Holiday Fitness Tips from Mike Geary

I recently received the e-mail below containing some good reminders about holidays fitness and nutrition. As always, good advice from Mike Geary.


The time of year for fitness excuses is here... December is probably the worst time of year where most people use excuse after excuse as to why they are letting themselves get fat and out of shape during "the holidays".

So with this newsletter, I just want to give you some tips and motivation to do the opposite of what most people are going to do this December, and get yourself in BETTER shape during this busy season. This doesn't mean that you have to deprive yourself of anything during your parties with friends and family, but it DOES mean that you have to be sensible and stick to your fitness and nutrition plan when you're not in party mode.

First, the biggest excuse I've heard over the many years I've been doing fitness counseling is that they don't "have any time" to keep working out during the holidays.

Ok, I know we all may have a lot of family gatherings and holiday parties to go to during this time, but saying that you don't have time to keep yourself in shape is basically admitting that your health and fitness is not a priority in your life. If it was a priority, you'd make time.

So let's commit to a pact that we will not use the lack of time excuse this holiday season. Instead, if there are days that you don't feel that you have time to go to the gym for a full workout, schedule a 15 minute workout in for yourself at least 4 days/week either before or after work, or at whatever time you can fit in a 15 minute workout at home.

Anybody can fit in 15 minutes... that's all it takes. However, those 15 minutes need to be full of high intensity exercises that work your entire body. Even doing just some bodyweight circuits at home can keep you in great shape.

For example, you can rotate through 5 or 6 exercises such as lunges, bodyweight squats, pushups, mountain climbers, and lying leg thrusts in a circuit fashion, alternating between them for as many sets as you can do in that 15 minute time period.

If you work hard enough, you can get a great full body workout in only 15 minutes and then be ready to go for whatever holiday activities are on your schedule.

The second biggest excuse I've heard over the years from many people during the holidays is that there's no way they can control their eating during this time of year with parties and gatherings with all of the delicious food being offered everywhere. What many people have told me is that the 5 or 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years every year is just one massive free-for-all bingefest for them.

This doesn't make any sense though. For example, even if you were extremely busy with parties and gatherings and let's say you have 8 parties/gatherings to go to during these 5 weeks, that is still only 8 days out of 35 that you're going to be surrounded by party food for only a small time each day.

This means that if you're still eating super-healthy during the 27 other days and also during the other time available on the party days, you can easily still have at least 90% compliance with your healthy diet. If you can have 90% compliance, it is quite easy to stay lean instead of packing on the lbs during the holidays.

The important thing to keep reminding yourself is that the ONLY time you are going to cheat is during the parties and gatherings and not before, after, or for entire weeks at a time.

One thing I like to do if I know I'll be going to a holiday party or big meal is that I plan to get in a great weight training workout within a few hours (if possible) before going to the party. This way I know that my metabolism is already elevated from the weight training and some of the excess calories that I may consume can help towards muscle repair and glycogen replenishment instead of being deposited as body fat.

So I hope this email has helped to make sure that you stay on track with your fitness during the holidays. There are NO EXCUSES. There's no reason at all to wait until January to start on your fitness program, when it should really be a part of your everyday lifestyle.

Here's to getting in BETTER SHAPE, instead of worse this December!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://TruthAboutAbs.com

PS - if you liked today's article, feel free to fwd this email on to any of your friends, family, or co-workers that would enjoy it.

Simple Things You Can Do To Improve Your Nutrition

Getting healthy and discarding fat involves good nutrition but it doesn't have to be as complicated as some people make it, especially when you're just getting started. Here are some simple things you can do that will make a difference:

* Educate yourself on proper portion size. You will probably be shocked.

* Eat more fruits and vegetables.

* Treat your body more like your car. Most of you wouldn’t fuel your car with the equivalent quality of fuel you run your body on.

* Forget "a calorie is a calorie." Don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you that 2500 calories of burgers, fries, donuts, onion rings, manufactured iced tea, Tastykakes (Twinkies for any West Coasters), and ice cream has the same effect on your body as 2500 calories of lean meats, fruits, eggs, vegetables, and nuts.

* Eliminate liquid calories and drink lots of water.

* Limit processed foods, especially items containing sugar or high fructose corn syrup. (Sugar can also be disguised on the ingredient label as glucose, sucrose, maltodextrin, maltose, dextrose, sorbitol, fructose, corn sugar, cane sugar, beet sugar, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice concentrate, barley malt, caramel, and carob syrup.)

* Eat fresh, whole foods as much as possible.

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Turbulence Training Special Expires at 11:59 PM

Just a reminder that Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training special containing the 5 additional bonuses expires at 11:59 PM tonight.

I have not had time to go through all the bonuses myself but I did find Brad Pilon's Eat, Stop, Eat very interesting and I've been experimenting with it. I've read extremely positive comments about Dax Moy's Mastering The Fat Loss Mindset. Holly Rigsby's Fit Yummy Mummy workouts use very little equipment (not even a stability ball) so you can easily do those at home or when you travel, regardless of whether or not you're a stay at home mom. I am really looking forward to checking out Secrets of the Transformation Masters but I absolutely must finish my January Fit Bits print newsletter first.

Anyway, here's the link again:
Turbulence Training

Obviously, you'll be able to buy TT after midnight but those 5 bonuses will not be part of the package. If you, or someone you know, is serious about fat loss in 2008, check out the link above.

Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

You can find tons of information online about weight management over the holidays, most repeating the same old tips. Here's a no-nonsense article on that topic from Craig Ballantyne, creator of Turbulence Training. Just my second day and I'm already passing off my responsibility to someone else. :-) Actually, I'm a big fan of Craig's and my goal is to present the most up to date and useful information I can find, so that's what I'm doing.

Politically Incorrect Secrets to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, M.Sc.

I was at a big family gathering last week and was reminded how important it is to have strategies for this season of high-calorie parties and busy schedules. But I get ticked off by the tired old suggestions you find on the Internet or in magazines like Woman's World.

Often the suggestions are lack any substance, because the writers don't want to imply you actually have to make a sacrifice to succeed. They make fat loss sound easy, as if all you had to do was park at the far end of the parking lot and you'd burn all the calories from 5 shortbread cookies.

Well it doesn't work that way... So here are my politically incorrect, unique Turbulence Training strategies to help you keep off the holiday pounds.

By the way, I "borrowed" a few ideas from contestants in my Turbulence Training Transformation Contest. The Transformation is rocking with social support and success stories right now, even while the rest of the world struggles with weight gain, these TT users are losing fat over the holidays.

Click here to get started with Turbulence Training for Fat Loss.

Strategy #1 - Green Tea & Almonds

One of the most common tips you'll hear is to "fill up" before you go to a party where there will be lots of goodies.

Unfortunately, most people I talk to have no luck with this tip. Most people still go to a party and eat everything in sight. But recently TT users have told me that having a cup of Green Tea and one ounce of almonds has helped them avoid holiday cravings better than anything ever before. The fiber from the almonds reduces appetite while the small amount of caffeine from the Green Tea seems to increase mental alertness and keep you "energized" at the party.

Hopefully that might work for you...

Strategy #2 - Don't waste your time on any fancy cardio programs

Listen, the bottom line over the holiday season is that your success depends almost entirely on your nutrition. You can't expect to hit the cardio confessional and burn off last night's 2000 calorie smorgasboard. That's a 4-hour workout. Instead, don't get into that situation in the first place.

Here are more nutrition tips:
- Focus on portion control (and if you have no discipline, forget even trying to eat just one)
- Nix all drinks mixed with calorie-containing beverages, or better yet, just stop getting drunk. Period.
- Write down everything you eat to identify your problem spots. Then do whatever you need to do to eliminate your weaknesses. If you don't record your nutrition, chances are you'll miss big opportunities to change your diet and lose fat.

Strategy #3 - Take care of yourself first. My friend Holly Rigsby (of http://www.fityummymummy.com/) is always reminding busy moms to take care of themselves first, and I think that suggestion applies at this time of year to everyone.

So take a deep breath. Ask yourself as you're running around to please everyone else, "Have you set aside time for yourself" Be selfish. Make sure you have had some exercise time, some good nutrition, and some rest before overextending yourself and doing too much for other people when you haven't taken care of yourself and your goals first.

Strategy #4 - Get on a roll This one comes from a TT Transformation contestant who is too busy losing fat to get off track over the holidays. Don't procrastinate till January 1st. Get started now. Dozens of men and women are doing their Turbulence Training Transformations right now - through the heart of the holiday season. They aren't waiting for Jan. 1st to show up. They are taking control now, and getting on a roll, and not letting anything (from work parties to peer pressure) get in their way.

Strategy #5 - Exercise in short bursts whenever you can Don't be afraid to dance at your Christmas party. Don't worry, there is bound to be at least one worse dancer than you out on the floor. Have fun and get down!

On a more serious note, here's how to avoid falling off the fitness program during the busy holiday season. Get your butt out of bed 15 minutes early so you can have 3 minutes to wake up and 12 minutes to do the December 2007 Turbulence Training 12-Minute Workouts. Get this workout as part of your bonuses when you start using Turbulence Training.

Stay healthy and fit over the holidays, Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS Author, Turbulence Training

PS - We have some big bonuses coming up on Dec. 31st...These will go out to all clients, past and present, so keep your eye out for a TT bonus email.

About the Author
Learn about the "Dark Side of Cardio" in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com.