December 2016 | MensHealth.com 69TAKE THE LONG VIEW A single
workout the day of your holi-
day party won’t do you as much
good as a bunch of hard work-
outs in the weeks leading up
to it. So train like you’re trying
to win something: An athlete’s
program is typically three
intense weeks followed by an
easier recovery week. During
that fourth week, the focus is
on resting and eating a bit more
to adapt to the prior increase
in activity. This is actually a
great approach for the holidays,
says Michael Blevins, a Salt
Lake City trainer who prepared
Henry Cavill to play Superman.
“Use the first three weeks of
December to work out harder
than usual, and the last week,
from Christmas Eve to New
Year’s Eve, to recover,” he says.
“That way the extra food and
drink won’t disrupt your body
composition all that much.”
TRAIN WITH PURPOSE Before you
dive in on December 1, set a per-
formance goal, says Blevins.
“That gives you more direction
and motivates you to exercise
harder,” he says. Over the course
of the month, you could aim
to drop your mile-run time, hit
a cycling mileage distance, do
more pullups, or strengthen your
squat or bench press. Along the
way you’ll see definite improve-ments—you’ll run faster or lift
heavier—which will make you
eager to exercise again.
GET AFTER IT Now work your ass
off to reach your goal. For the
first three weeks of your train-
ing, exercise as hard as you can
three days a week, says Bobby
Maximus, general manager of
Gym Jones in Salt Lake City. If
you’re chasing an endurance
goal, bring your heart rate as high
as you can sustain for the dis-
tance, or a rate at which you can’t
talk while you’re training.
If your goal is strength, use the
heaviest weights you can while
still completing your workout. “A
good sign that you’re going hard
enough is if you want to quit half-
way through,” Maximus says. For
two days a week, do workouts
that are more relaxed and that
improve your weaknesses and
mobility. These help you dodge
injury and recover quicker.
FIND YOUR CREW Since you’re
training like an athlete, you
might as well connect with a
team. December is when cyclists
and triathletes are building a
fitness base for the competitive
season and CrossFitters are
ramping up for the CrossFit
Open. “Jumping in with any of
those groups will ensure that
you’re surrounded by people
who don’t slack off,” says Blevins.Redefine Holiday Fitness
Your usual workout won’t likely stave off the coming
bloat. Adjust your approach with these strategies.Uwe Umstätter/Westend61/Offset (pushup)
Meat, eggs,
seafood, and
vegetables fill you
up faster, so you’ll
eat less. Cookies,
though delicious,
won’t do that.When you select your food, pri-
oritize two key components: pro-
tein and fiber. The more of these
nutrients you consume, the faster
you’ll feel full, which will ulti-
mately lead you to eat less over-
all. What that means at the buffet:
Seek out shrimp cocktail, meat-
balls, vegetables, deviled eggs, or
cold cuts like turkey and ham.4
Nosh Away
Don’t feel as if you have to eat
both the appetizer and the main
course. In fact, researchers at
Drexel University found that peo-
ple who ate a delicious appetizer
rated their entrée as less enjoy-
able than people who had a medi-
ocre appetizer. If you know you
enjoy a particular app, put it on
your plate and treat it like a meal.5
Skip the Entrée