I heard my Dad mention in a recent podcast that he likes to go full force into the Holidays to help combat the effects of all the delicious food and inevitable laziness that follows. And it’s true - I’ve seen him do it and I’m seeing it happen again.

So this week I’m taking my own workouts to the ‘next level’ (which is still pretty low for me ), but I want to make sure that my mind is fully prepared when the big ol’ dishes of food start coming at me!

It got me wondering - are you guys doing anything special to prepare this year?

Oh Yeah, I plan on doing what I call a “Killer Endurance” Workout once a week every week leading up to both Thanksgiving and the Christmas Holiday.  This workout will be 2 hours of cardio work.  I will do 1 hour of my favorite machine the Ellipitical and then 1 hour on either the bike or the tread mill.  I know it sounds over the top, but I figure it will be a great way to work off those extra calories consumed during the holidays.  And I do plan on treating myself to some of those treats, but not too much!!  In addition I will be starting a weight lifting routine in the next two weeks that will really fire off some of those extra calories. So, scooby has done his home work this holiday season so I can have fun and not gain an extra pound.  Now thats what I call a great plan off attack for the holiday season.  So what is everyone else doing??  Lets hear your up and coming plans.

Scooby

Yes, I certainly will be scheduling all my workouts throughout the Holiday Season. Coming off a lay off of 6 weeks due to a calf injury and 4 pounds up in body weight has me wanting more than ever to not gain any weight the rest of the year. I usually do pretty good, so this year my goal will be to lose weight and get back to goal weight again and back into my clothes!

It’s like I am starting over again and will be doing steady cardio workouts and slowly increasing times and duration. LSB will be something I hope to do by December, we shall see. I think high levels on the treadmill are no longer an option for me though. Pooh. Strength training and flexibilty of course will be included and I would love to rejoin my power yoga classes by the new year. OMG, this from a women who was a couch potato 6 years ago. I miss excercise!

My son has informed me that he needs to lose weight and get into shape. This is a very good sign for him to even be thinking about it. Now to fight his addiction to
the “fast foods” of this world.  He’s taken one more step and said the “gym” (our garage) is “his” from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and that I need to continue my morning workouts and use my bedroom for yoga.  Did I hear a click?

Usually we don’t have too many problems during the holiday season. I even bake various breads and do tons of cookies for Christmas presents, but I am one
of those idiots that love to cook and bake, yet don’t really indulge in the baked goods. My enjoyment is in preparing, wrapping and sending. Ok, so I am odd.

Josie

Good to hear you guys are kicking it up!  And I can vouch for Carlyn - she is hitting it hard.

I love doing that this time of year - it’s such a great way of empowering yourself to enjoy every ounce of the holiday season.

As for me?  My workouts are “insane” right now.  I’m shooting for my new goal of “abs” by Bike Week 2008 in March.

So let’s all kick it up a notch and have some fun.  I’ll make sure to explain on some of Premium podcasts exactly what I’m doing.

I have in my planner to use the time change next weekend to start getting into a morning routine. I figure since my internal clock thinks it’ll still be time to get up, I may as well get up and move! Then use my time between work and the kids getting home from school to move a bit more. I really want to start doing my running and yoga every day, instead of alternating like I am now.

Love that others have started to think about this too. Never too early to start planning!

Bree

I would say that I am not really planning to ramp it up, but just to keep going.  I am determined to fit in the exercise even though I have a very hectic time coming up.  Right now I am slowly, slowly going down to my goal weight of 120 pounds.  I am currently at 127 and I want to get to and maintain 125 through the holidays.  I have decided that if I can do that, I will be happy.  The truth is, with three small kids and a full time job, I can barely do what I am doing now!

Fall and winter makes my muscles feel all tight.  I am going to play TaiChi everyday this fall/winter to help keep me limber.  I am going to use the time change this weekend to get back in the habit of early morning walks with my dog and I got a bright flashlight with fresh batteries for when it starts getting too dark again.  I am also challenging myself to no snacks after dinner. 

With those three things I should be able to maintain which is my goal for this holiday season.

My plan of attack is to just keep on moving and whenever I can to move even more. As you have seen how busy my life is during regular times during the year, just imagine how jammed I’m going to be over the Holidays.

I feel like Suzanne - I will be happy if I can just maintain what I am doing now! I love to do my LSB’s outside, but with the time change and the dropping temperatures it will be more of a challenge to maintain my current workout schedule without careful planning. My biggest downfall is when I am out of my norm and around other people or family members - they do not understand my dedication to exercise and tend to misread it as a form of an eating disorder - as if! I have learned to quietly do my own thing, and cause as few ripples as possible.

However, having said this, I am learning to use my time more wisely. In exchange for walking in the a.m., I have upped it to jogging - at least if the evening workout does not happen, I haven’t loss as much of the calorie burn as I would have.

My “plan of attack” has been 2 weeks in the making.  I started 2 weeks ago doing an AM workout and a PM workout.  I also started a food diary.  I did this now in hopes that by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, I am in a groove, focused on what kind of calories I am eating, and well hopefully in better shape before the holiday rather than worry about getting in better shape AFTER the holiday.

The hubby and I are planning on ramping it up to...he doesnt know thats happening, but its all apart of my master plan....BWAHHAHAH!!  We both love to eat, so the plan is to be in zone where we dont gourge ourselves during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plus I want to be able to where a cute little outfit for Christmas. Even more....and this is really vane… the family dinner is at my house this Christmas, and i want to hear “Renita it looks like you have lost alot of weight!” at least once! LOL!!!

No Renita, I think you just said what everybody on here wants to hear, that isn’t vain at all!!!!!!!

My plan is to get my husband to ramp up his gym workouts.  He has lost 17 pounds on weight watchers thus far and looks awesome.  He is going 3 times a week with me which is a big improvement over never going.  We are going to see his family for Thanksgiving and I know how competitive he is with his brothers so hopefully I can use this fact to my advantage .

He knows that I feel so much better when I go to the gym (usually 5 - 6 times a week).  I had to take yesterday off as my asthma had kicked in pretty hard and I could not go up the stairs without breaking into a coughing fit.  This morning at 6 AM he nudged me and said - aren’t you going to the gym?  I said no I will go tonight and I rolled back onto my side.  He nudged me again and said remember it is Halloween today it will be hard to go unless I went real late.  I said yeah so and rolled over again.  He nudged me one more time and said - you didn’t go yesterday - you will not be able to go tonight - if you don’t go now you will be miserable later today wondering how you are going to make up for two lost days of workouts.  So I went for 2 hours and did an hour on the recumbent bike!  When I got home I said thank you to my husband for pushing me.  I also told him this was a big change for him as usually he complains that I spend too much time at the gym.  He said that he has started to realize how important this time is to me and hopes my motivation rubs off a little on him.

Have a great Halloween everyone!

I’m ramping up, but I have been planning on it since September, as my goal date for leanness is Dec 24

Workout plan: do at least two bodyweight workouts per week ON TOP of Turbulence Training’s 2k3 (which includes a crazy core-only workout for “off” days), all of which are finished off by Interval Training.

My usual bw workout:
6 exercises, alternating upper and lower body
10 reps each
Set the timer for 20 minutes and go to town!  Rest when necessary, although resting one minute at the end of a circuit helps alot.

OR

20-15-10-5
Pick 4-6 exercises, do in circuit fashion for 20 reps, then 15 reps, then 10, then 5.  Time yourself and rest when necessary.  Pure evil.  (I can do a bodyweight workout in 7:45)

OR
4 minute circuit
Pick 4 upper/lower body exercises, do a 5 minute warmup, then:
Exercise for 20 seconds, rest for 10, next exercise, etc.  Rinse and repeat.
(7th Circle evil)

I don’t particularly like the holidays, so November and December are always stressful months for me.

So I was thinking of ways to turn this crazy season into something positive, and I really like the idea of “ramping it up”. For me, since I haven’t been to the gym for 6 weeks, this means I’m simply going to make sure I get to the gym on a regular basis.  I know it will help relieve some of that holiday stress.

I might want to think of it as getting a head start on my new year’s resolution for 2008. There’s no reason to sit around and wait for January 1!

I just heard Scotts (ummm your daddy’s) podcast about the ‘Holidays” and it was so motivating! I actually jumped off the treadmill and ran up the stairs to get on the computer to see what motivational ideas the Forum had in mind.  I must say I was ticked pink to see all your great ideas! 

With that being typed, heres my plan of “Action”....

I bought this Black Dress with every intention of loosing enough weight to wear it on New Years Eve!  This married lady is planning on dazzling her husband that night! Planning my meals ahead; Healthy homemade meals with portions just enough for the family one serving, and freeze the extra portions for the busy crazy nights that holidays always brings! Brown baggin it for lunches- travel worthy for a quick 30 minute walk around the historical homes to see their decorations.  Food Journaling and incorporating calorie counting that I learnt from the forum. 

AM Walks with Intervals of Jogging (love that ‘healthy glow’) Curves- 3 times a week- Kicking it us a few notches!  Yoga in the evenings.

I love working out, but I also loooove the holidays and all the delicious goodies that come with them.  I know I will want to indulge, and I plan to let myself do so, but hopefully just limit it to particular days (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) rather than every day throughout the season!  I also plan to keep working out, even on days when I feel like I’ve eaten badly and therefore have “failed.” I like this ramping up idea...I think I’ll trying to add at least 10-15 minutes onto my current workout in order to compensate for potential treats I might reach for.  Then maybe I won’t have to stress too much about putting on the usual holiday inches.