Winter may or may not be coming in Colorado. We’ve had an unusually warm fall and it’s looking like an unusually warm December. But with the cold and dark approaching at like, 4:30 PM nowadays, it’s super easy to fall into a rut.
A lot of people suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, which doesn’t make getting out of a rut any easier. To stay healthy and fit over the holidays and throughout the winter, here are some things I personally do. Use these as inspiration to implement in your own life, or not.
1. Stay hydrated
I drink water like it’s going out of style. I have two 32 ounce Nalgene bottles – one orange and one grey – that are always filled with filtered water, and one is always chilling in the fridge, full. The other is usually in my hand.
I regularly drink 3 or 4 of these in a day, in addition to one glass of water upon waking up, and several cups of tea throughout the day. Some say you should drink your weight in ounces of water. Figure out how much water works for you to feel good and hydrated or talk to a registered dietitian.
As athletes, we need to drink even more water and electrolytes because of how much we sweat, or least, I do. You could figure out how much you sweat during a training session to make sure that’s how much water/electrolytes you need to drink during your workouts to stay hydrated.
Since we’re like 97% or something water, it makes a lot of sense to keep ourselves hydrated.
2. Eat in moderation
There’s a saying I heard once (and I can’t remember where): “All things in moderation, including moderation,” and I’ve tried to abide by that ever since. Obviously, over the holidays, there is so much good food. Food we’d never really think about outside of festivities (hello, canned cranberry sauce), so it makes sense why we’d indulge.
It’ll be another year until I get to eat all this again. But based on how I’ve felt after (usually several days after) eating all that, I know I went a little too far. So, instead, I try to moderate. I’m certainly not going to deprive myself of food, but I also don’t need to eat so much I feel like shit for three days afterward.
Instead, I take a small scoop of everything I want to try. That way I don’t have a leaning tower of mashed potatoes on my plate and a belly that hurts so bad I spend the night on the toilet, which leads me to my next point…
3. Eat food that makes me feel good
Listen, I’m not a registered dietician or even a nutritionist, but I know that if I eat too many refined carbs, sugar, wheat, or dairy, I’m going to feel like shit no matter how much I savored the hell out of them. Don’t get me wrong. I plan on eating food I enjoy. I’m not going to Scrooge myself at dinner.
Although, I do try to eat the more nutritious foods first before indulging in my never-gonna-quit sweet tooth. So, I go for the fruit and veggies that are straight fruits and veggies without the shit on it. Boring? Yes. But straight up fruits and veggies do so much good for me that it’s worth being bored to bits eating them.
I also try to bring a dish or two that I know I can eat with all my crazy dietary restrictions as of late. That way, I know for sure I can eat a few things that are good for me at least.
Also, I’ll sometimes have a protein shake before heading off to a party that’ll have food. This way, my blood sugar levels are already stable and my stomach won’t be growling when I get there, which can lead to mindless noshing—something I’m really good at.
4. Neti Pot, humidifier, and Cold Snap if I feel a cold coming on.
I used to think the Neti Pot was the weirdest thing, especially since the salty water entered one nostril and poured out the other. I didn’t understand how that was even possible. And it always stings when it first goes through.
But as soon as I start to feel a little too stuffy, I rinse out my nose with that thing and then crank on the humidifier and pop a few Cold Snap pills. Who knows the science behind all this stuff, but I realize that clearing out my nose holes must be getting rid of gunk in there too, right? If I’m really trying to hit it hard, I’ll do the Neti Pot in the morning and right before I go to bed.
Since we live in a dry AF climate, getting a little more humidity in my nose and lungs can’t be a bad thing. If anything, it drowns out the crying baby next door.
5. I make movement a part of my life every day
“Things in motion, stay in motion,” or something like that. I’ve gotten to the point that if I don’t move often, my knees start to hurt. I’m 32, so I mean, what the fuck? Regardless of my crickety knees, I like to stay in motion every day.
Now, you don’t have to reach my point of “movement” because I’m sure it’s borderline unhealthy, but it feels good to me and I’m not making these chirping knees any worse.
I try to take 10,000 steps a day, usually less on the weekends because I’m on my bike for the better part of the day. I also strength train a few times during the week and I’m on my bike 5 days out of the week.
I also incorporate a lot of stretching and foam rolling. Obviously, if you want to stay in shape for your chosen activity, you have to do it at least a little bit during the off-season. If you really want to take a break from your main sport, then I suggest doing cross-training. Do things that complement your main sport. For me, that’s squats, deadlifts, core, yoga, running, and even hiking or cross country skiing.
6. Make sure I rest at least one day a week
While I’m keen on moving and exercising and training, I have realized the benefits of resting too. It’s not until your body’s at rest when it can regenerate and use what you’ve been doing before the rest day.
And trust me, you’re not going to get fat for taking one day off of training. You’re not going to lose all your gains and skills and whatnot by taking one day to recuperate. If anything, you’ll have more energy the following days to take on harder exercises.
Besides, not only is taking a rest day good for you physically, it has a lot of mental benefits as well. I started taking one weekend day off, copying a good friend of mine who also does it. Her argument was that it’s an actual off-day without having work on top of it. Because taking a rest day off on a workday isn’t very restful.
So, I experimented with taking Sundays off (or Saturdays), and it’s crazy how much free time I feel like I have. I spend more time with my friends and family. I actually find more time to chill. And I’m ready Monday morning to take on that day’s workout. Sure, I sprinkle in some very relaxing yoga and some foundational work, but that’s more to help me relax, not to workout.
7. Get at least a few minutes in the sun every day
Ever since I’ve started looking into why I’m constantly tired no matter how much sleep I get, I’ve been learning more about circadian rhythms and all that. What I read is that you should get direct sunlight (no, don’t stare at the sun, but yes, go outside and get sun on your body) within 30 minutes of waking up. During the winter and for early risers, this makes it tough.
I also read that as long as you get 2-10 minutes of direct sunlight before 9:00 AM, that will also help your circadian rhythm. It essentially alerts your body to wake up and it also helps you get ready to go to sleep at night too.
Also, most of us are severely lacking in Vitamin D and a supplement will only go so far. Besides, getting sunlight also helps us physically and mentally. The sun simply just makes us happy. We know this because of SAD and the lack of sunlight has an effect on people. I’ve also noticed that if I go stand outside for a few minutes, it helps me wake up just a smidge when I’m getting a little fuzzy around 1:00 PM.
8. Meditate, yoga, journal
Finally, you can’t stay healthy and fit during the off-season without meditation, yoga, and journaling. And I don’t mean this just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
When I took five and a half weeks off the bike and strength training, I returned to meditating, doing yoga, and journaling and it made a world of difference for me. It helped me realize that there’s more to life than hammering away on power meter pedals on a stationary bike staring at a screen. It truly made me reconsider what cycling is to me, which, it’s still super important to me, don’t get me wrong. Riding bikes changed my life for the better.
But I noticed I reached a point in my cycling journey where it felt like a chore. I did it to chase a dream that I knew would never happen because well, that’s just life. I’m never going Pro as a cyclist and I’ve accepted that. Some of that acceptance came from meditating on life and then journaling about it. Some of it came from doing yoga and getting in tune with my body by moving my arms and legs with my belly-full breaths.
Meditation, yoga, and journaling helps me release stress, tension, anxiety, depression, all the things. It slows me down and lets me tune in, not out, to my body, unlike cycling, where it’s all about ignoring the pain and seeing how much you can suffer. And sure, there are times when that’s good to do. It keeps you resilient.
But there’s something to be said about slowing the fuck down and forcing yourself to listen to yourself. To let your body tell you what’s going on, what it needs from you, what it doesn’t want anymore, and how to best take care of it. By listening to your body, you’re more likely to give it what it needs and therefore, stay healthy and fit.
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