How To Stay Healthy This Christmas

It’s that special time of year again where drinking, socializing at parties and getting excited about indulging in Christmas ham, pavlova, prawns, pudding, gingerbread cookies, Granny’s trifle and more booze take us to the point we need a nap.
It starts at the work Christmas shows and ends shortly after new year’s.
It’s such a delicious cycle!

However, the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season doesn’t mean you have to forget about your healthy diet and you don’t have to miss out on all that Christmas food you love either!

** Keep exercising
This one sounds obvious but most people stop their exercise routine while holidaying. 30 minutes of exercise is enough to help burn of some of those extra calories your indulging in and will keep up your metabolism. Stick to exercising the days you set for yourself and keep the routine. My best tip for this is to get it done early!

** Portion control
Enjoy what you want to eat, but don’t go crazy with the amount of deliciously bad food.
My philosophy around nutrition is all about balance and moderation, try to stick to the 80/20 % rule. Eat as healthy as possible for 80% of the time and enjoy and indulge the other 20% of the time. After all your overall nutrition and well being won’t be ruined by a couple of weeks of holiday eating.

Eat something healthy before you go. This way you’re partially full and won’t have that hungry belly sending you go back for seconds and thirds of those Christmas rum balls.

** Drink plenty of water
We already know there are plenty of reasons to be drinking more water daily no matter what season it is.
But sticking with the holiday theme, alcohol dehydrates you, and hangovers are the worst! Include plenty of water with your favourite refreshments to help you stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of water can also boost your immune system, increase your metabolism and help you feel fuller for longer.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Embrace, Relax and Enjoy!

Paleo Banana Cake

I’m all about the healthy baking and I’ve tried quite a few paleo/raw/clean recipes in the last 5 years but this would have to be one of the simplest banana recipe by far! plus its quite cost effective compared to a lot of other recipes around. Read more

HIIT Your Workout

FAST – HIGH INTENSITY – FAT BURNING

Yep, you got it! TABATA training. This is one of my go to types of training when I want to get a sweat up fast, when I’m just really time poor but still want to be able to squeeze in a solid workout or, to be honest, I use it at least 2 times a week during my usual split weights routine to add some quick cardio.

Probably unlikely, but for those of you who haven’t heard of Tabata training and don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a quick explanation. Tabata is High-intensity interval training (HIIT). It normally only requires one exercise at ultra-high intensity for 20 seconds with 10 seconds of rest for a total of 8 rounds or 4 minutes.

This type of training is one of my favourites because it’s so versatile! Although the definition is you only need one exercise, you can create a Tabata workout from a whole cluster of strength and aerobic exercises

GETTING  YOU STARTED

Here are some quick variations to add into your fitness routine.

Burpees
20 seconds work
10 seconds rest
*Repeat for 8 rounds

Rower/spin bike/running sprints
40 seconds work
20 seconds rest
*Repeat for 4 rounds

Push ups
20 seconds work
10 seconds rest

Jump squats
20 seconds work
10 seconds rest
*Alternate push ups and jump squats and repeat for 16 rounds or 8 minutes all up.

Some more combinations you might like are Thrusters + Skipping or Lunges + Leg raises. Start to make your own up. Play around with different strength exercises or a combination of exercises, strength or cardio.

ENJOY YOUR FAT BURNING WORKOUT!!

Do you need help with learning different types of exercises to work into your Tabata training? Book in a personal training session with 360BodyFit today and learn everything you need to know about this style of training.