Holiday parties are inevitable during the busy holiday season. It’s that time of the year when your family and friends have taken time off of their busy routines to celebrate together. All the exciting holiday decorations, music and food may distract you from your fitness regime and marathon training. With delicious treats lurking around every corner, it is difficult to stick to healthy eating and running workouts.
Do you want to maximize your time during the busy holiday season to make room for both fun and training? Luckily, running more is not the only way to run faster. There are several other training methods that can boost your stamina and strengthen you for a better run.
During the busy holiday season, squeeze additional performance out of your time by taking up effective workout methods, which are safe and less time-consuming. Prepare your own soups, broths and meals for storing them in the freezer so you don’t have to worry about cooking for healthy meal options during a busy day. Here’s how you can maximize your time in the holidays for sticking to a better marathon training regime:
Take Up Cross-Training
When you are preparing for a race, the focus isn’t entirely on your legs. This holiday season, take up some bodyweight training if you haven’t done that already. There are several benefits of working out with your body weight. Cross-training plays a crucial part in your marathon training as it strengthens the entire body and enhances your overall performance in a short time.
Vary the Intensity of Your Winter Workouts
Running fitness is majorly affected by how you combine intensity and frequencies of running sessions each week. You can also shuffle between hard and easy runs to make the most of all your effort. A typical holiday week should comprise of at least three designated hard runs. These three hard runs should be mixed with easy and slow runs during the rest of the week. Take a day off when you feel the need so as not to tear any muscle.
Let Your Muscles Recover
It’s normal to experience tired calf muscles and thighs after a long run, especially during the busy holidays when you have too much going on in life. Dancing the night away and running in the morning can make you even more tired for your next big run after the holidays. Although you don’t need to wait too much for your next workout, allowing your body some rest is important during the holiday season. Rolling to stretch your muscles will help to loosen up sore and right muscles.
Train Alone
Training with a group of friends and fellow runners is not only motivational but also helps to keep the competitive spirit alive. However, during the holidays, you should rely on your passion to be ready for your next run. This is why it is an ideal time to set your own training program to squeeze in commitments such as parties, dinners and important events. If that’s your only social outlet, find a running partner who can run with you in the cold or have a workout session. However, if you really wish to maximize your time during the busy cold season, train alone to get the most out of your workouts.
Plan your runs, workouts and diets. Group training sessions will require greater time and may not fit perfectly into your busy holiday schedule.
Train Indoors
Outdoor runs and bike rides are risky in the freezing cold. If it’s raining, you may get injured or require special gear to keep yourself warm. Choosing workout clothing and driving to the gym is troublesome for athletes who don’t want to waste precious holiday time getting ready for a training session.
The whole process becomes even laborious for athletes who live in stormy weather conditions. Arranging multiple layers of clothing and then removing them later for washing all the gear once you are done with the workout is a little too much to do during the holidays. Moreover, stop signs and traffic lights can take most of your valuable time before you even begin your workout.
It is always a great idea to designate a corner in your home where you can do most of your stretching. A little warm-up before an interval training session is a great idea for maintaining an exercise routine even in the busy holiday season.
Conclusion
Marathon training regimens depend and vary according to the level of every individual runner. A runner preparing for his first marathon would train differently than a professional runner. Choose how you want to maximize your time this holiday season by taking up healthy eating and exercising options. But don’t forget to have a great time this winter, because that’s what the holiday season is actually about.
