Exercises to Stay Healthy this Holiday Season

The Holidays are often filled with family, great food, and some relaxation. However, with all these things considered, it’s still important to keep health on our minds during these festive times. Especially with all the treats that go around this time of year, exercise is a key to ensure your body stays healthy and feeling great. So, here are some simple exercises you can do to stay in shape and truly have a happy Holiday!

Running

Going for a run is a great exercise for your cardiovascular health. Over time, it helps your heart pump more efficiently and keeps the arteries elastic so blood can flow smoothly. Cardiovascular exercises also help to lower your blood pressure and bad cholesterol while increasing good cholesterol. This will reduce your risk of heart disease and promote an overall healthy cardiovascular system. Besides the cardiovascular benefits, running also helps to strengthen bones as the weight-bearing aspect of your feet on the road or treadmill boosts bone mineral density. Therefore, try to get in some time on the treadmill over the Holidays for lots of health benefits!

Swimming

If you have access to an indoor pool over the Holidays, then swimming is the perfect exercise for you. Not only does swimming include many benefits that running does for your cardiovascular health, it is also a low-impact activity. This means that you don’t have to add physical stress to your bones while still maintaining a beneficial cardio exercise. Also, swimming involves tons of the muscles in your body, helping to strengthen and increase mobility in important muscle groups.

Weight Training

Training with weights is one of the best ways to reduce fat and build lean muscle. The resistance helps to increase your metabolism and burn more calories all throughout the day. This is especially beneficial during the Holidays when there’s often plenty of sweet treats to go around! Along with adding muscle and reducing fat, weight training also strengthens bones. From reducing the risk of fractures to promoting healthy spines, bone density is important and weights helps to increase it!

Yoga

Yoga is simple to do and has a bunch of physical benefits to your body. For one, the stretching and poses involved in yoga are great for increasing flexibility and stretching out muscles. This is helpful to your body in many ways which we covered in a post about the benefits of stretching. Especially during the holidays after we often spend lots of time on the couch, yoga is the perfect way to get up and active to stretch out your body!