INTRODUCTION
Staying active on holidays with health challenges can make a big difference to your energy and wellbeing during the festive season. While routines often fall away among the celebrations, incorporating simple and fun activities helps you stay on track. Challenges like a “12 Days of training” workout or step-count goals create motivation, provide structure and keep physical health in focus. They’re easy to personalise and great for all ages.
WHY HOLIDAYS DISRUPT ACTIVE LIFESTYLES
The holiday period is full of distractions, such as family gatherings, travel, indulgent meals and late nights. These factors, while enjoyable, often lead to skipping regular workouts. The structure of daily life fades and motivation can dip. That’s where incorporating health and wellbeing challenges becomes useful. Staying active on holidays with health and wellbeing challenges helps combat the disruption by offering a daily goal to stay engaged. This boosts discipline while making room for celebration.
THE BENEFITS OF HEALTH CHALLENGES
Health and wellbeing challenges bring more than just physical activity, as they offer accountability, enjoyment and a sense of achievement. They keep your focus on maintaining consistency and avoiding the post-holiday slump. Staying active on holidays with health challenges can also improve mental wellbeing. Whether it’s a solo goal or a friendly group challenge, regular movement supports energy levels, reduces stress and makes you feel good overall, even in holiday indulgences.
12 DAYS OF TRAINING – A FUN HOLIDAY COUNTDOWN
The “12 Days of Training” challenge is a clever play on the classic carol. It involves increasing reps or movements each day leading up to Christmas. You might start with one push-up and build to a full-body workout by day twelve. This variation of staying active on holidays with health and wellbeing challenges creates excitement and commitment. It becomes a festive countdown that helps you ease into more activity, step by step.
SAMPLE FORMAT
A festive challenge can be built step by step, adding one activity each day:
- Day 1: Hold a wall sit for 1 minute.
- Day 2: Perform 2 push-ups.
- Day 3: Complete 3 squats and so on.
This simple structure is easy to adjust for age, strength level or available time, making it inclusive and fun for everyone.
STEP COUNT GOALS FOR DAILY MOTIVATION
Aiming for a daily step count, like 7,000 or 10,000 steps, is another effective and flexible challenge. Using a smartwatch or step tracker encourages you to move more, whether it’s through morning walks, festive shopping strolls or evening dance-offs. Staying active on holidays with health and wellbeing challenges like this keeps you mindful of movement, even on busy days. It’s also something that can involve friends and family of all ages.
PLANK CHALLENGES TO BUILD CORE STRENGTH
A holiday plank challenge may seem intense, but it’s simple and powerful. Start with 15 seconds and increase gradually. By the end of the month, you could hold a 2-minute plank. This form of staying active on holidays with health and wellbeing challenges is ideal for those with limited time or space. It can be done anywhere and offers a visible improvement. Plus, planks support posture, something helpful after hours of holiday lounging or cooking.
FAMILY GAMES AND GROUP ACTIVITIES
Turning health and wellbeing challenges into games is a great way to get the whole household moving. Try a holiday-themed scavenger hunt with physical tasks, a “freeze dance” contest or a group yoga session. When staying active on holidays with health and wellbeing challenges is made social and playful, it becomes easier to commit. Kids love it, adults get engaged and it strengthens family bonds while keeping everyone energised.
TRACKING PROGRESS AND CELEBRATING WINS
The power of any challenge lies in accountability. Use a notebook, phone app or calendar to track each day you succeed. Staying active on holidays with health and wellbeing challenges becomes more rewarding when you can see your consistency. Celebrate wins, whether big or small, by treating yourself to a non-food reward like a spa day or new workout gear. Recognising your effort reinforces the habit and makes it more likely to continue post-holiday.
TIPS FOR STAYING MOTIVATED THROUGH THE SEASON
Stay consistent, set realistic goals and keep your challenges visible, such as on the fridge, in a planner or via reminders on your phone. Mix up activities to avoid boredom. Invite friends to join in for some friendly competition. Most importantly, be kind to yourself. If you miss a day, don’t give up. Staying active on holidays with health and wellbeing challenges is about progress, not perfection.
CONCLUSION
Staying active during holidays with health and wellbeing challenges adds a healthy rhythm to the festive season. These small and enjoyable efforts help you maintain health and wellbeing, reduce stress and enjoy celebrations without losing momentum. Whether it’s a countdown workout, daily step goal or playful family activity, these challenges keep you moving. Embracing them ensures that your health and wellbeing remain a joyful part of the holidays, setting you up for a vibrant new year.