Exercising during Christmas

Just wondering, how many men continue their regular exercise program during the Christmas season and how many women? :huh:

Yuppers. Nothing really changes for me during the holidays. Good luck to all. I'm just working towards goals and trying to make it part of my lifestyle and routine so that holidays and other "things" don't de-rail me.

This guy

It's not so much the holidays that interrupt my workouts this time of year, it's the weather. My gym is here in my office building which is convenient but I have a bit of a commute (about 45 miles) so if the weather is nasty, I like to leave as early as I can and that means not taking a longer lunch break to get my workout in. Like yesterday, we had a gross winter mix of snow and sleet and I wanted to head home by 4pm at the latest (bad enough driving on slick roads, would rather do it with some daylight) so I had to skip the gym. Sometimes I can get a bit of a burn in with shoveling when I get home though.

As far as Christmas itself, I may or may not work out - depends on how the day goes. But if I have time, I'll pop a workout DVD in and get it done.

Last year I was traveling over the holidays and left my running gear at home. Big mistake. This year, despite a longer and more complicated trip (going to France and Spain), I'm bringing running gear and will try to get runs in whenever possible, in addition to some basic strength work in the hotel.

Why wouldn't I?

I do far less cardio during the winter due to the fact that I prefer to be outside on my bike or whatever vs being on a machine and sometimes the cold and other conditions keep me from doing that...but I try to get out on the bike on nice days and/or at least a couple times per week, but my weight training remains constant.

I don't know why anyone would cease their fitness regimen just because there are a couple of holidays over the course of a couple months though. Even on Thanksgiving I was in the weight room early before I started all of my cooking...not because it was Thanksgiving and wanted to get a pre-feast workout in like many people do...but because it was Thursday...and Thursday means being in the weight room.

My training in general is seasonal....I focus primarily on my lifting during the winter months when it's cold outside and just try to get in a couple days of good cardio on the bike and usually 20-30 minutes on the stairs on a Saturday in the gym. As the weather gets nicer I will be on my bike more and will be riding quite a bit by March as to prepare for my 1/2 Century ride.

I had planned to train for a sprint triathlon this summer and race in the fall but have been having issues with my feet and running may be off the table...but I'll definitely still ramp up the swimming and maintain a good cycling base. I still lift during all of this but I lift differently than I do in the winter where lifting is my primary exercise.

Fall brings about Cyclocross season on the bike and then full circle back to winter where I try to put on a little muscle and let my body recover from all of that other nonsense during the year.

My exercise has nothing to do with holidays, etc...my exercise centers around whatever particular fitness season I'm in.

IMO if it is a true routine you would continue to do it regardless of what is going on.

Why would you stop because it is the Holiday Season? If you stop because it is the Christmas season, you are just looking for excuses and are not truly committed to becoming healthier.

I am continuing to move my tush 6 days a week with 1 rest day.

I disagree. I have a great workout routine and I enjoy it. If I was home I would stick to it. But I live in a different country to my family and this will be the first time I've been back there in 2 years. Driving there alone is 4hrs to the Ferry, 3hr Ferry, then 2hrs to the house. I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters and my mother, none of whom live near each other but all of whom want to see me while I'm home. I have to fit all of that into 2 days, before we drive another 3hrs to my partners house to see his parents. He also has not been back in 2years and his family have lots of things planned as well as us being asked to visit his friends. Then I have my friends who also would like me to stop by which is another 1.5hrs drive away one of the days. Then we have to make the journey back. We have 8 days, 2 of which will be us driving.

I might have an hour free every day to walk the dog but that will be it. It would be IMPOSSIBLE for me to keep up my regular routine at over these days so sometimes its not possible to keep it up regardless of what is going on.

People shouldn't be accused of not being dedicated to healthy living if they have to take a few days off for other things every now and again

Well, Christmas is on a Wed. so I'll be squatting Christmas Eve and resting Christmas day. If I get too restless and don't feel like I have enough to do I might go for a run.

I love lifting, why would I quit just because it's a holiday? My workouts help put me in a great mood and holidays are even better with a new PR. I ran a 5k on Thanksgiving and it made for a great start to the day.

Just wondering, how many men continue their regular exercise program during the Christmas season and how many women? :huh:

I won't do any workouts on Christmas Day, and likely not Christmas Eve either. But I will be doing plenty of running around while cooking.

I was planning on eating as much as possible and seeing if I could lose 50 lbs again. Screw workouts. :grumble:

Basically, you don't even have to exercise on Christmas, but I'm doing the same total hours I do every week, which is about 4 to 5 hours per week of intense stuff.