It’s that time of year where I hear the worst workout excuse ever: “Why bother? It’s the holidays!”
Realizing it’s inevitable to over indulge this season, I always encourage to at least get your Daily Sweat™ on! The holidays may not be the best time of year to try and lose weight, but you can at least try to maintain. Excuse proof your workout this month, with my top 5 tips for avoiding holiday weight gain!
Rise and Shine: Exercise in the morning! Life gets too busy during the holidays (and sometimes too fun), so if you exercise first thing in the morning you’ll make sure to get it in!
Pack Your Sack: Put out your exercise clothes the night before (just like when you were in school). Or if you exercise after work, pack your bag the night before. This way you won’t waste any time getting things together or can’t claim you forgot anything.
Every Second Counts: Only have 15 minutes and thinking it’s a waste of time? Never! Take those 15 minutes and raise your intensity. If you are doing cardio push yourself so it becomes harder to breather sooner. If you’re lifting weights pick up heavier weights or shorten the time period between sets. You may find that you get more done in 15 minutes than you usually do in a half hour!
Tune in and Tone Up: Trying to catch up on your favorite TV shows or squeezing in your favorite holiday movie? Use each commercial (that means no fast forwarding if you’re watching on DVR) to work a different body part. One commercial is push-ups for the chest, the next commercial is squats for the legs, the next is dips for the triceps, and the last is sit-ups for the abs. Now you can watch your favorite TV show and get your exercise done all at once!
A Plank A Day: Never go to bed without performing a plank (holding the top of a push-up). Start off by holding 30 seconds at a time, working up to one minute or more! 
Sara Haley is a certified trainer and instructor through the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), as well as a member of the American Pregnancy Association (APA). Specializing in prenatal fitness, functional training and dance methodology, Sara has over twenty years of dance and fitness training, and has been a Reebok Global Master Trainer since 2008.
Sara’s newest venture was becoming a mom to son Landon in March 2011. Her pregnancy led to the creation of her Daily Sweat™ Pregnancy Program: Expecting More™. She currently resides in Santa Monica with her husband and son where she trains, teaches, writes, and spends as much time with Landon as possible.
