Strength Training Over The Holiday

Posted by Shannon Clark Dec 11, 2006

With Christmas and New Years right around the corner many of you are going to be busy shopping, baking, decorating and attending countless parties and events. That leaves little time for getting in your strength training workouts.

One thing you should keep in mind during this time is that it is really quite easy to maintain what you have developed. This is not the time of the year for most people to be trying to set huge records with their lifting as it may only set them up for dissapointment. Rather, try keeping your strength where it is at and just focus on making sure you get to the gym.

The good news is that you can maintain your current level of training by only training at about 1/3 of the volume you are used to. This means that if you simply go to the gym 2-3 times a week and perform at least one set of an exercise for each major body part you should not lose any strength level over the holidays.

It is important to note that it is by far better to reduce volume rather than weight lifted when it comes to maintaining. If you normally do 3 sets, reduce this to one but keep the same weight!

Hit the gym for 30 minutes, 2-3 times a week over the season and you will be very pleased in the New Year when you aren't suffering trying to get back what you lost over the break. Plus, the extra bit of exercise will really help keep your metabolism high and keep the Christmas weight to a minimum!

Here are some more great tips to keep in mind during the holiday season.