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The Question: Being consistent with your workouts is key to success, but there is just not enough time during the holidays to stay 100% consistent. Not only that, but when we see our friends and family we want to blow them away with our physique, not have them mistaken us for Santa Claus. What is the best workout to get you through the holidays? Be specific. Do the holidays ever affect your workout regimen? Do you alter your diet because of any disturbance to your workout regimen? Bonus Question: If you are away for the holidays and visiting family what can you do to keep the workouts going and still keep the family happy! Show off your knowledge to the world! The Winners:
2nd place - $50 in store credit. To use your credit, e-mail Will @ will@bodybuilding.com for more info.
Being consistent with your workouts is key to success, but there is just not enough time during the holidays to stay 100% consistent. Not only that, but when we see our friends and family we want to blow them away with our physique, not have them mistaken us for Santa Claus.
  Click To Enlarge. There Is Just Not Enough Time During The Holidays To Stay 100% Consistent.
Here are some tips that will help you get through your holiday workouts, and make them more enjoyable.
The holidays are a perfect time to try new training techniques, as they shorten workouts, and shock your muscles into accelerated growth.
   Click To Enlarge. 21's Using The Curl. First 7 Reps - MPEG (297 KB) - Windows Media (88 KB) Next 7 Reps - MPEG (247 KB) - Windows Media (78 KB) Last 7 Reps - MPEG (1.1 MB) - Windows Media (277 KB
The holidays are also a perfect time to make sure your form is correct on all the exercises, especially the big three, which are the bench press, squat, and deadlift. Below are step by step instructions on the correct way to perform them, which muscles they work, and variations.
Execution:
Muscles Worked:
Variations:
Execution:
Muscles Worked:
Variations:
Execution:
Muscles Worked:
Variations:
Always warm-up and stretch before working out, as it can decrease the risk of injury, and increase ROM (Range Of Motion) in certain exercises. Another benefit of stretching is a slight increase in muscle, since it lengthens muscle fibers overtime, and helps recruit a maximal amount of muscle fibers. Below are the main stretches for each muscle group.
  Click Image To Enlarge. Doorway Stretch. Video Guide: Windows Media (225 KB) - MPEG (1.7 MB) - Video iPod (228 KB)
For a full stretching guide, visit here.
Those of you who desire to speed up recovery, and decrease soreness in muscles, are advised to take hot and cold showers and/or receive massages right working out. You'd be surprised at the benefits these tricks provide.
I have never had a problem with my workouts during the holidays, simply because I'm not away from my neighborhood. Most of my family comes to my area for the holidays, so I don't have to worry about going far away, and finding a gym to work out in. However, I do make slight changes to my workouts during this time of the year, just to allow my muscles to fully recuperate, and so I can enjoy the holidays. Related Holidays Articles: These changes include a decrease in workout days, exercises, sets, and reps. For example, since I workout five days a week on my regular schedule, I'll cut down the workout days to three for two weeks, then take a week off of training, usually the week of Christmas.
I alter my diet constantly, especially during the holiday season. Since I focus more on adding mass during the winter, I eat more food... and more junk food. However, I try to limit my junk food intake to no more than three times a week, which tends to be a lot. The week of Christmas, I basically eat anything I want, although I don't recommend it to everyone. The reason is I burn most of the fat gained by increasing cardio if it's needed, but I usually don't gain much fat.
Below are some guidelines you should follow on a daily basis.
The holiday season is the perfect time to buy for new supplements for the New Year, so here is a list of some recommended supplements, their benefits, and when they should be taken.
Protein supplementation is a must for any bodybuilder, as it provides the body with amino acids necessary to build, and repair muscle tissue. The best form and highest quality of protein is whey, so it's your best bet for muscle building. When To Take:
Recommendations:
This is the longer lasting protein type, which usually taken at night, so one can maintain in an anabolic (muscle building) state, during sleep. When To Take:
Recommendations: Protein Bars: A great alternative to protein shakes are protein bars, which are convenient on the go. When To Take: 
Recommendations:
We all know that cutting season is rapidly approaching, and there's no better way to shed those last few pounds than with a fat burner. When To Take: 
Recommendations:
Those looking for added size, strength, and endurance should look into creatine supplementation. When To Take: 
Recommendations:
It can be difficult to focus and concentrate on your workouts during the holidays, and that's exactly what nitric oxide prevents. Other benefits include increased energy, pumps, and vascularity. When To Take: 
Recommendations:
Those of you looking to speed up muscle recovery should consider buying glutamine supplements. When To Take:
Recommendations:
These will help maximize gains in muscle mass, strength, and performance, and should be taken on a daily basis. Below are other benefits that multivitamins/multliminerals provide. Vitamins:
Minerals:
When To Take: 
Recommendations:
Branched Chain Amino Acids are the building blocks of muscle. Below are other benefits of BCAA's.
When To Take: 
Recommendations:
Below is a sample diet, which includes certain essential supplements. Meal 1: Meal 2: Meal 3 (Pre-Workout): Meal 4 (Post-Workout): Meal 5: Meal 6:
This is often the case with many people, and tends to be a common cause for missing workouts. If you are away for the holidays, I highly recommend you find a gym, so you can get some of your workouts in during your free time. If you can't get access to a gym, then hopefully there will be weights around the house. If neither options are available, the your only choice is performing bodyweight exercises, such as pull-ups, push-ups, and crunches. Below is an excellent full body workout taken from one of my previous articles about The Best Marines Workout.
3 mile run in the shortest time possible.
5 mile run in the shortest time possible.
3 mile run in the shortest time possible.
I hope this workout will get you through the holidays, and good luck!
Being consistent with your workouts is key to success, but there is just not enough time during the holidays to stay 100% consistent. Not only that, but when we see our friends and family we want to blow them away with our physique, not have them mistake us for Santa Claus. Thus, most of us find ourselves in a sort of 'fix' deciding whether to kick off the shoes and have fun with family and friends (may include the occasional junk foods and missed workouts), or stay on course and carry out your workouts and diet as pre-planned and not give in to the holiday season. How? You may ask. Let us take a look and how you can stick to your workouts/diets during the holidays and not pass off as a loner or a wet-blanket.
The holidays are often filled with activities, be it gatherings, meetups with old friends, hanging out or clubbing. Another gripe is the fact that most gyms/fitness centers would have changed their opening hours/days slightly and not planning in advance would leave you tugging at your hair in frustration! Basically your timetable is almost full and you still want to find time to workout? The key here is to MAKE time out of your packed schedule, whenever possible, to visit the gym. With opportunities to train coming by so rarely, one must make full use of whatever time we can squeeze out to scramble off to the gym for a quickie (lol). Thus, what I'd recommend as a good holiday workout would have to fulfill these points:
(Note: Please switch around the training and off days as per your schedule)
Push (Chest/Delts/Tri's/Quads/Calves)
TOTAL # OF SETS: 15 Pull (Back Thickness/ Back Width/Bi's/Hams/Abs)
TOTAL # SETS: 15
(USING THE ABOVE SPLIT AND EXERCISES BUT JUST HAVING 1 MORE WORKOUT)
OR...
Upper Push (Chest/Delts/Tri's)
TOTAL # SETS: 11 Upper Pull (Back Thickness/Back Width/Bi's/Abs)
TOTAL # SETS: 11 Lower (Quads/Calves/Hams)
TOTAL # SETS: 11
Definitely! Parties, gatherings, weird gym opening hours, etc., are all contributing factors. Last minute changes or additions to the schedule puts all pre-planned workouts/cardio session down the trash. You may think you've gotten everything planned out before you kick off the day, with cardio sessions at say 7am, workout after visiting granny at 8pm, go to bed after clubbing with buddies at 11pm etc, but you need just 1 delay/change to throw everything off. There were also so many instances where I sneaked off from a party, thinking I was so smart and stealthy and stuff, just to reach the gym and find a 'WE ARE CLOSED' sign together with a 'HAPPY HOLIDAYS!' Damn! Talk bout a kick in the face! Even if we get the time to sneak off to the gym, the possibility of us not having enough time to complete our original workout plan plus post workout cardio is very real, especially for people who are used to 90-120mins workouts. Most people have to make do with workouts that are 60mins or less (if that's the duration of your normal workouts, all the better!). Thus, time is another factor the affects our original workout regimen. Lastly, it's the mood. It's the holiday feeling! It's knowing Santa's coming soon and you're feeling good and high about this holiday season! (Frosty, the snowman, was a ... ) bet you were tuning in to that during your workout! This feel good mood/feeling may affect your workout is a good or a bad way.
 Click To Enlarge. It's The Holiday Feeling! It may spur you to work harder to burn the cals you will consume through the junk later or it can cause you to 'wing' it and not be too serious about it (it's the holidays after all). This is another way the holiday season can affect your workout.
Yes and no. This solely depends on where your priorities are this holidays. Are you looking to maintain your physique? Or looking to indulge a little, but not too much. Maybe you're in off season mode and everything goes? These situations would dictate whether you need to tweak your diet a little when your workout regimen gets affected. For most of us who are looking to keep our body fat in check while still indulging a little in the holiday goodies, I'd recommend you lower your calories when you miss a workout. A workout is another avenue for you to expend calories and missing it would mean that to keep body fat at bay, you'd have to consume less calories. Reduce your food intake by about 200-300cals if you miss your workout and you will be fine. If you're one that will be highly tempted by all the junk food, also take note of consuming the bulk of them after a workout or cardio session. This would enable you to eat more and allow the improved nutrition partitioning effect of exercise to take place. This does not mean you can eat like a boar, it just means you can eat SLIGHTLY more. SLIGHTLY!
There's the possibility of just not caring about whatever program you have up next - don't worry about it and just go to the gym. But would you want to disappoint family/friends by not turning up for such once a year gatherings? Would you not want to prove your anti-bodybuilding aunt wrong by turning up for her party and eating like a 'normal' person and indulging in 'normal' food while having such a lean physique? H*ll, would you not want to show off your ripped 6 pack (lol) to your relatives? 'So how?', you'd ask. Dilemma time.
What I'd suggest is to TRY and make the best out of what's on the table. If IN YOUR OPINION, you could do away with missing/delaying a workout, go ahead! If YOU THINK it would be better for renewing family ties at this and that event, pre-plan your workouts on other days. One thing to take note of is that unless you're preparing for a post-Christmas (whoever does these shows!) show or whatever event where you'd like to stick to a strict workout/diet regimen, this is the period to relax a little. How far you'd like to go in straying off your workouts/diet depends on your priorities and how you make wise food choices and how badly you want to keep your physique from getting unrecognizable in this short period.
Like I've been repeating so many times before this, allow yourself to relax this coming holidays. How far you veer off the road with regards to training/diet and rest would depend on your priorities and how intent you are in sticking to it. Good luck and make wise choices!
When the holiday season rolls around, working out is the last thing on most peoples' mind. Overeating is a common pastime during this season as well. When the normal workout routines begin again, many people find that their strength levels have decreased significantly. Extra pounds of fat are a common component of the holiday season aftermath. The good news is that it is easy to maintain most of this strength with a few, but productive workouts.
 Click To Enlarge. The Holiday Season Is Here!
The best workout routine during the holiday season will involve infrequent, but productive workout sessions. Muscle atrophy is not the biggest concern, especially with calorie & protein rich holiday eating. Strength will atrophy much quicker than muscle in this sort of scenario, so it is our number 1 priority. If strength levels decrease, the hypertrophy potential of your post-holiday workouts will be greatly diminished. If your strength levels remain intact, you will be able to get back on track much easier.
5 minute cardio/dynamic movement warm-up
Weighted Pullups, Chins or Cable Pulldowns
Rows - any type
Squats or Deadlifts. Do the opposite exercise you did on day 1.
Weighted Pullups, Chins or Cable Pulldowns
Rows - any type
Weighted Pullups, Chins or Cable Pulldowns
Rows - any type
For the most part, the holidays do not significantly effect my workout schedule. Up until a few days before Christmas, my workout schedule remains the same. I am a personal trainer, and had several clients who still wanted to workout during the holidays last year. Related Personal Trainer Articles: It looks like it will be the same this year, as well. I also live within walking distance of the gym, so this makes it much easier to workout. When the 25th approaches, I generally take a 5 day break. Before doing so, I do a very intense workout so that my body will be doing more recovering than deteriorating during the break.
Up until Christmas Eve, my diet stays pretty much the same. After that, however, it is a completely different story. I love to eat, and I do it as much as possible during my break. Last year I estimated my caloric intake to be over 10,000 on Christmas Day. I am thankful to have a body type that will burn more of this off rather than store it all as fat. That may change further down the road though!
Always remember that if you over indulge, you are going to gain fat, regardless of your workout. Enjoy yourself, but do not overdo it. You may consider eating less at dinner, and putting some extra aside for yourself. This way, you can still enjoy the food, while eating smaller, more frequent meals. This can help to reduce fat gains over the holiday season.
To keep your relatives happier, try to keep your workouts short and relatively infrequent. Consider working out in the morning, or at a time when it will not be noticed as much. If you workout while everyone else is still sleeping in till noon, you probably won't be missed. The downside of this is that you do not get to sleep in. If any family members complain and ask you to stay the entire time, explain that it is something important to you & your well being. Tell them that it is not going to take up much time, and that it will not cut into family time, fun, and games. If you have relatives who also workout, you may be in luck. Just be sure that they are at a similar level as you are. Imagine going to the gym and setting up for squats with 4 plates, only to find that their lower body workout consists of leg presses with 135 lbs!
 Click Image To Enlarge. Make Sure You're At Similar Levels.
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