The start of the school summer holidays is usually a time where people struggle to get their training sessions in and tend to find they are less consistent with their diet.
The kids being off, nice weather (sometimes) and holidays tend to throw everyone’s routine out of sync. “I’ll just start again when the kids go back” is a common phrase heard at this time of year. 6 weeks of no training and eating whatever you like will have a negative impact on you reaching your goals and could ruin all your hard work over the previous few months.
How can you avoid this?………..
The obvious solution is to stick to your usual routine as much as possible.
If this is not possible then there are many other strategies that you can adopt to ensure you don’t put on weight over the holidays.
Increase your NEAT – this basically means burn more calories throughout the day from activities out with the gym. Walk more, get the kids outside and be active, take stairs instead of the lift etc. Becoming more active in your day to day activities will compensate for the lack of gym time. Get the family involved.
Don’t cancel your gym membership – if you are going for a week or fortnight holiday you maybe tempted to cancel your membership and start it up again in August. If you keep up your gym membership you will be more inclined to go during the periods you are not on holiday. So instead of missing 1-2 weeks of the gym, you cancel your membership and you will miss 6-7 weeks, you will get out the habit and will struggle to get back into your routine. Also be keeping on your financial commitment, you will be more inclined to make time to use the gym.
Keep to the diet – don’t be tempted to start eating ‘junk’ foods with the kids. Instead you could get them involved in trying new ‘healthier’ foods. Spend time with them preparing the food, with real ingredients, get them to create their own smoothies etc. Try and make healthy eating fun for the whole family.
Train at home – If you really can’t get to the gym then use your own bodyweight to train with. You can get a brilliant workout with no equipment and very little space.
Try this….. Complete as many rounds as possible in the time you have available (10/20/30 mins):
5 x Burpees
10 x Lunges
15 x Press Ups
20 x Squats
Looks ridiculously simple but it is a great workout for those short on time.
Get the family involved in Goal Setting – Set a goal for the end of the summer, and promise the kids and family a day out somewhere if you reach your goal. Get the kids to make a progress chart for you to keep up over the summer. This will encourage everyone to be supportive of your goals and help you stay on track. It can also be a beneficial way to teach your kids about setting goals and being rewarded for hard work.
These are just some idea’s to help you stay on track over the summer. You can have a great summer without ruining your health and fitness journey.
Coach Milligan 