While evidence shows that exercise can make you more cheerful, it's important that you don't force yourself into fitness on those days when you're feeling unmotivated, says adidas global ambassador Chinae Alexander. Read on as Chinae provides her five-step guide to staying fit without equipment during the holiday season:
1. CREATE A HOLIDAY MINDSET
For me, there used to be so much guilt surrounding the holidays—guilt over what food I was eating, family stressors, and the guilt I felt when days would go by without a drop of sweat hitting my brow. After a lot of work on myself and my thinking, I decided I didn’t need to revamp my holiday behavior—I needed to revamp my mindset.
When I stopped beating myself up for what I wasn’t doing, I found myself free and motivated to make the choices I knew were going to serve me in the long term.
One thing that always stressed me was finding a gym or somewhere to train while on vacation or during work travel. If I found a spot, I was frustrated that I was locked away for an hour a day and not enjoying my surroundings. Let’s just call it major FOMO.
By shedding the guilt and gaining creativity, I learned that you can not only work up a sweat and meet your goals, but also still enjoy your damn life.
2. IT’S ALL ABOUT TIMING
The last thing I realized after discovering how to better incorporate fitness into my holiday routine was that my fitness time was a gift I was giving myself. When we take that hour amidst the stress and bustle of the holidays or during work travel, we fill our proverbial tanks back up. We’re able to give to others better. We are more attentive, more engaged and have more energy. We are prouder of ourselves, not because we burned calories, but instead because we gave ourselves importance.
3. MIX IT UP
Varying your workouts is a great way to keep yourself motivated and your routine fresh. It also pushes you to be more creative as you think of new ways to work out and exercise.
4. PLAN YOUR ROUTINE
Make sure you come prepared to your next bodyweight session. You don’t have to have detailed mind map written out, but do have an idea of what area of the body you want to target for that session. Paying attention to the small details can provide a huge return in your progress.
5. MAKE IT TOUGHER
Don’t go easy on yourself. Really push yourself to the limit and make sure you have given your all after each workout. You'll feel better knowing you've exerted all your energy, and you will see the results you were after in a quicker fashion.
Be free from guilt this holiday season, give yourself some grace in the ways you execute your greatness and do it for yourself. A gift from you, to you.
xx Chinae