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Okay gang, you’ve hopefully seen my recent post where I mentioned I’ll be training James for our annual 5k Turkey Trot, and challenged y’all to join along. If you missed that, here’s the dealio. You sign up for a Thanksgiving 5k this year, and I’ll help you get in tip top shape for it by providing you with training plans!
If you haven’t committed yet, I’d love to change that. Here are the reasons why I think you should join us on this fun little fitness endeavor.
Thanksgiving 5k in Cottonwood Heights, UT 2014.
You’ll go into the holiday season already fit and in better shape. There are 35 days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, and research shows we’re at our worst fitness-wise during that window. According to Women’s Health, you can lose up to 20% percent of your cardiovascular fitness by New Year’s if you quit exercising after Thanksgiving. If you get yourself in the habit of exercising NOW, you’ll already have a leg up on your fitness and chances are you’ll keep it up after the Thanksgiving 5k.
The calories you burn from the Thanksgiving Day event will offset the overeating later in the day. Exercise is a big metabolism booster. People who exercise burn more calories, even long after their exercise session has ended. With that sort of caloric deficit, they get to eat a little more while still maintaining a healthy physique. That’s especially great news on days like Thanksgiving, when food is the focus, and there are temptations aplenty. A body belonging to someone who exercises is going to be way more forgiving with the turkey day gorgefest than someone sedentary. But let me be clear. I’m not giving you exercisers a pass to gorge on Thanksgiving…you just get to eat a little more than most if you did a 5k that morning.
You’ll start a new holiday tradition for you and your loved ones. This has been the BEST part for James and me. Our kids and grandkids have come to expect this little family tradition, and we always meet Thanksgiving morning with our running shoes and turkey hats on. It’s such a great way to kick off the day. You’ll leave the event energized, excited, and ready for whatever’s next…so much better than sitting around a TV all morning. You can do that any day. Do something different, something maybe a little out of character, and something together!
Having an event to work for, and a goal in mind, will give you great motivation! Let’s face it. Exercise can be so, so hard. If it was easy, we’d all be in shape. Trying to find the motivation to get started is huge obstacle. But, something almost magical happens once you officially sign up for an event like this one. You’ll actually find yourself driven to train for it, and you just might even find you like it!
You’ll have me! Yup, it’s true. For what it’s worth, you’ll have access to me, a personal trainer and running expert. You’ll have the weekly workout plans and you can read my advice articles on training smarter. You can leave comments below any of the training posts if you have questions, need advice, or just want to check in. I’m on your team, and will be rooting for you all the way to Thanksgiving.
So, there you go. My reasons why you should start looking for a local Thanksgiving 5k right now, and should sign your whole clan up. I truly hope you will! At this point, it’s in your hands. Only you can take action and make this happen or not. So, what are you going to do?
(here’s hoping!!!!)
xoxo, Trainer Stef
