How often do you keep your healthy habits during the weekdays, and spend your entire weekend falling off the wagon? This is hard enough on a normal weekend. But we’re now coming up to a weekend that has Christmas in it! Somehow it’s easier to eat veggies, fruits, and whole grains during the work week, but seemingly impossible to pass up chips, desserts, and beer after 6pm on Friday! Weekends (and Christmas Day!) often bring all-day indulging, and relaxing sedentary activities like watching TV and chilling on the couch with friends and family. On average, we consume an extra 345 calories per day every weekend, which can add up to an extra 5 pounds per year! Just think how much worse that will be on Christmas weekend! Eek!
Take heart, because there are things you can do to ward off the weekend woes. This doesn’t mean you can’t still make Saturdays and Sundays a relaxing departure from your workday world! Though your schedule may vary widely and be dictated by social outings, household chores, and extracurricular activities, you can master the shift with a bit of thought and creativity.
First of all, recognize that weekends are a common problem for most of us striving to maintain fitness. Next, diagnose the major pitfalls of your own weekends: Do you make bad food choices? Eat too much? Hibernate instead of hitting the gym? By examining what throws you off course, you can institute some strategies that will get you back on track. For starters, try these tips:
- Keep up with your diet and exercise journal on the weekends. Use it to pinpoint your difficulties, so that you can evaluate ways to attack your weaknesses.
- Look for ways to combine family time with exercise, both indoors and out. Ride bikes, skate, play soccer or tag with the smaller family members, or take a simple nature walk. Your weekend exercise will be worthwhile even if it’s not as regimented.
- If the weekend is your time to cook, either for fun or to get a jump on the week ahead, try some healthy new recipes, adding the successful ones to your repertoire. You can also adapt old favorites into healthier versions through such simple modifications as less sugar, applesauce instead of oil, canola or olive oil instead of vegetable oil, plain yogurt instead of sour cream, etc. While the Christmas weekend may not be the best time to implement radical new healthy cooking ideas, you can still utilize this tip later on.
- When it comes to weekends, you’re more likely to exercise if you get it out of the way. Plan your workout for early Saturday morning-before you slip into relaxation mode. The 10 a.m. class at CrossFit Zone is perfect for this!
- Limit dining out to just one meal per weekend. If something happens that you didn’t “budget” for, try to compensate. If you overindulged, plan additional activity to help offset the extra calories.
- Look for new exercise opportunities that aren’t necessarily available during the week. Can you walk to the pub, or return that DVD to the store on your bike? Things that might not be feasible during the week because of time constraints might be a nice change of pace on the weekend.
- Save vigorous chores (scrubbing floors, raking leaves, shoveling snow, washing and waxing the car) for the weekend so that you know you’ll get at least a minimum amount of exercise.
- Don’t save all your splurging for the weekends. Allowing yourself a few treats throughout the week will help you avoid the mindset that the weekend is an excuse to go bonkers. And by spacing your treats evenly, you’re less likely to get sudden, irresistible cravings.
- Don’t forget to drink your water! Carry convenient sports bottles to your weekend activities.
- If you know you’re going to dine out or be in a social situation with special food, eat a light snack beforehand. Then, you can enjoy the treats without being so famished that you go overboard.
- Find something to keep you motivated, even at home on weekends. Discussing health on the CrossFit Zone forum message boards or reading the latest fitness news from the CrossFit Journal could give you the willpower to resist temptations that might otherwise pull you in.
- Avoid alcohol. I know, I know! Not my most popular idea, especially over the Holidays. However, not only does most alcohol contain 7 calories per gram (not including the calories in mixers), but drinking can also lower your inhibitions, causing you to eat more. Plus, when you’re dehydrated and groggy the next day, the last thing you want to do is exercise… You know I’m right!
You don’t have to regret the weekend-or start over every Monday morning. By adopting strategies that work for your life, you can relax and once again enjoy your weekends. Especially this upcoming Christmas weekend!!!
Today’s Workout:
Buy In – Make sure that you are warmed up really well for this fun wod. Who remembers the 12 days of Christmas?
WOD – “12 Days of Christmas”
For Time:
- 1 Handstand Pushup (1 Ab mat / Head to ground)
- 2 Turkish Getups (20/35)
- 3 Toes to Bar
- 4 Man Makers (20/35)
- 5 Golden ring dips
- 6 Double Unders
- 7 Pullups
- 8 Air Squats
- 9 KB Swings (35/55)
- 10 Box Jumps (24/30)
- 11 1 Arm DB Snatch (20/35)
- 12 Mountain climbers
Zone 1: Scale exercises as needed
The workout is executed like the song 12 days of christmas. You will be completing 12 rounds. For example:
day 1 (round 1)
- 1 handstand pushup
day 2 (round 2)
- 2 turkish getups
- 1 handstand pushup
day 3 (round 3)
- 3 Toes to bar
- 2 turkish getups
- 1 handstand pushup
day 4……. you get the picture.
Cash Out – Stretch! Merry Christmas CrossFit Zoners!!!
_ _ _ _
100 Day Burpee Challenge:
Burpees today: 24
Buy-in: 300
