With Christmas right around the corner, this time of year can be difficult to stay fit and healthy. Consider implementing some of these tips into you lifestyle and kickstart your new years weight-loss resolution early!

Lifestyle

Implement your bike rides into a new healthy lifestyle, cycling 3 hours every day is unsustainable, find a mix that allows you to incorporate exercise even on your busiest days. Even 30 minutes a day will help lead to weight loss and can be easily slotted into your morning routine, lunch time break or evening wind down.

Rest

It is super important to give your body time to recover after a hard session. It can sometimes be difficult to take a break when you’re in the swing of things but even 1-2 days off will allow your body to recover and it will reward you for doing so. You could use these days for active recovery and go out for a walk instead but try to stay away from doing the same thing every day or you will burn out.

Progress

There will be some days when you don’t feel like heading out on your bike. Consider taking progress photos or measurements to remind yourself of how far you have come and install some extra motivation into your mind!

Sleep

The power of sleep is often underestimated. Have you ever tried to workout tired? It doesn’t go very well does it! Aim for 7+ hours of sleep and you’ll be so much more up for the bike ride and you’ll have more energy to do it too! Not to mention, your body uses this time to recover, regain energy and set you up for the following day.

Diet

To see some real progress, and in a timely manner, you will need to make sure your diet is good too. There is no point doing all the hard exercise work and just having a takeaway every night! Supplement your exercise routine with a healthy diet and occasional treat for a sustainable and effective weight loss journey. Don’t forget, balance is key – you should definitely have a treat every once in a while!

High Intensity

A high intensity workout will burn more calories. Incorporate some HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) into your bike ride for optimum results.

Switch it up

Try to mix up what you do to save you from getting bored. Incorporating other exercise methods or even just switching up your cycling routes will help to stop you from getting tired and fed up of the same workout. Keep it fresh and fun by switching it up.

Partner

It can be a good idea to find someone with the same goals as you. Surround yourself with people also looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle and they can help encourage you to get there. It also makes riding in the winter months more fun and enjoyable when you’ve got someone else there spurring you along.

Make a plan

Fail to plan, plan to fail. Have an idea of what you’re trying to achieve and how you’re going to do it. Make achievable goals that will aid you in achieving your weight loss. A good and healthy place to start is -2lbs a week. And how are you going to do this? With 3 x 30 minute bike rides and 2 x 60 minute bike rides? Find a plan and routine that works for you, to work towards your goals.

Hopefully this will act as a little motivation and direction for your fitness journey. There is no better time to start than now.