Christmas is fun. Christmas is frivolous. And Christmas can end up meaning we are less fitter than ever.

Thanks to the huge amount of food, booze and treats that only come out at this time of year - Think After Eight mints and Ferrero Rocher - It can be difficult to control yourself.

So what can you do to help…

… you find the time to do good training, and
… control the over-indulgent behaviours

This article has 12 tips that I’ve used, and will try to use this year, to stay on track.

I’ve written this post just as much for me as for anyone else. Because I have a tendency to over-indulge more than most people!

I hope it keeps us all in December!

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How to Keep Your Running Training on Track During Christmas

Here are 7 simple steps to help you try to stay active during December and the Christmas period.

1) Plan an Event

There’s very little that can help with motivation more than having an actual event in the calendar to look forward to.

If you can plan something in for early January, even better. As it may stop you reaching for that extra mince pie or chocolate.

It doesn’t have to be a major race. Even aiming for a local 5k parkrun in early January will help.

I’ve entered the Country to Capital 43 miler on January 11th.

So I’m hoping that helps me to limit by cheese and wine intake during December.

2) Schedule Your Exercise

During this busy time of the year it’s even more important to create a plan for your training.

But be realistic with your goals during this period. It will be much better to aim for a 30 minute run and over-achieve. Than set yourself a 60 minute run and not start it because you don’t have the time.

Which reminds me of a quote from a recent interview I did with John Kelly - one of the few men to ever have completed the Barkley Marathons…

“The training you can do is much better than the training you wish you could do.

If you’re limited on time don’t waste half of it trying to get to the perfect location or creating the perfect workout.

Just run.”

— John Kelly - Barkley Marathons Finisher

Try to stick to the same routine as you have done previously. For example, if you ran 4 times a week before, try and do that again. But, if you need to, reduce the time that you go out for.

If you’re in a new place, like visiting parents or in-laws, then plan your route beforehand. Plan something new and exciting where you’ll see some unusual sights and sounds that you wouldn’t normally.

I go to my in-laws for Christmas and end up running around some beautiful British countryside in Hampshire. Which is very, very different to my usual running route up and down the flat River Thames in London!

And I often just go out without a plan and explore the areas. Which makes it even more enjoyable.

3) Tell Other People About Your Training

If you tell other people about your plans, you’ll be more likely to do them.

Posting on social media that you’re going to try and do a certain amount of miles, or train a certain amount of days, means you’ll feel worse if you don’t hit your target.

This is one reason that I’ve written this post! To see if I can live by my own rules!

Naturally, this technique has some drawbacks and you need to be sensible.

If you’re injured, for example, you shouldn’t go out, no matter how much social media posting you’ve done!

4) Make it Easy

I usually do my exercise and running first thing in the morning.

And to make it as easy as possible, I try to limit the barriers that can stop me from getting out.

For example, I lay my kit and nutrition out the night before.

That way I can roll out of bed and straight into a run as quickly as possible.

5) Train at Home

The winter months might be cold and dark. And so it can be difficult to force yourself to get out and run.

Which makes it a good time to start introducing working out at home.

I’ve recently started doing short yoga and leg strengthening exercises using the Nike Training app.

The free app has loads of workouts. You can search for routines by the area of the body you’d like to focus on, the length of time you’ve got and the equipment you have available.

A few times a week I do the 20 minute lower body strength yoga routine. And the 20 minute glute and hip strength routine.

You don’t need any equipment for either of them. And I do them very early in the mornings. Often before a run.

6) Ask Santa to Help You Out

Is there anything more motivating than getting some new running kit or a new gadget?

Why not put something on your Christmas list, which will mean that you HAVE to go out for that Christmas run.

Do you need some ideas for what to ask Santa for?

Then check out my recommendations for kit, gadgets, nutrition and books.

7) Make Sure to Balance Training with Family Time

If you’re thinking of doing any, or all, of the above, then just take one moment before your start…

And remember that the biggest part of Christmas is to focus on your family.

It can be a great time to get some good running and exercise in.

But make sure that you don’t do it at the expense of spending quality time with your loved ones.

If you’re going to run, try and minimise the impact on your family.

Perhaps try to run early, before everyone is up. Or late, when people are asleep.

How to Keep Your Nutrition on Track During Christmas

So, we’ve covered the running and exercise.

But we all know the trickiest part about staying fit for Christmas is not losing complete control of your nutrition.

So many foods to eat. And so little time to eat them all.

This is the part I particularly struggle with. But here is what I’m going to try and do this year.

Disclaimer - I am not a nutritionist. You should always consult a doctor or other certified professional before starting a new nutrition approach. All the advice I give below is based on my own personal experience.

1) Recognise What Your Personality is Like

Are you someone who has to go cold turkey (pun intended). Or do you have to allow yourself a little treat to keep your sanity?

I’m definitely the former. I can hold off on eating treats for a long time. But as soon as I eat one, all hell breaks lose.

By recognising which camp you’re in (or a slightly different one), you can think of strategies to stop over-indulging.

2) Don’t Skip Meals

Because people know they’re going to gorge themselves at certain points (like the work Christmas party), people are sometimes tempted to skip meals.

Generally this won’t work.

You’ll feel bad for the period that you’re not eating…

And then you’ll probably over-eat when you give yourself the opportunity.

I personally think that skipping meals can work occasionally.

For example, if you’re following an intermittent fasting schedule.

Something which I’ve experimented with recently and found useful. I explain more about in my blog ‘Can Fasting Improve Your Ultra-Running Performance?’

3) Keep Hydrated

Making sure you keep hydrated can keep you from over-indulging on the bad foods.

This, of course, is important during the Christmas season when the booze is flowing more freely.

Trying to control your alcohol intake by having regular water can also help limit the damage it does the next day.

4) Make Clever Choices

My fridge is always stocked up with plenty of celery, cucumber and carrots.

That way when I am looking for something to snack on, there is always an easy choice to go for something healthy.

The healthy options don’t always win. But they do most of the time.

So make sure you make the healthy choice always available. And always easy to go for.

There are always plenty of nuts and nut butters in our house too.

Although you need to be careful with those options. As they are full of calories.

If you do slip into having a Christmas treat. It might help if it something that is only available at Christmas. Then you don’t get into a habit of always eating them.

Time to crack out those After Eight mints and Ferrero Rochers again!

If you are drinking, swap the vodka and lemonade for a vodka and soda

5) Track Yourself

I found a great way to keep control of my eating, was when I tracked my eating habits.

For about 18 months, I tracked almost everything that I ate and drank. I used an app called FatSecret.

Tracking to this detail was useful for two reasons. First, it made me understand how and what I was eating. And it made me appreciate just how many calories there were in certain food.

Second, the manual process of inputting everything I ate, meant that I actually cut down my consumption a bit. Just to save time inputting data!

Cutting down calories is not always a good idea. For many people it’s the exact opposite of what they should be doing. So please use these apps wisely.

I’ve stopped tracking every detail of everything I input now.

And now I use a habit-tracking app called ‘Way of Life’.

This app allows you to enter a number of habits that you want to track on a daily basis.

And so rather than calorie-counting every single thing, I now track a habit which I’ve titled ‘eating healthy foods and no treats’.

For days I achieve it, I get a nice reassuring green ‘tick’.

For days I don’t, I get a disappointing red ‘cross’.

It’s very simple, but very powerful for changing habits too.

Summary

Remember, that nothing in excess is good for you.

Whether that’s eating too much. Or doing too much exercise.

Hopefully these 12 tips will help you to keep your running training on track during December and the Christmas period.

Plan an Event
Schedule Your Exercise
Socialise Your Training
Make it Easy
Train at Home
Ask Santa to Help You Out
Make Sure to Balance Training with Family Time
Recognise What Your Personality is Like
Don’t Skip Meals
Keep Hydrated
Make Clever Choices
Track Yourself

What Top Tips Do You Have for Training During Christmas?

Let me know in the comments at the bottom of this blog, on the Contact Page or on social media below.

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12 Tips to Help Keep Your Running Training on Track Over Christmas