Your Pre-Holiday Workout Plan

Holiday weight gain. We all know what it feels like – not good. The feasting seems to start at Thanksgiving and then continues right through New Year’s Day leaving you greeting the new year feeling BLECH. But it doesn’t have to be this way! If you plan in advance to break this cycle with a pre-holiday workout plan, you can go into 2014 feeling fabulous instead of flabulous.

Here are some tips from me and the fitness experts over at Orangetheory Fitness Newport Beach on how to create a pre-holiday workout plan.

1. Start now.

No time like the present, we just about 5 weeks out from Thanksgiving, the perfect time amount of time to work on getting more fit so you can go into the holidays ahead of the game.

2. Set a goal.

Set a goal to motivate you, like working out X days a week, or consider signing up for the Dana Point Turkey Trot 5K or 10K. There is nothing better than starting off your Thanksgiving morning than with a beautiful run in Dana Point. Orangetheory Fitness treadmill intervals can help you in your training.

3. Recruit a friend.

Accountability is key! Find a friend or enlist your hubby to participate in your pre-holiday workout plan with you.

4. Make your workouts effective.

As busy moms, it is important to make sure we are getting the most out of our workouts because we are investing precious time! Consider purchasing a package of classes or monthly membership from Orangetheory Fitness in Newport Beach. The memberships are month to month with no long-term contract, so you can buy a membership to get you through the holidays (but by then you will be hooked and want to keep it up throughout the new year!)

Or, you can buy a package of classes.

I just bought my own package  and have burned between 430 – 530 + calories every workout, plus more calories in the after burn. Burning these kinds of calories gets results! 

5. Schedule your weekly workouts on Sunday night.

Take a few minutes on Sunday night to make your workout plan for the week. Put your workouts in your calendar as if they were a hair appointment or a teacher conference – something you would NOT miss.  You can reserve your workouts ahead of time online at Orangetheory, and if you don’t show up for the class, you lose it, so this is added reinforcement to keep you accountable!

6. Focus on fitness – not the scale.

The goal of exercising is to make you fit, healthy and strong. In case you haven’t heard – strong is the new sexy! When you start a new workout regimen and feel how each time you are getting stronger, and can do more, it is so motivating and will keep you going. Focus on your accomplishments in your workouts – not on the scale.

Having a pre-holiday workout plan will make a big difference going into the holidays.  After all the hard work you have put in will make you think twice before taking a second helping of stuffing. But if you do over indulge at a party, you will have the motivation to get right back to the gym and will already know what you need to do.

So don’t wait for New Year’s to make your fitness resolution – start now and toast your success come December 31st when you are rockin’ it in your hot holiday dress!

 [Disclosure: Orangetheory Fitness Newport Beach is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor.]