Written by Kaz Louise Stoner
Surrounded by family and friends, the festive season is an infamous time for over-indulgence.
This year in particular, there wasn’t much else one could do except down copious amounts of alcohol to endure all the ‘family time’, and emotionally eat to reflect on the nightmare that was 2020.
Big meals, lots of chocolate, alcoholic beverages, and hot festive drinks are all calorie-dense and, with no training, this can allow waistbands to feel tighter and can leave a person feeling lethargic. It’s no wonder that, come the new year, gyms are fuller and events like Dry January become more popular!
A couple of weeks off from training is not detrimental to a fitness journey or an athlete’s career. Even elite athletes are given time off during this time. Rest is an important part of the athletic performance so do not beat yourself up about the lack of training and overeating. Mindset is an important part of training and it is fundamental to have the right intentions and reasons for wanting to train. Although ‘losing weight’ is important as it reduces the risk of heart disease and other pathologies, aesthetic reasons should seldom guide fitness goals (unless in a sport that requires it, such as; bodybuilding). So, although it’s common to want to be mistle-toned post-Christmas binges, the driving factor of training should be bettering athletic performance, getting stronger, and healthier!
Get organised: planning and goals!
After days of indulgence, heading back into the gym or training with a team can seem daunting. Quite frankly, nobody really ‘feels like’ getting back into the old routine. Planning ahead and setting goals are important to creating a sustainable training plan. Goals should never be ‘run a sub 30 minutes 5 kilometer run’ from the get-go, especially if you’ve never really run before! They can be little goals such as, ‘do at least 2 workouts a week’, ‘cut back on certain types of alcohols’, or anything that really fits what you want to achieve.
Planning is another important factor that can help ease the journey from Christmas to Fitmas. Be realistic… no one’s really got time for a 2-hour session every day. But on days you know you don’t have many lectures, or you’re not usually rostered in for work, slot in a little ‘me time’… even if it’s just a walk. Getting your body moving is the hardest part. Evidence shows that after a month of consistency, anything can make its way into your routine.
Avoid ‘quick fixes’ or detoxes
There is no quick fix to getting healthy and fit. Instagrams are bound to be spammed with ‘tea-toxes’ and ‘follow this plan to get a six pack in 2 weeks’ at the start of the new year. As we know, it is impossible to spot-reduce fat, so if any plan is promoting ‘losing belly fat’, you can immediately disregard this from your fitness investments. There are plenty of plans on the internet that can assist and guide you towards kick-starting your fitness journey.
We recommend that you research into them before purchasing. It is important to purchase these from qualified and legitimate coaches, not someone who’s made a living by looking cute on social media. Anything attained quickly, can be lost just as quickly. Be consistent and patient, and the results you earn, you’re more likely to keep. Detoxes and fit-teas are not only useless in sustainable fitness, but can also be dangerous and damaging to your health!
Buddy Up
There’s nothing quite like your teammates motivating you and cheering you on to keep going during training. The fixed training times are also encouraging to keeping a structured workout plan. If you don’t play or practice a sport, however, this does not mean you cannot follow the same principles. There are plenty of workout classes offered by qualified coaches you can join. If you don’t want to splurge, getting a workout buddy is another great way of maintaining a commitment to training. There’s nothing quite like a competitive edge to give your motivation to train that extra boost.
The Bottom Line
Getting back into a routine is all about trial and error. There is no one size fits method of being able to get back into training it and shedding the holiday pounds. Getting moving and finding out what works for you is what it’s all about. As mentioned throughout, there is no need to spend loads of money at expensive gyms or on expensive plans. All workouts can be done from the comfort of your own home or just outside as long as you have the motivation to plan and carry them out yourself! Essentially, if you don’t enjoy exercise, you won’t stick to it. Take the time to reflect and work out what will make you workout.
Wishing you the best of luck and a very prosperous new year from the UM Futsal Team!
Check out UoM Futsal’s previous article here!
