Stay Slim Through the Holidays by Keeping Active

The holiday season makes things a lot more complicated for those of us who would like to stay on top of our fitness. The problem is that our schedules become a lot more complex and busier. As a result of our packed and ever shifting schedules, the things that keep us the healthiest are also often the activities that we’re most likely to drop. As a result, trying to stay slim through the holidays can feel nearly impossible when compared to the rest of the year. After all, when your choice is to cut out your work, picking up your child from daycare, eating dinner, heading to your company holiday party or your trip to the gym, it’s the gym that normally gets the axe. When are we supposed to take time for ourselves when we don’t have time to do everything else?

Stay Slim Through the Holidays 5 Minutes at a Time

Fortunately, there are tons of tiny, five-minute workouts that you can do to keep on top of your fitness without needing much time. When it’s just a matter of five minutes, it becomes much more possible to fit your workouts into your schedule. The more of them you can complete in a day, the better, but even finishing one is better than nothing. The following are some of the types of five-minute workout you can do on a lunch break, just before you get dressed to head out to a party or even first thing in the morning before you get going. Try to make a habit of fitting them in whenever you can so you can continue to burn fat, particularly at this time of year when you’re more likely to be eating a higher number of fatty or sugary foods.

Check Out These 5 Tiny Workouts You Can Do Hourly

These workouts to stay slim through the holidays include the following.  Try to do several of them throughout the day.  Of course, one is better than nothing, but the more you can do on an hourly basis, the better you’ll feel and the better the advantage you’ll give yourself.

1 - Jump rope

Get a jump rope with comfortable handles and jump rope as fast as you can for five minutes. To keep from getting bored, mix things up a little bit by switching between jumping on the spot, jumping from left to right on the spot, and jumping in a running motion.

2 - Lunge walking

Walk up and down a hallway or a long room. This helps to get much more out of the space and out of each step. If you’re in an office and would feel weird doing this on your own, get co-workers involved.  Feeling silly and getting the workout done in a group can be a lot of fun and will help you to keep each other accountable as you get your giggles out every hour, too.

3 - Run

If you must stay in one spot, run right there. If you have some space, such as if you can go outside, run for a couple of minutes, sprint for a minute, then run for another couple of minutes.

4 - Shovel the snow

In the winter, Mother Nature provides you with an excuse to get some good cardio right there in your driveway. Pay attention to your posture and don’t forget to lift with your legs, not your back. When you need a break, take one.

5 – Strike a (Yoga) Pose

Some of your 5-minute workouts don’t need to involve cardio. Occasionally, getting up and stretching, followed by a flow of some of your favorite yoga poses can work wonders on getting all the creaks and pops out of your joints while bringing some energy and alertness back to your mind. Many people don’t think of yoga when it comes to staying slim through the holidays, but since it keeps you powered up for other workouts, it can work wonders!