Keeping Fit Over the Holidays

By Nancy Gottesman

Amid parties and presents, decorating and travel, exercise can be a real challenge. “Exercise requires discipline, and it can be difficult to hold strong with so many holiday celebrations and obligations,” notes Jenny Breuer, director of the fitness and wellness programs at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. What’s more, “the notion that the holidays are a time of rest, relaxation and celebration tends to give people an excuse to break from their normal routine,” adds Breuer.

The good news is that you can reap the physical and mental benefits of exercise -- which will also help you manage your heartburn -- without doing a formal workout. “Any purposeful movement counts and helps you develop a strong body and mind,” says Thomas R. Johnson, an associate professor in the physical education department at Albion College, in Michigan. What’s more, “the goal of 30 minutes per day of physical activity can be in one shot or in snippets of time,” says Johnson. So if you can’t get to the gym or take your usual run or yoga class, consider the following ideas for keeping fit this time of year:

Holiday Preparations
Put on your walking shoes and “put in a few laps at the mall before you make your first stop at a store,” suggests Carolyn Rogan, a registered dietitian and coordinator for the Exercise and Sports Nutrition Clinic at the Texas Woman’s University Institute for Women’s Health, in Denton. “Don’t fight the parking, either! Plan to park your car in the back of the lot so you’ll have to walk farther.” Tasks like shoveling snow and cutting the lawn also count, adds Johnson. Just be sure to “know your limits and use your muscles properly,” he says. Here’s how many calories you’ll burn during 30 minutes of pre-holiday activity:

Leisurely stroll while shopping for presents (2 mph, or a mile in 30 minutes): 85
Brisk walk before or after shopping (3.5 mph, or a mile in 17 minutes): 130
Carrying heavy boxes and presents: 191
Moving household furniture to make room for the tree: 205
Decorating, painting and remodeling to make your living room holiday-ready: 154
Carrying and stacking wood for a roaring fire: 170
Vacuuming for your holiday party: 119

Other household chores:
Cleaning house before guests arrive: 102
Shoveling snow: 205
Operating a snowblower: 153
Cleaning rain gutters: 170
Raking the yard: 146
Hanging storm windows: 170
Sweeping garage, sidewalks, outside of house: 136
Mowing the lawn with a push mower: 205 (power mower: 187)

Family Time
Combine togetherness with fitness. “Play active games with your children,” recommends Johnson. “The kids need exercise as much as you do.” Some family favorites:

Bicycling at a leisurely pace (12 to 14 mph): 273
Hiking: 205
Touch football: 273
Shooting hoops: 153
Playing catch with a baseball: 85
Wrestling and roughhousing: 136
Sledding: 239
Ping-pong: 136
Bowling: 102

Holiday Travel
Going on vacation for the holidays? Participate in fun sports whether you’re visiting a cold- or warm-weather destination!

Cross-country skiing with light effort: 239
(vigorously: 307)
Downhill skiing with moderate effort: 205
(vigorously: 273)
Snowshoeing: 273
Ice-skating: 239
Snorkeling: 170
Tennis: 239

Whether it’s shopping, decorating or playing with the kids, surely there’s a way to fit 30 minutes of physical activity into your day. This way you can have a happy and healthy holiday season this year.

NOTE: Calorie-burn stats are for 30 minutes of activity for a 150-pound person. If you weigh more, you’ll burn more; if you weigh less, you’ll burn less.

Nancy Gottesman was a senior editor at Shape magazine for 11 years. Since going freelance, she's written health and nutrition articles for such publications as O: The Oprah Magazine, Parents, Women's Health, Fit Pregnancy, Viv and Family Circle.

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