Give yourself a break.

It's that time of the year when half the population is eating their body weight in chocolate and promising themselves they are going to get fit and lose in January.

And another smaller group of people are panicking that they will not be able to go the gym on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, wondering when they will fit in arm day. And waking up in a cold sweat about their fat percentage increasing by 1% when the ambassador offers them one more ferrero rocher.

Why yes ambassador I will have another Ferrero Rocher (and tomorrow I will spend 3 hours in the gym guilt ridden).

This is aimed at the second group of people.

A break from training for a week or so will not make any difference unless:-

• You are training for the 2018 Olympics.
• You have a 100 mile race in late January.
• You are stepping on stage and need to be contest ready in the middle of January.

If none of these apply give yourself a break.

A break will do you good.

This a good time for a deload week or two. Go easy, have some back off sessions, no heavy lifting, or if you are a runner some easy runs.

You may not be near your usual gym or usual running routes. Take some time to do something different. Do the opposite of what you normally do, if you normally lift heavy go for a jog or a run, if you normally do endurance work then do some body weight work or mobility.

If you normally train 4 or 5 times a week and can't guarantee your normal routine or you're not sure how many times a week you can train then go total body.

For example, pick one exercise from each of the following:

Vertical Pull

Vertical Push

Horizontal Pull

Horizontal Push

Quad dominant

Hip Dominant

Accessory - core/ arms/ whatever

Which could be something like:-

Latpulldown

Dumbbell shoulder press

Seated Row

Lunge or goblet squat

Leg curl or dumbbell RDL

Plank or some bicep/ tricep supersets

2-3 sets of 10 to 15 reps.

Or if you don't have access to any equipment then try a simple body weight routine:

Press up

Body weight squat

Do a simple a ladder up routine, 1 rep of each then 2,3,4,5,6 up to 20.

Other things to consider:

A simple Christmas mobility routine, you spend days on end sitting down in a chair or in car stuck in traffic or stooped over a stove (or over a pint), time to reverse posture.

Something like:

Cat camel

Bird dog

Downward dog

Updog

Spidermans with overhead reach

Half kneeling hip flexor stretch with over head reach

Sit back into hamstring/ half splits stretch

Finish in puppy dog pose.

This is the type of routine you can bust out in your Christmas jumper. (In fact I will film it later this week and post it up).

But most importantly - ITS OKAY TO TAKE A DAY OFF!

Think outside the box.

You are in a house that has been centrally heated to the same temperature as the Sahara. This is a chance to do some heat acclimatization training for that desert race you have been considering. Put on your running kit and rucksack and run up and down the stairs.

Mass building phase. Been trying to bulk up and put on weight but can never get enough calories in? Now is your chance, you should have protein and carbs coming out of your ears. For once you can hit those 6000 calories. Train hard up to until Christmas day, over reach as  much as possible, then sit back and let the super-compensation happen while you watch you favourite Christmas film. You are literally resting for mass. Your biceps and quads will be growing as you lay there with the meat sweats.

How much does that turkey weigh? Quick press it over head for maximum reps before putting it in the oven, a chance for a sneaky shoulder workout.

Always wanted to get photo shoot ready? Now's your chance. Go low carb for the week before hand. Then start drinking alcohol from 8am Christmas day, bucks fizz, wine and beer should dehydrate you nicely combined with the indoor greenhouse, then add in all those carbs. Next thing you know, your muscles have refilled with glycogen, all the water has been drawn out from under your skin, you will be pumped and ripped and all you need to do is find someone to give you a fake tan on Boxing Day and get ready for that photoshoot. (Ask for a fake tanning kit as a gift, problem solved).

Burpee drink penalty. Every time you have a drink do 10 burpees.

Exercise food label. Use your Christmas gift tags to label the exact number of minutes of exercise it will take to burn off the calories in the food. Yes, labelling every Quality Street or Heroes will take some time.

Sleep penalty. First person to fall asleep has to do 50 mountain climbers or is made to join a crossfit gym in the new year.

Christmas cracker exercises. Get those crackers that you can put your own gifts and jokes in. Instead of jokes put in exercise routines. What better way to start dinner than 25 jumping jacks.

Television penalty. If anyone mentions any soap opera christmas special, 1000 burpee penalty. Enforce this.

Exercise charades. You have to mime a sport and everyone has to guess which one. For crossfitters, WOD charades, you start doing a WOD and everyone has to guess which one, of course that is Kelly or is that Fran? Wear the crossfit gear you got as a present while you do this.

Weighted cups and cutlery. You can be working on your biceps all day long. A great stocking filler.

Baileys protein shake. Of course you can put Baileys in a protein shake. And yes, I've now decided this is a real thing.

Protein eggnog. See above.

Alternatively, relax. Don't be so hard on yourself. Go for a walk in the fresh air. Don't get too stressed. All your progress will not be undone in one week. Consistency always wins, if you're consistent the rest of the year, give yourself a well earned break and enjoy yourself.

Christmas dinner is basically lean meat and vegetables. And if you are in the UK Boxing Day is more lean meats and vegetables.

All the stats about people putting on weight at Christmas and never losing it are about sedentary people with crappy diets all year round.

And as long as you don't drink until your liver dissolves or eat until you go into insulin shock, you'll be okay.

And hey, there's always next year.

May the Kwanzaa-bot bring you everything you wished for.

Happy Christmas one and all.