Advent Christmas Challenge 2021

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. An appropriate way to kick off a Christmas blog, I think! What’s usually not talked about is working out. And before I get into this one, for reference on where I am coming from with this, I believe you should be able to ‘enjoy’ Christmas. I’ll definitely be enjoying a Christmas feast or two, having a few beers and most definitely some baileys coffee! And you should not have to punish yourself in the New Year with “new year, new me” for feeling bad that you had those Christmas feasts, beers, baileys coffee, mulled wine, Celebration boxes (especially the Bounty!) and… well, you get the point, indulging over those two weeks of Christmas.

Having said that, December is usually the time where gyms are quiet. And there are a number of reasons for that, including being low on the priority scale and being too busy with the extra activities and stresses Christmas time can bring.

And that’s why I think it is even more important to dedicate time to yourself and your training. And it doesn’t have to be a one hour sweat session either. Moving at least 20 minutes can help you feel more energetic, reduce stress and give your mind more clarity. That’s why I would often recommend afternoon walks to get away from the computer screen or when you are struggling/stressing over a problem. It may even help you come up with that perfect Christmas present that you were struggling to figure out!

Yes, gyms and training, especially, in January will be marketed based on losing weight, getting abs and being a “better you”, whatever that means. And while that can have its place somewhat, exercise and training should be about much more than that. They shouldn’t be torture sessions. Any trainer that’s been around should not be saying anything about working off or “burning” the Christmas calories during workouts in January. 

Because training is NOT about burning off calories to lose weight. Exercise should be specific to your training goals. You should FEEL BETTER after a training session. You will probably burn off 300kcals in a gym session. That’s 6 Celebration mini bars (ok, ok, sweets!). Would you really put yourself through a 45 minute session if the only benefit was to ‘earn’ 6 Celebrations?! Of course not.

Over the years, I have tried different ways to promote getting people just to move more in December. One of the main ones has been the different follow along Advent Christmas Challenges that I have done including a daily 24 x 5 minute workout and one that allows for rest days (usually weekends) throughout the month of December that you can find HERE along with the 2021 Advent Christmas Challenge that we will get into in a few minutes.

They are all follow along bodyweight exercises. I have also released short 3 week training programmes, through eBooks, to my newsletter subscribers that you can get below:

“Santa Shredded Mini Programme” - More Cardio Based

“Merry FitMASS Mini Programme” - More Experienced Strength/Hypertrophy Based

The idea behind the mini programmes is to get you in and out of the gym in 45 minutes, if not quicker. Shorter workouts to get in and out of the gym and feel better. Are you going to get insane results in 3 weeks? No. But having that schedule for the workouts and sticking to a plan will help you mentally and physically set a foundation to build on for January.

In this blog, we will have different challenges to help keep you motivated to move throughout December as well as how you can incorporate Christmas activities to move more (and get some sneaky extra steps) without even thinking about it! 

Christmas Activities To Keep Moving
There are plenty of ways to keep moving leading up to Christmas. The obvious ones being entered around Christmas shopping. Parking the car a little further, getting off a stop earlier and taking the stairs instead of the escalators/lifts are some of the quick hacks to get an extra few steps in. 

Even going into town to see the Christmas lights, going on a walking hunt for lights in your area with the family or arranging a weekend hike (or ice skating?) for a catch up with friends can be some activities to combine the Christmas season with moving without having to crush yourself in the gym with endless burpees… which is seemingly inhumane now.

If you are not sure on how to prepare yourself for a hike with friends, then check out this recent Any Given Runday podcast episode on Everything You Need To Know About Hiking (on Spotify HERE and Apple Podcasts HERE).

Christmas Workout in Dublin 15
If hiking is not your thing and you lose your balance even thinking about ice skating, there are other activities you can do with friends that will definitely help you keep moving! You could sign up to a road race or even a fitness class with them. And I can’t give that idea out without having an offer myself! So if you are a female in the Dublin 15 area and are looking for something to do on a Monday and Wednesday evening, you can sign yourself and a friend up by clicking on THIS LINK (one payment secures the two of you) and I will see you in a class soon. This is the only time I will be offering one off classes for Booty Camp Castleknock. Every sign up for the classes gets a free resistance band and mini band at your session.

Available Dates:
Wednesday, December 1st
Monday, December 6th
Monday, December 13th
Wednesday, December 15th

Sign up using this link HERE and I will forward on the details to your email on the potential date you can do the session. 

The Basics
There are also the “basics” you can do to keep on top of your health and fitness over the next few weeks that will help you out a lot to keep moving, staying more healthy and active. 

Eating enough protein, increasing your veg consumption, getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night, drinking 2 litres of water and walking up to 20 minutes a day are very simple things that we often over look in our fitness journey for the magical pill/supplement that will help us out instead. 

And speaking of walking…

Christmas Challenges
There are a number of Challenges you can do throughout the month of December to keep yourself active and motivated. As well as the aforementioned Advent Challenges, eBooks and the idea to sign up for a race or fitness class in your area, with Any Given Training Day, we are launching our 12 sessions of Christmas Challenge through Strava and Instagram.

The challenge is very simple. Log in 12 sessions throughout the 24 days before Christmas. There’s no minimum time for a session in the challenge (although we are encouraging 20 minutes if you are going for a walk). It can be anything from a workout to a hike/walk or a swim in the sea… actually I personally wouldn’t recommend that but there’s a lot that do it this time of year. And that’s insane to me! 

The goal is to do at least something active at least every second day throughout December. Once you have done your activity, you can either log it in through our Strava Club HERE or use the hashtag “AGTD12 Sessions of Christmas” and tag us on your Instagram story/post/reel @anygiventrainingday.

We talk more about the 12 Sessions of Christmas Challenge in the second half of our most recent episode of the Any Given Runday Podcast on Spotify HERE and Apple Podcasts HERE

BONUS: Get the kids involved
A bonus challenge for Christmas. The closest I’ve come to dealing with the dreaded Elf On A Shelf is moving him around the gym and, even then, I do stress myself out over a unique place that he will present himself! So, attached HERE, is a few different ideas for Elf On A Shelf workouts for kids. Simply print off the pages, cut them up and use whatever one you want to place beside the Elf the next morning. 

If you have enjoyed or got any benefit out of this blog, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter HERE (where you get a free eBook that might help set yourself up for new goals in the new year).