November 2020

For many, the holidays come with a list of fun activities: watching holiday movies, baking cookies, decorating your home and so much more. After all, enjoying downtime with family is a cherished part of the holiday season. But that doesn’t mean you can’t also be active and find creative ways to exercise.

Bundle up and walk

Modern life often keeps us sedentary. Shane O’Mara, author of In Praise of Walking, says that humans evolved to walk 10 miles or more a day. He suggests looking for as many ways as possible to incorporate walking into your day. One particularly useful piece of advice during the holidays is to take a walk before a meal to take the edge off your appetite. Walking is also a fun after-dinner family activity.

Stream your workout

There are many free exercise videos that can be found online. Whether it’s yoga, Pilates, dance, strength-training or cardio, you’ll find videos for every skill level, and many of these exercises don’t require any special equipment. Many gyms also offer online fitness classes.

A quick search of “streaming exercise classes” will turn up dozens of great options or see this Good Housekeeping list with dozens of live-streamed workouts.

Be accountable

Worried about sticking to your exercise goals? Start an accountability group with friends or family, where you set mileage goals for walking/running and post your stats each week. Having other people to check in with can help motivate you and keep you on track.