Thanks to the people at Progressive Coaching we’ve got some essential advice on getting through Christmas without letting all that turkey, pudding and mince pies slow you down.

1. Be careful what you eat

At Christmas there’s a lot of extra food about, so watch what you eat.
As you’ve been training hard up to Christmas you should continue to watch
your weight. If you eat the odd mince pie, slice of Christmas cake, brandy sauce
and/or chocolates, you are going to be increasing your intake of calories.

There are just 3500 calories in each pound of fat and having 2 extra mince pies
with cream a day will put on that pound in a week! Let alone the chocolates
and other naughty foods. So be careful!

2. Get out and do some more training

As we have a few extra days off over the Christmas period get out on the bike
for some extra hours. Aim to ride for a progressively longer period of time
as the days progress on the bike at a low heart rate. This will help to burn
some of those extra calories when you can’t resist the mince pies and cream.
Additionally you could put in an hour of high intensity work on the turbo whilst
the family is snoozing on the sofa. A Christmas day ride is particuarly sweet!

3. Resist the Alcohol

Staying away from the alcohol can be tricky but the key here is to have an excuse
ready. Excuses like I’ve got a club run in the morning, I’ve got to drive to
the bike shop sale, I have to take my medicine in the morning (a bike ride)
and can’t drink, are good. If you are forced into it try to have one alcoholic
drink and then one soft drink. Remember that if you wake up in the morning with
a hangover you are going to be much less likely to want to go out on that new
shiny bike!

If you want some top coaching advice you can contact Dan Bennett at Progressive Cycle Coaching. Email: [email protected] , or visit the website: www.progressivecyclecoaching.co.uk, or phone: 0779 120 99 27