BLOG | Staying Active Over Christmas

Our Social Sport Activator Jasmine Garbutt takes us through how she is planning to stay active this Christmas:

Christmas and winter in general are the hardest times of the year to stay active. Colder, darker and wetter days make it tough to motivate yourself to get out and about - it happens to all of us…

However, YOU CAN STILL STAY ACTIVE! As hard as it may seem once you’ve made a fitness plan you can stick to it becomes a lot easier. Personally, I find planning a few days a week to go out for a run/cycle or walk is a really motivating way to keep active. It doesn’t have to be for long, but a good 30-minute run to get some well needed fresh air and some physical exercise, I find, is one of the best ways to keep positive during the winter months. It means you’ve got something to tick off your list of things to do every week over Christmas when you might be at home and have less of a routine or schedule. (And, if you have a pet dog bring them along with you and they’ll love it too!)

Another way I love to stay active during winter, is by following fitness influencers and making use of online classes on YouTube or Instagram such as Joe Wicks (The Body Coach), Alexandra Cane, Stef Fit and even our own Northumbria Sport Fitness team who have over 70 hours of classes on YouTube and IGTV.  

Having someone else lead your workout and give you tips, tricks and encouragement is one of the best ways to get motivated! I find aiming to do two or three of their HIIT routines a week gives me a massive energy boost and is a great way to start the day off feeling alive. I also encourage my family to join in with me whilst at home or, if you’re staying in university accommodation/student housing this is a great activity for you and your flat/house mates to join in with.

Finally, if you prefer weight or rep training rather than cardio and HIIT I think the best way to stay motivated to do this kind of training over Christmas is definitely to create a plan. Include workout moves/weights that you enjoy so that you look forward to doing your routine the next day! I think it’s also really important to dedicate a space in your accommodation/house to do this kind of exercise so that you can get in “the zone” and can focus on completing your workout and feeling accomplished at the end of it.

A couple of incentives for myself when I plan to do my exercise this Christmas are:

• Planning to do it with someone else outdoors or with my household inside every now and again J
• And, as Christmas is coming up, I’ll be treating myself to a couple of exercise goodies (a skipping rope, new weights, a running belt) so that I can have new things to look forward to using J

Motivating yourself is the hardest part, so once you’ve done that, you’re well on your way to keeping fit and healthy over the holidays!

If you need more inspiration for how to stay active check out the Keeping Active webpage and Northumbria Sport YouTube channel for plenty of FREE workouts.