Why Your Holiday Fitness Plan Fails Every Year
- Josh Gainer
- Nov 20, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 14
The holiday season is upon us.
From Halloween to New Year's Day, someone decides they’re gonna stay perfect through the holidays. The most wonderful time of the year and they’re determined to treat themselves like Scrooge. Strict macros. Ramping up their training program. Stone-cold discipline.
We can already predict how this will turn out for most people.
The resolve breaks down fast. That extra helping of Gran’s Thanksgiving casserole turns into a few too many beers during the Lions game, and your plan turns into a runaway train of “Why Not? I already blew my deficit.” heading straight for a burning building of sweets, carbs, and booze.
When January comes and your holiday-induced bender is finally over, you’ll be starting from square one and wishing you’d had a plan with a little more wiggle room.
You don’t need Spartan resolve through the holidays. You need a mindset and plan that can adapt, and make goals that can take a hit when the environment changes.
Holidays are loud, messy, and fun. Travel. Parties. Crazy uncles you see once a year. And food designed in a lab to be irresistible. Trying to white-knuckle your way through all the merry chaos will just make you miserable.
So, here’s what I do to survive the holidays without blowing my progress or becoming a Grinch:
Adapt my training program for my environment. Even power walking with your great aunt Ethel is better than nothing.
I enjoy the good stuff without turning it into a full-on sprint towards regret. Look up the 80/20 rule for practicals.
Small choices are easy in the moment. If you’re a sucker for sweets, take the pie but forgo the extra helping of mashed potatoes.
This steady effort will keep you balanced. You can ease up on the discipline without totally blowing this year’s progress. You can enjoy the holiday season by being smart and flexible. You can ring in the new year feeling good instead of defeated.
If you want some help setting up a simple program for the holiday season that works in real life, talk to me. We can:
👉 Work on your goals with personalized 1:1 training, or
👉 Get you started in a group class where you’ll stay strong and supported
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