Holiday exercise: Don't get too nutty

Let's say that you do like the fruitcake.

Good stuff. The Mayo Clinic even provides a recipe online.

"The whole grains and seeds in this recipe add a taste of earlier times to this holiday classic," the clinic's nutritionist notes.

So it can't be all bad.

But since your relatives and neighbors all know you're a fruitcake aficionado, it can be a lot. There's the matter of working it off.

We asked Kathleen McInnis, fitness manager at Park Center Health and Fitness in Glenview, for tips. Not on recipes, but on exercising over the holidays.

The holidays can be an outlier, a rift in the force that is one's normal schedule. Perhaps it is more free and open, which can lead to a lot of relaxation. Or maybe the holidays mean nonstop action that cuts into one's ability to stick to a workout regimen.

"Time is of the essence, it seems like, with everybody's schedule," said McInnis, with Park Center for 19 years.

It sounds so simple yet can stall the best-intentioned: Put one foot in front of the other and make it out the door.

"Tell yourself you're just going to go out for 10 minutes, something short. Chances are, once you get started, you'll go out for much longer," McInnis said.

"I'd love to say that works for everybody, I know it doesn't. But I find a lot of times (the key is) just getting started."

(That includes the old saw regarding those still chained to a chair at work, be it office or home. It's best to move around a bit once every so often, even if it's only getting up and walking around, McInnis said.)

The main elements McInnis returns to involve time and accountability. Goals help keep people motivated, and so do workout buddies. It's not so easy to blow off exercise when it also affects someone else.

On her calendar, McInnis plans her routine on a weekly basis so she has it there in front of her each day. She's one of those morning workout people, but not everyone is. People find afternoon or evening workouts to be good for de-stressing or relaxation, she said.

"I always tell people to find the time that works best for you," McInnis said, acknowledging that time can slip away during the busy holidays.

A habit is a good thing to have when it's tied to an exercise routine.

Breaking up the holidays with a brief walk or stretch would register as a "minor goal," but those are better than none.

McInnis said health guidelines recommend at least 20 minutes of exercise, three to four times a week, so the holiday onslaught may be skirted with 10 minutes in the morning and 10 at night, if necessary.

"Whatever you can personally fit in," she said. "20, 30 minutes would be nice if you can fit it in. But if you can't for whatever reason, just tell yourself that it's OK; there's always another day."

That's the spirit.

Health facilities obviously have exercise classes, which can be a motivator to maintain a routine through the holidays. There are also running clubs, cycling clubs, and the like.

It's hard not to make friends in those environments. Cultivating those relationships leads not only to physical benefits but emotional benefits - "which we all know now is just as important," McInnis said.

Since that fruitcake should last through the current geological epoch, New Year's resolutions should be addressed.

A website called Discover Happy Habits said that, in 2020, among people who make New Year's resolutions, the most popular one for 50% of respondents was to exercise more. It didn't break it down by category, but the Discover Happy Habits people said in 2019, only 7% of survey respondents stuck to all their resolutions while 19% kept some of them.

Slow and steady, without the burden of domineering self-expectation or self-shaming, is the key. McInnis said it takes 21 days to form a habit; her goal at Park Center is for her clients to advance past that.

"Have fun, set realistic goals, especially with New Year's," McInnis said. "Don't just jump in there trying to work out an hour every day. Start slowly and progress."