Preventive maintenance this Christmas

Traditionally, when the calendar hits December, it means party time! Christmas may be a good time for loving, sharing and forgiving in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, but on the flip side, this season is probably the most destructive season in your diet. People seem to pack up and increase weight during this time. December is the fattest month of the year, it’s the busiest time of the year for pastry shops, and your refrigerator at this time is loaded with sugar packed cakes, brownies, fruit cakes, and drinks plus leftover foods from the party, the night before. Some even deep fried their lechon on the next day, making it double dead or deadlier than roasted itself.

An athlete usually has a notion that Christmas season is off-season but actually off-season is the time wherein you break from your usual exercise routine and focus on exercise routine that helps your weakness on the sporting discipline you are in. For the weekend warriors, Christmas season is the time to get stronger than others and get a strong headstart for the next year.

Although it is not the end of the world, there are a few tips that can help get through the destructive Christmas season. 

Plan ahead: Knowing that Christmas season is coming, plan ahead. Join a program or challenge that could motivate you to continue your training. Knowing that if you slack off on your training, your performance will suffer. Try to shed off a few extra pounds before Christmas season. For me, I signed up for races in the Christmas season and first week of January to keep me motivated.

Eat in moderation: Don’t deprive yourself on cravings. Have a bite or two on your favorite food. Depriving your craving will later on work against you when you are stressed a work.

Avoid sugar cravings: Cutting out sugar remove a lot of calories. If one eliminates sugar-laden foods, you eliminate calories from fat and refined starches as well. Sugar is linked to various illness and conditions. It is the major culprit to the increase in obesity and weight gain in the Philippines.

Move: Most often people gain weight because of lesser movements. One may go all out at the gym only to lose all the benefits after it. Like seating for a long period of time between 30 to 60 minutes throughout the day, take a few standing breaks and move around. Standing breaks can help you circulate your blood and increase your heart rate and metabolism. 

Exercise in moderation: Doing too much exercise is not good. Your knees, joints and muscles will take its toll and you get injured instead. Your muscle and joints will thank you for it. Take  a day off every week. Do short, high interval training then take the rest of day off. Unfortunately, most of your hard earned fitness level can go away within two weeks. Your VO2 max (maximum oxygen one can utilize) plunges in the first month of inactivity. For highly trained athletes, it decreases by 7 to 9% between 12 to 21 days after stopping training.

As the day gets shorter and the weather gets cooler, you know it is the Christmas season.  So aside from showing others that you love them, start loving and taking care of yourself. Do what is needed to be done. By simply following a few tips, you will go a long way in making yourself fitter, stronger and healthier this Christmas. 

SIDELINE: Congratulations to Green team for winning the Parents Basketball Association (PBA) Christmas League of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu. Led by its captain ball Niño Barte, Team Green is also composed of Reggie Bancale, Roy Miligegabon, Jojo Redoble, Reggie Regidor, Rodji Montenegro, Clyve Tumulak, Ramil Cortes, Makoy, Jhong Lastimosa, Jamel Macasamat, Sir Angeles, Alex Yu, and Anthony Santillan. Thanks to SHS-Ateneo de Cebu President Fr. Manny Uy, athletic director Rico Navarro, Jhong Sandoval, Jotham Cruz and Benjie Siasoyco for making the event possible. www.alanchoachuy.com