Your survival guide on how to get through the next two weeks and enter the new year fresh and healthy

It’s the season for kicking back and celebrating with family and friends, but spare a thought for your fitness, which often takes a backseat during this time. We ask experts for advice on how to find time for exercise

Less can be more when your body needs time and energy to recuperate from festivities. Picture: iStock 

Christmas is about food and drink, family and friends. Unless you are an elite athlete or in training for a specific event, fitness can take a back seat during the festive season. That doesn’t mean avoiding exercise altogether, though, as it will only make the comeback harder on January 1.

Studies have shown that fitness starts to diminish in as little as 10 days, more so as you get older. My philosophy at this time of year is to accept that my usual workouts will be sidelined but to offset the physical decline — and the guilt — with incremental bursts of activity whenever I can fit them in.

Less can be more when your body needs time and energy to recuperate from festivities. Doing whatever exercise you can in the meantime will keep you ticking over mentally and physically until normality resumes. In other words, cut yourself some slack.

“The saying that ‘something is better than nothing’ is an important one to keep in mind if you are trying to stay active over the Christmas period,” says Dr Fiona Skelly, a lecturer in physical activity and exercise science at the Technological University of Shannon. Your goal, she says, should be to hit the new year fresh, healthy and ready to go.

Here’s how to get through the next two weeks.

Find time for 15 minutes of exercise on Christmas Eve

It’s easy to overlook exercise with all the last-minute rushing around on Christmas Eve, so I schedule it early in the day. I am planning a gentle 10K run with friends at 9.30am, which means I’ll have the afternoon and evening free to relax into the festive spirit. But it doesn’t have to be much. Even a 10-minute power walk to the shops or a snatched five minutes to fit in some weighted squats and lunges help top up the festive fitness tally.

“The gym I attend is having some classes over the holiday period, so I will definitely try to squeeze in a few of them,” says Dr Clare McDermott, a lecturer in physical activity and exercise science at the Technological University of Shannon. “I take advantage of having extra free time to explore some longer walking routes that I wouldn’t normally get to do during the busy weeks.”

Go for a long walk on Christmas Day

Your health will benefit from getting yourself out and think of going for a walk as a positive support to your health rather than a punishment for indulgence. Picture: iStock

The National Physical Activity Guidelines suggest that adults should accumulate at least 2.5 hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week. For most of us, a walk would be considered moderate activity, so a 30-minute walk on at least five days of the week would hit that target.

“Remember, any movement is better than nothing, so let’s not be too hard on ourselves over the Christmas period,” McDermott says. 

“But your health will benefit from getting yourself out and think of going for a walk as a positive support to your health rather than a punishment for indulgence.”

Or take an outdoor dip

Check out the Twelve Swims of Christmas (wildswim.ie) for locations around the country — from Carlingford to Portrush

Outdoor swimming is not my thing during winter, but I know plenty of people who swear by the rejuvenating and invigorating benefits of a cold-water dip.

Check out the Twelve Swims of Christmas (wildswim.ie) for locations around the country — from Carlingford to Portrush — where you can join group swims.

It’s worth acclimatising before you do it with at least a couple of organised practice dips with experienced friends or clubs. Don’t just get into your swimming costume and hope for the best.

A 2020 review of the benefits and risks of cold-water swimming, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Healthconcluded that regular swimming in cold water “seems to have a positive effect on various systems such as the cardiovascular system, endocrine system, immune system and the psyche” but that it “still poses a significant health risk for inexperienced and untrained swimmers”.

Try a St Stephen’s Day parkrun

Lots of the parkruns are taking place this Christmas Day and New Year’s Day — they’re free and inclusive and a great social event to go along to,

Most of us feel bloated on December 26, and the best (and only) way to blast the sluggishness is to exercise. However hard it feels at the outset, you will feel better for it when you return home. 

For me, it will be back into running and probably a parkrun at my local venue, where special-edition festive free-to-enter 5km events have been added to the usual Saturday fixtures.

It’s not about running fast — expect to see plenty of Santa suits and festive frivolity. “Lots of the parkruns are taking place this Christmas Day and New Year’s Day — they’re free and inclusive and a great social event to go along to,” says McDermott.

Check your nearest available events at parkrun.ie/special-events/.

Keep ticking over between Christmas and New Year

Even if your regular fitness routine has gone off course, find something different to keep you ticking over until the routine returns.

“If all the family is at home, why not get everyone to join in on a fun exercise class on YouTube,” says Skelly. “Something like a dance class or a yoga class can be a fun thing to do at home as a family while also being physically active.”

Instead of meeting for a coffee, hot chocolate or even mulled wine indoors, think about having a stroll and a catch-up with your friends.

“It’s always easier to stick to your exercise plans when you are accountable to someone else,” says McDermott. “Planning a walk, run or exercise class with someone else over the holidays makes it much harder to cancel on someone else than on yourself.’

New Year’s Eve

There’s something satisfying about ending the year on an exercise high before the evening’s celebrations kickoff.

I will probably make myself suffer with a series of hard hill repetitions or, worse, running what we refer to locally as ‘the steps of doom’ — 86 (I’ve counted) uneven log-laid steps cut into the side of a steep hill that work glutes and hamstrings on the way up and quads on the way back down.

The New Year’s Eve 10K Road Race organised by Grange Fermoy AC and this year held on Wednesday 31 December in Glanworth [popupraces.ie] is a challenge to consider.

New Year’s Day

Always a tricky one to navigate given the previous night’s partying and inevitable hangover and fatigue, but, barring illness, I am always up for a late-morning run on New Year’s Day.

“If you are physically unwell, dehydrated or have had a poor night’s sleep after too much partying, then pushing yourself to do a run might not be the best option,” says Skelly. “But if you are up for it, a nice aim to get some activity in the day or the morning of a day, if not, then tomorrow is a new day and get some activity in or back to your normal activity routine once the hangover has subsided.”

For those who are not nursing a sore head or aching tummy, there is the option of a parkrun to set you up for 2026 or the Tom Brennan 5K annual road race held on New Year’s Day in Phoenix Park, Dublin. But I prefer setting my own pace with friends and resolving what we will do to get fitter in the year ahead.

Let’s make it a good one.