Increase Strength And Stay Fit And Focused Over The Holidays

With the holiday season approaching, I’ve been reflecting on the history of rituals, celebrations and the ancestral intelligence that has formed in harmony with the seasons. Specifically, I’ve been contemplating the What, Why and How that inspired specific holiday choices, such as foods commonly eaten when we join together as families and in community during this time of the year.  

Historically, our ancestors convened to share their harvests and bounties with neighbors and friends. Animal sacrifices were also common in those days as a way to increase strength and survive the winter. As the colder months moved in, people needed the extra protein, calories and fat to stay hearty and healthy and withstand the extra stresses that winter inflicted, such as trudging through snow and hauling and splitting wood.

This holiday season, as we gather in groups, I invite you to consider what we can learn from our ancestors and the traditions they passed down. How can we build upon that collective intelligence to assure that it's consistent with our modern lifestyle?

Our Modern Life 

Today, people still gather together and share bounty during the holidays. However, modernity can camouflage and even convolute the historical roots and intelligence of this practice. Instead of these traditions leading to joy, connection and physical health, they often lead to weight gain, depression and resentment.  

Many of us have conflicting, rather than supportive and nourishing relationships with food and fitness throughout the holiday season. For many people, this time of year brings up anxious feelings about weight, health, fitness and routine as they try to navigate the arrays of rich foods, unbalanced by a more sedentary lifestyle. Instead of embracing fattier, denser foods designed to keep us healthy during the colder months and altering fitness routines to accommodate the extra calorie load, it’s common to gain unwanted weight in the form of fat rather than muscle.  

If this resonates with you, I invite you to consider how you can “flip the script.” How can you take a lesson from your ancestors, increase strength and come out of the holidays with greater resilience?

Sync Up With The Natural Rhythm Of Mother Nature

Rather than see this time of year as a challenge to your health and wellness goals, I invite you to embrace the natural rhythm of nature, which we’re all a part of, and utilize ancestral wisdom in order to achieve optimal health throughout the year. 

I also invite you to challenge your body in new and different ways. Science has shown that optimal health and longevity are linked to inconsistency, making this time of year—given the cold, darker days and increased calorie load—an ideal time to switch up your workout routine. Much like the brain, the body also thrives when it is used in different ways during different times, is dosed in diversity (think a variety of foods), and things (your workouts) are consistently being changed up. Variety in workouts also keeps fitness routines new, fresh and interesting. 

While it’s true that, unlike our ancestors, most of us are not trudging through the snow in search of food or splitting wood to stay warm. However, we still can weave ancestral wisdom into our modern lives. 

Specifically, we can do this by designing workouts that build muscle. You can not only burn off extra calories, but increase strength and create a foundation of power and resilience. As a competitive triathlete, I would spend the winter months in the gym pumping iron and cutting back on cardio. By putting on muscle mass, I primed my body to handle more stress in the form of cardio and speed training, which I’d return focus to in the warmer parts of the year.  

Whether you’re training for a particular sport or just want to optimize health, embracing higher density foods while increasing high intensity power workouts will lead to increased energy when the warmer weather returns and there are more opportunities to play and train outside.

Tips For Holiday Health, Wellness And Strength

Weight workouts, power workouts and taking time to heal from any injuries that occurred over the summer/fall are ideal right now. The extra calorie load, which is hard to avoid during this season of pies, cookies, cakes and comfort foods, can be turned into muscle rather than fat, helping you to feel healthy and strong rather than lethargic and weighed down. 

The secret is to design your workouts to build muscle and increase strength, which can be achieved by doing fewer reps with heavier weights and targeting the larger muscle groups, such as quads, hamstrings, back and chest.

Besides lifting weights at the gym, other power workouts include cross fit, hill climbs, short-burst stair-stepping, medicine ball workouts, short-burst rowing and pushing a weight sled.

If you’ve sustained a recent injury, start with rehab before increasing intensity and consult with a fitness or health and wellness coach, your doctor, natural health practitioner or another expert. It’s entirely possible and oftentimes simple to design workouts that promote mobility, flexibility and strength building, while also allowing you to heal up so you’re ready to hit your favorite trails and outdoor activities come spring. 

I also highly suggest that you make it a priority to get outside during the brightest time of the day. And, acclimate to and enjoy your climate. Shoveling snow is a great workout, and snowy walks and hikes not only burn calories and build muscle, but also allow you to get outdoors and enjoy time with your family, friends or some quiet solitude in nature. 

You may also want to augment your morning and evening routines to support you during these darker, colder months. Maybe you move your workout from evening into the morning or pencil in a lunchtime walk when temps are at their warmest. Enjoy warm beverages, such as herbal teas, and eat plenty of root vegetables. Seasonal eating is best for your body and roots are some of the most nutrient-dense vegetables, with most offering a healthy dose of vitamins, iron and fiber.  

Finally, as you focus on eating in season, staying committed to fitness, and exercise to build muscle and increase strength, keep it all interesting and fun. Cook, bake, eat and workout with family and friends. Fully enjoy a slice of pumpkin pie, knowing that your health and fitness is in alignment with your circadian and seasonal rhythms. 

For more information and a great resource on figuring out your ideal workouts and fitness goals, check out a blog I wrote earlier this year, Living Your Desired And Inspired Life: Choose the RIGHT Fitness Goals for YOU Right Now. It’s power-packed with tips on how to get clear on your WHAT, WHY and HOW when it comes to health, questions to ask yourself when setting fitness goals, and tools you can use to design your winter workouts as we embrace a happy, healthy holiday season and these colder, cozier months.

Blessings,

Katie