It can be hard to prioritise looking after yourself when things are busy, especially during the festive season. Keep reading for our top tips to help you rest and recover for a healthier holiday season.
Try your best to eat well
The end of the year is usually a time where a diet, or eating well, goes out the window.
When you’re ready (whether that’s Boxing Day or it can wait until the New Year), get back into your normal routine and begin your journey back to a healthier you.
This can mean starting slowly by:
- Swapping any soft drink you’d normally drink for water
- Eating fewer(but not cutting out!) snack foods, like chips and chocolate
- Eating more vegetables with lunch or dinner to get closer to eating five serves of vegetables a day
- Going for a walk after dinner to get at least 30 minutes of exercise in daily
Warm up and cool down before exercising
If you want to start early on your New Years Resolutions and begin exercising, we love the enthusiasm!
However, if you haven’t exercised consistently recently, it’s important to warm up and cool down before you begin exercising.
Warming up can help prevent injuries and reduce soreness after your workout and can be as simple as walking lunges, arm swings and leg kicks.
Cooling down is also essential as it helps your body return to its normal state after exercising. Some cool down exercises you can try are stretching or light walking.
Know how to recover from muscle strains or injuries
Overdoing it while exercising is easier than you think, so it’s important to take care of your muscles after exercising.
If you’ve exercised too much, you may find that you’re suffering from muscle soreness, constant fatigue and needing longer periods of rest to recover and get back to the same level you were at before your workout.
Some things that can help muscle strains and injuries are1:
- Resting the injured area
- Using ice packs or ice to help reduce inflammation in the area
- Depending on the injury, raising the elevated area above heart height
- Avoiding heat, running or alcohol in the first 72 hours after the injury as this can increase swelling
Some final thoughts
While the holiday season can be one of overindulgence and celebration, that doesn’t mean that you have to go into the New Year without feeling rested and refreshed.
You can also explore our Recover and Re-Energise Christmas gifting range here.
References
1Better Health Victoria, Sprains and strains, accessed 19 November 2024