How the Holidays Affect Your Fitness (and How to Not Lose the Plot)

The holidays don’t wreck your fitness—the pressure to train like nothing changed does.

Sleep gets shorter. Stress goes up. Schedules get weird. Food and alcohol change. Recovery takes a hit. When that happens, your body adapts exactly as it should. Feeling flatter, heavier, or less motivated isn’t failure—it’s physiology.

Here’s the mistake most people make: They try to maximize when the season calls for maintenance.

Holiday training should be about:

• Maintaining strength

• Keeping joints and tissues happy

• Supporting mental health

• Preserving the identity of “I’m someone who moves”

Not chasing PRs.

Train smarter right now

:• Shorter sessions, fewer sets

• Keep intensity, reduce volume

• Warm up more than usual

• Walk more—movement counts

• 2–4 sessions per week is plenty

Fitness isn’t fragile. You don’t lose progress in a few imperfect weeks. What does derail people is guilt, all-or-nothing thinking, and trying to “burn off” the holidays. Train to support your life—not escape it—and January becomes a ramp, not a restart.

*Question for the group:

What’s the hardest part of staying active during the holidays—time, energy, motivation, or expectations?

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