Don't Get Too Far Off Track This Week

During the week between Christmas and New Year's our regular schedules and routines are often disrupted. For many of us, eating well and exercising are part of those disrupted routines. Tasty temptations challenge our willpower; kids home from school, visitors, and trips make it difficult to get to the gym.

This is a time to enjoy ourselves and relax. Unfortunatley, too much enjoyment and relaxation has negative effects that aren't fun to counteract. The following will help you from getting too far off track:

1. Indulge in moderation. You don't need to deprive yourself of everything you crave, but be choosy — pick one or two favorite treats and forgo the rest.
2. Get in a few short, but intense workouts at home. As you should know by now, you don't need a lot of time, space or equipment to get your heart rate and metabolism up! Try this circuit (it will take less than 10 minutes!):
1. Plank (1 min)
2. Burpees (10)
3. Prisoner Squats (20)
4. Push Ups (15)
5. Prisoner Jump Squats (15)
6. Plank Ups (15)
7. Dynamic Lunges (20 each leg)
8. Mountain Climbers (20 each leg)
9. Skaters (20 each leg)
10. Plank Twists (20 each leg) 

Presumably, you have plans to start the year off well — to start new, good routines and stop bad habits. Don't stray too far from those plans this week, and you'll have an easier time on January 1st. You can do it!