Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Keeping Healthy and Active During The Holidays....

seems like a difficult thing to do for most of us. There are so many parties, gatherings, or events to go to or host; shopping and wrapping to be done; food to cook and kitchens to clean; houses to decorate... The list never seems to end during this festive time of the year.

The main factor in making you successful at getting your fitness time in during this busy time of year is the same as it is all year long - making it a priority in your schedule! The changes in our schedules during the Holidays requires us to be more creative and flexible in how and when we fit our fitness times into our hectic schedules.

For some people, like myself, that means getting up early and running before my husband goes to work... no matter how cold, wet or dark it is. Because it's cold, wet and dark I make sure that I can go for my runs safely. I wear my warm winter, weather proof and reflective running clothes (check out www.Athleta.com and www.Lucy.com for great running clothes for all seasons!). I make sure I have at least one or two other people to run with. If I just have one other person to run with I take our chocolate lab, Trixie with me, for added protection. We run on lighted streets so we are more visible.

Another option we do sometimes when early mornings do not work out on any given day is we run later while my kids ride their bikes along side of us. Yes - this is possible even in the rain. I put them in their rain pants, rain jackets and rain boots and off we go!

Those are just a few ways I make sure I stick to my fitness times during the holidays. I hope they inspire you to figure out how to keep your fitness times in your schedule.