Your Holiday Health & Fitness Guide With Tyler Armstrong, MacDonald Island Park Fitness Coordinator and Personal Trainer
As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season begins, your health and fitness routine sometimes gets put on the back-burner, to make room for cooking seasonal favourites of course! To avoid it simmering down completely, we connected with Tyler Armstrong, fitness coordinator and personal trainer at MacDonald Island Park, to help you prepare for success while still making it to the family get-together.
No doubt this is a much busier time then the rest of the year as you have family outings, Christmas parties, shopping, volunteering and more, but this a minor barrier if you stay focused and are organized, says Tyler. The real problem is people enter a sort of vacation mode the moment December 1st hits and use these extra activities as excuses to get out of training, because really who wants to train hard on vacation?
During the most wonderful time of the year, Tyler notices that one of the major aspects that hinders success is a clients ability to make time to train. It usually requires a bit more organization and planning to get into the gym and when in a time crunch he explains you only need to find 30 Ð 60 minutes of moderate to intense activity (walking around the mall does not count).
Trainer Fitness Tips:
- Make a schedule: It can be a calendar, agenda or training program, but put something together that will make it easier to fit fitness into your busy day.
- Try to train before work: While it may be hard to get up early, it is usually harder to convince yourself to get to the gym after a full day.
- Workout anywhere: The internet is riddled with bodyweight workouts you can do anywhere, even in the comfort of your own home or while you are traveling.
- Jump into a fitness class: You get to turn your brain off and just move. Fitness classes are in a set time slot making it easier for you to plan your holiday fun around that class.
- Be more active: Take the stairs, go to the further fountain, park at the far end of the parking lot. The little things add up, try to be mildly active for a few minutes every hour.
One of the obvious inhibitors Tyler highlighted is diet, mentioning it is a year-round battle for the average Joe. But with the increased access to sugary sweets and savoury treats, this time of year can prove to be a battle of willpower and eating on-the-go.
Trainer Diet Tips:
- Avoid fast food: This one seems obvious, but with all the running around and shopping that accompanies the season people tend to eat out more. Plan ahead and meal prep!
- Try a new recipe: With the internet at your fingertips, it is extremely easy to find delicious recipes that arenÕt just lathered in butter and sugar. Try a new healthy spin on an old favourite!
- Download a calorie counter: This will provide you the opportunity to visualize how much you are really consuming vs. how much you need. ThatÕs when the guilt really hits you. It helps to plan and monitor your intake.
- Eat before parties: You may want to nibble on some of the cocktail food, but donÕt go planning to fill up on it, your body wonÕt be so quick to forgive you.
- Watch what you eat: Focus on cooking/eating lean meats, steamed or raw sides and always fill up on your veggies!
Tyler explains that consistency is key. Keeping your routine during this busy time may be tough, but the hardest part for most people is just getting to the gym. If you can do that, you can conquer your goals, even if you give into a couple Christmas cookies. He jokes that even your personal trainer enjoys the odd baked good from a client!
Still in doubt? Need a little motivation? Support can be key in keeping to your routine. Set yourself up for success and find out more about fitness services like Personal Training at MacDonald Island Park: macdonaldisland.ca/fitness.
