The Season's Upon Us

“The season’s upon us, its that time of year

Brandy and eggnog, there is plenty of cheer

There’s lights on the trees and there’s wreaths to be hung

There’s mischief and mayhem and songs to be sung

There’s bells and there’s holly, the kids are gung-ho

True love finds a kiss beneath fresh mistletoe

Some families are messed up while others are fine

If you think yours is crazy, well you should see mine!”

-Dropkick Murphys

This is the last day of being in sunny Arizona before driving east to visit for the holidays. As much as I look forward to visiting people that I have not seen in months I have also come to appreciate the fact that it can be a very stressful time of year. On top of running around trying to see everyone I seem to eat more and exercise less. I have come up with a few solutions that seem to help me weather this:

The Drive: We drive from Tucson, Arizona to the east coast every year at this time. We figured out that packing water, healthy fruit snacks like apples, raw vegetables like carrots and snap peas, jerky and nuts really cuts down on the amount of garbage we eat when we stop for gas.

At each pit stop one of us gets out and walks the dog while one of us pumps gas. While the car is filling up I take the time to do some push-ups, air squats, calf raises, anything that will get the blood flowing. 

Finally, in the hotel at night I take a nice hot shower, stretch and do a few more push-ups. This routine for a few days on the road keeps me from feeling like I have been hit by a train by the time I step out of the car at our destination.

The Food: The food that is around during the holidays is amazing. I am not a vegan, I am lucky to be able to process gluten, I am not on a paleo diet. I know a lot of people are and good luck to you with your routine this time of year. My only rule around the holidays is to eat reasonably. I bring home enough of my regular supplements to get me through our visit and I continue to drink lots of water which is my regular routine. Lastly, I find that going for a walk around the block after meals really helps me by physically stepping away from the food. The dog appreciates the walk as well!

The Workout: Rebecca and I own a pair of Bowflex adjustable dumbbells and we take them with us when we go home. I am a bigger person than Rebecca and the speedy transition from one weight to the next makes these worth the weight to bring with us. We get up in the mornings first thing and do a modified dumbbell/bodyweight routine at home. We take other helpful things like our jump rope and running shoes to keep up with our cardio while we are visiting. By getting up and tackling the workout early, it is done for the day and I feel a whole lot better about eating one more piece of pumpkin pie! And remember, exercise is a great way to relieve stress that can build up during the holidays.

Hopefully these ideas help. Today while packing the car to go I am going to just lift weights and will not be doing a typical supplemental workout.

Lifting with Rebecca: (Three sets per exercise).
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Lateral Dumbbell Raise
Alternating Front Dumbbell Raise
Dumbbell Kickbacks
Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Press
Diamond Push-ups

Have a great day!