How to stay active over Thanksgiving week

Thanksgiving week has a way of swallowing your routine. There are school breaks, travel days, cooking marathons and a lot of time on the couch watching football. It's easy to decide you'll "start again Monday."

You don't need to train hard this week to come out of it feeling good. You just need to keep the habit alive. A little movement on most days keeps your energy up, helps you sleep and makes it much easier to get back into your regular schedule afterward.

Lower the bar on purpose

The biggest mistake people make during holiday weeks is holding on to an all-or-nothing plan. If your normal week is five hour-long workouts, this week might be three short ones and a couple of walks. That is a win.

Try this simple rule: move for at least 10 minutes every day. Some days that's a walk. Some days it's a full workout. The point is that you never go more than a day without doing something.

A sample Thanksgiving week

Here's what a realistic week might look like. Shuffle the days to fit your plans.

• Monday: Your normal workout or a full gym session. Get one in while your schedule is still normal.
• Tuesday: A 20-minute bodyweight workout at home. Our no-equipment workouts are made for this.
• Wednesday: A group class or a session with a friend. Training with other people makes it more likely you'll show up on a busy day.
• Thursday (Thanksgiving): A morning walk, a neighborhood fun run, or a quick 10-minute circuit before the cooking starts. A family walk after dinner counts too.
• Friday: Skip the shopping lines and go for a longer walk or hike, or do a strength workout while the house is quiet.
• Saturday: Something fun. Play in the yard with the kids, throw a football around, go sledding if there's snow.
• Sunday: Easy stretching and a walk. Set your schedule for the week ahead.

Make movement part of the holiday

The easiest workouts this week are the ones that don't feel like workouts. A few ideas:

• Start a family walk tradition. Right after dinner, before dessert, everyone who wants to goes for a 15-minute walk. It's a great time to talk without screens.
• Get active during the game. Do 10 squats or push-ups at every commercial break, or challenge a sibling to match you.
• Volunteer to be the runner. Carrying groceries, chairs and serving dishes all day adds up.
• Work out with your visitors. Invite family to train with you. See our partner and family workouts for ideas that work for every fitness level.

Time your workouts well

For most people, the morning is the most reliable time during a holiday week. Once the day starts, plans pile up and it's easy for a workout to get pushed out. Even 15 minutes before everyone wakes up protects the habit.

If mornings don't work for you, schedule your workout like an appointment. Put it in your calendar and tell the people around you, so it doesn't get swallowed by the day. At Boom, both our Lehi and Pleasant Grove gyms are open 24/7, so a late-night session after the dishes are done is always an option for members.

Don't forget recovery

Staying active also means taking care of the rest of your body. Holiday weeks often come with less sleep, more travel and more stress. If you feel run down, choose an easy walk or some stretching instead of a hard session. Moving gently is still moving.

Try to keep your sleep schedule close to normal, and drink water through the day, especially if you're traveling. Our guide on managing holiday stress with movement, sleep and routine goes deeper on this.

If you miss a day

You will. Everyone does. A missed workout is not a reason to write off the whole week. Just pick it back up the next day with something short. Consistency over the whole season matters far more than any single day.

If you have a health condition or haven't exercised in a while, check with your doctor before starting a new activity routine.