared first on Sports Medicine Weekly By Dr. Brian Cole.