Every year, somewhere around mid-October, I start hearing the same line from clients, friends and, if I’m honest, the voice in my own head: “I’ll get back into it in January.”
I understand why. The last quarter of the year is relentless. Work wind-downs, end-of-year concerts, Christmas parties, school holidays looming, and somehow a dozen “let’s catch up before Christmas” coffees. Training is usually the first thing to slide off the calendar.
But after years of working as a personal trainer, and with a background in biomedical science, I’ve come to think the eight weeks before Christmas matter more than the first eight weeks of the new year. Here’s why, and what you can do about it without giving up a single mince pie.
What happens to your strength when you stop
Strength is a “use it or lose it” adaptation. A meta-analysis that pooled data from more than 100 training studies found that once people stop training, strength and power start to decline, and the losses grow the longer the break goes on (Bosquet et al., 2013). Research in older adults suggests that losses after stopping can be faster as we age.
For women in midlife, that matters more than it might seem. The hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause already put pressure on muscle and bone. Resistance training is one of the most effective tools we have to protect both, and a six-week gap at the end of the year means starting January further behind than you finished.
The good news is that maintaining strength takes far less than building it. You don’t need to train harder over Christmas. You just need to keep showing up, even in smaller doses.
Structure beats willpower (and the research agrees)
One of my favourite festive-season studies is a UK randomised controlled trial run over Christmas. Researchers recruited 272 adults (average age 44, mostly women) and gave half of them a simple, structured approach to the holidays plus some light accountability. The comparison group gained weight over the festive period; the intervention group didn’t (Mason et al., 2018).
The intervention in that study centred on regular self-weighing, which I don’t think is helpful or necessary for most women I work with, so I’m not suggesting you jump on the scales every morning. The lesson I take from it is broader: you don’t need deprivation to get through the silly season well. You need a plan and someone checking in. No “earning” your Christmas lunch. No punishing January boot camp. Just a bit of structure while life is busy.
Why “start” works better than “stop”
There’s another reason I’m not a fan of waiting for January: New Year’s resolutions are usually framed the wrong way.
A large Swedish study followed more than 1,000 people through their resolutions for a full year. People whose goals were approach-oriented (something to move towards, like “start strength training twice a week”) were significantly more successful than those with avoidance-oriented goals (something to stop, like “stop eating sugar”): 58.9% versus 47.1% (Oscarsson et al., 2020). People who received a moderate amount of support did best of all.
January resolutions tend to be lists of things we’ll give up. October is a chance to start something small instead, with momentum on your side.
Five ways to keep training through the silly season
These are the strategies I use myself and with clients from now until the end of the year:
- Shrink the session, don’t skip it. Ten minutes counts. Three moves, three rounds: squat to calf raise, incline push-up on a bench or couch, reverse lunges. Done before you’ve had time to talk yourself out of it.
- Book it like a meeting. Put two or three short sessions in your calendar each week, the same as you would a work commitment. If it’s not scheduled, December will eat it.
- Pick a “minimum week”. Decide now what the bare minimum looks like for the busiest weeks (for example, two 15-minute strength sessions and one walk). Anything above that is a bonus.
- Mix it up. Yoga, Pilates, barre, boxing and HIIT all count. Variety makes it far easier to stay consistent when your energy is all over the place.
- Get someone to check in. A training buddy, a group, or a coach. Accountability is the single thing that keeps the wheels on when motivation runs out (and it will run out around the third Christmas party).
A little fun for December
I’m a big believer that healthy habits stick better when they’re enjoyable. This year I’m pairing the new Arbonne 12 Days of Fizz advent calendar (12 EnergyFizz sticks, including five flavours you can only get in this set) with my own “12 Days of Movement”: one fizz, one short workout, every day for the 12 days before Christmas. I’ll share more on that soon.
A practical note: each stick has 55 mg of naturally derived caffeine from green tea and guarana, a bit less than a typical cup of coffee. I have mine in the morning in place of my second coffee. If you’re caffeine sensitive, pregnant or breastfeeding, or your sleep is already a battle, check with your GP first and keep it to the morning.
Getting enough protein alongside strength training also supports muscle gains (Morton et al., 2018). The Holiday range includes a Hot Choccy Flavour Protein (20 g plant protein per serve). It’s marketed for cosy northern hemisphere winters, so I’ll be testing it as a cold post-training shake for our summer and reporting back.
Something’s coming
I’m putting together a program for the lead-up to Christmas, for past, current and new clients. Short sessions that fit around real life, mobile personal training in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, or online with regular check-ins, and a festive bonus or two.
If you’d like to hear about it first (and grab an early spot), subscribe to The Wellness Edit or send me a message with “COUNT ME IN”.
Don’t wait for January. Start small, start now, and finish the year stronger than you started it.
Sarah
This article is general information only and isn’t personalised medical, exercise or dietetic advice. Please check with your GP before starting a new exercise program, particularly if you have an existing health condition or injury, or are pregnant or breastfeeding. Arbonne is my own business as an Independent Consultant; product mentions reflect my personal routine and experience, not paid placement, and product details are taken from Arbonne’s own descriptions. Check current AU pricing and availability with me directly.
