When the New Year’s ball drops, the average American is coming down from a six-week stretch of stress from the holidays, fatigue from travel and a lack of sleep, and sluggishness from excess sugar, alcohol, and seasonal indulgences. And for those who gained unwanted pounds throughout the year, studies show that annual weight gain doubles within this same seasonal timeframe.
Luckily, it’s possible to greet January with a very different — and healthier — tune. With the right structure and support, you can maintain the fun and celebration during the holidays while staying active and on track with your health goals.
How? Enter the Holiday Hustle program, found in the Life Time Digital app or directly from your mobile device.
Led by Coach Anika, RD, CPT, and her digital coaching team, the 20-day Holiday Hustle (complimentary for Life Time members) is part of Life Time’s suite of digital weight loss and training programs. It’s designed to be a low-stress daily movement challenge and provides dietitian-approved versions of many of this season’s favorite recipes, along with practical tips and tricks to handle holiday stress and travel with ease.
Why not wait until the New Year?
Fitness and fun do not need to be mutually exclusive.
While it’s tempting to put health on the back burner during the holiday season and restart fitness and nutrition commitments with a New Year’s resolution, that’s likely to put you in an even more difficult position for change than if you weren’t to wait. Our team of weight-management experts at Life Time have successfully guided thousands of clients to stay or get fit through the holidays — without sacrificing the celebrations and joy of the season.
The month-long approach of this program is packaged up to provide you with the exact strategies that clients have implemented to enjoy the season — and set you up to come out of it ready to take on the New Year without feeling behind with your health and wellness.
What’s included with the Holiday Hustle program?
The program focuses on highly achievable, daily commitments to keep you on track. It features:
20 Daily Express Workouts
The Holiday Hustle provides 15-minute bodyweight-only workouts delivered through the Life Time Digital app. These do not use exercise equipment and are designed so that they can be done anywhere — whether you’re at the club, at home, snowed in, traveling, or in a hotel.
There are five unique workouts within each of these categories below, providing you a total of 20 different pick-and-choose options to sneak in a short and effective workout, no matter what challenges you face during the holidays:
- Upper body
- Lower body
- Core
- Conditioning
- Total body
- Mobility
On days when you have more than 15 minutes to commit to exercise, you can stack and combine these workout to put together a 30-minute, 45-minute, or even 60-minute sweat session. But the challenge is about doing something daily for at least 15 minutes.
Downloadable Holiday Hustle Guide and Recipes
Since the holidays do not usually sync well with the high amount of structure and rigidity of a meal plan, the program provides a more flexible nutritional approach.
You’ll receive guidance on healthy baking swaps and what to prioritize eating to feel your best. The program also comes with 30 delicious and festive recipes to choose from. Some of our favorites include a flavor-packed harvest chicken salad and a savory healthy green bean casserole with shallots. There are also some impressive sweet treats to make and enjoy: think whole-food pecan dessert bars and a high-protein gingersnap shake.
You’ll be able to experience and relish the season while still maintaining steadier energy levels and curbing cravings.
Seasonal Motivation and Tips
There’s no doubt that this time of year can throw some curveballs, including everything from out-of-whack travel routines to seasonal parties with more sugar and alcohol than usual.
Coach Anika offers short educational videos to show you exactly how trainers and nutritionists realistically navigate all of these potential pitfalls. You’ll learn easy ways to manage stress specific to this season, plus get insider tips on what snacks to pack when you’re traveling, which alcoholic beverages to choose and which to avoid (if you partake at all), and a low-key, balanced strategy to be able to healthily enjoy holiday parties and indulgences.
Access to a Coaching Team
After you sign up for the complimentary class, you’ll gain access to Coach Anika’s team of Life Time’s credentialed weight loss and training experts for support — including trainers, nutrition coaches, and registered dietitians. They can help answer your questions through email after you register for the class.
If I’m interested in the Holiday Hustle program, how can I get started?
If you’re a Life Time member, the program is complimentary with your membership. You can find it in the Life Time Digital app (or if you’re on a mobile device, find it directly at this link here).
Once you sign up, you’ll be registered to receive the downloadable guide and motivation from Coach Anika via email, along with the link to access the Holiday Hustle 15-minute express workouts.
If you’re not yet a Life Time member, check out the Life Time Digital Membership — you’ll be able to register for the Holiday Hustle program (along with the rest of our suite of digital programs and offerings) after joining.