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Holiday Fitness Tips: 9 Shortcuts From Top Celebrity Trainers

Holiday Fitness

The Huffington Post   First Posted: 12/22/2011 7:41 am Updated: 12/22/2011 8:14 am

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For many, the December holiday season is marked by parties, visits home and a feeling of shared celebration. But all that reveling (the rich meals! the long nights of drinking!) can spell disaster for a carefully maintained fitness and weight-management program. Is there a way to have your eggnog and drink it too? We asked four celebrity trainers to weigh in on respecting your health without missing out on all the fun.

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"The holidays are stressful as it is, but we instinctively choose the exact opposite of what we really need to reduce that stress," says Tony Horton, who created the P90X fitness system and is known for training classic-rock icons like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. He's referring to sedentary holiday activities and diet-busting food traditions. "In reality -- the thing that makes the holidays more fun and relaxing is healthy living."

Horton sees the holidays as an opportunity to use physical activity not just for weight loss, but for better mental health. And that means we can't stay curled up on the couch -- we've got to get out and get moving. "When you move physically, you sleep better," says Horton. "And when you sleep better, you're less stressed, so your cortisol levels are lower and you are less likely to eat high-fat, high-sugar foods as a result. And when you sleep better, you're less stressed, so your cortisol levels are lower and you are less likely to eat high-fat, high-sugar foods as a result. And when you eat better, you sleep better too -- it's a cycle."

While a couple of days off is fine, Horton advises clients to work out regularly during any remaining holiday time. Since schedules are particularly crunched during the busy holiday season, he says it's okay to go for shorter workouts that last 20 or 30 minutes rather than a full hour. "Something is always better than nothing," he says.
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Already know how you'll stay in shape over the holidays? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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For many, the December holiday season is marked by parties, visits home and a feeling of shared celebration. But all that reveling (the rich meals! the long nights of drinking!) can spell disaster for...
For many, the December holiday season is marked by parties, visits home and a feeling of shared celebration. But all that reveling (the rich meals! the long nights of drinking!) can spell disaster for...
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GBLGTS
1 Fans
08:21 AM on 12/24/2011
Ride your bike!
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breeze666
0 Fans
07:09 AM on 12/24/2011
I enjoyed the article. Natlie is a great person
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Mellow2012
4 Fans
06:22 AM on 12/24/2011
Natalie is very beautiful, sexy and a very good actress.
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sja8800
30 Fans
10:16 PM on 12/23/2011
If you don't have time to excerise..........don't let em take pictures
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DDonKK
0 Fans
10:12 PM on 12/23/2011
Over the Nat already. There's a fat actress in there fighting her way out.
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topmind
37 Fans
08:21 PM on 12/23/2011
Who needs workouts? What is wrong with sex? It limbers you up, is exercise, is generally pleasant and you get a sweat... unless you lie there like a body bag.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jgarma
95 Fans
12:27 AM on 12/24/2011
Well, strangely, for some of us one is more accessible than the other. If you can't be with the one you love, you can exercise.
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yeahooski
20 Fans
05:34 PM on 12/23/2011
I have an exercise for Natalie! :-)
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jgarma
95 Fans
03:58 PM on 12/23/2011
All worthy ideas, but I'm intrigued by what "health hacker" Tim Ferris says on the subject in his book, The 4-Hour Body.

He experimented on himself to see how a day of binge eating could have no effect on his weight or body fat. He ate over six times his normal calorie consumption. During the day, he took certain supplements, did simple, short exercises and started the binge day off with a specific breakfast.

The bottom line is that it worked. Read more about it at Overeat and Gain No Weight, here:
http://wp.me/pA04z-Qk
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robertaruth
The answer is in the music
285 Fans
06:03 PM on 12/23/2011
Am I missing something? One day of binge eating doesn't necessary affect one's weight, especially one who is fit and in good health.

It's the diet over a period of time that affects your weight -- the time depending on factors such as age, activity level, metabolism, and genetics. That's why they say when you diet you shouldn't weigh yourself every day.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jgarma
95 Fans
12:25 AM on 12/24/2011
You're absolutely right.

What "Overeat and Gain No Weight" is addressing is that binging adds up. One day a year is nothing, but a day or two each week is meaningful.

In March, I wrote a post called One Less Cookie = 10 Less Pounds http://wp.me/pA04z-re which underscored the math that eating 100 calories a day above what is used for metabolism + movement will, over 365 days, add 10 pounds of fat.

Such a consistent over consumption of calories is not binging and is not the focus of the Tim Ferris binge-relief method. Rather, it's for those who, ideally, know when they'll be consciously overeating during a specific time period, or who can try to mitigate the effects right before and after by applying the Principles described.
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glennet
66 Fans
01:39 AM on 12/24/2011
I saw a British TV show where they got a group of normal weight people to binge eat for a couple of weeks. One gained a lot of fat, one gained muscle, one felt nauseous all the time so quit and one stayed the same, or even lost a little weight.
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servetheempress
12 Fans
03:44 PM on 12/23/2011
Yeah..like that no talent Portman really needed a personal trainer. She didn't freaking do any real dancing in there !
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BeboReba
8 Fans
05:02 PM on 12/23/2011
Having sex uses a lot of tiny muscles you don’t normally use during the course of the day. Portman met choreographer Millepied on the set of Black Swan. She and her ballerina boyfriend are now the parents of a lil boy..Dirty Dancin?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
covyzoo
God loves you and I'm trying
76 Fans
12:13 AM on 12/24/2011
Portman did do the dancing in that movie. What are you talking about?
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ThePersonalTrainer
0 Fans
01:49 PM on 12/23/2011
If you can do an intense workout for about 20 minutes most days of the week during the holiday season you can maintain your fitness levels. You may lost a little mass, but not much. Your cardiorespiratory endurance and strength can be maintained.
Thanks,
ThePersonalTrainer
Kisar Dhillon
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samknox
77 Fans
07:25 PM on 12/24/2011
"The" Personal Trainer?

Surely there's more than one.
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ThePersonalTrainer
0 Fans
09:50 PM on 12/24/2011
No, there is only one:) I was surprised that name was available. Thanks for reading my comment, I really appreciate it. Have a great Holiday & New Year!
Thanks,
Kisar Dhillon
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colin72
205 Fans
03:10 PM on 12/22/2011
"Stay Fit Over The Holidays: Celeb Trainers Share 9 Secrets"

1) Become rich like the people who hire us so that you can hire us.
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LosDiablos
He jests at scars that never felt a wound
46 Fans
03:25 PM on 12/23/2011
2) Gorge like a madman, then upchuck at least three tims a day.
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SammieIAmmie
27 Fans
04:19 PM on 12/23/2011
3) Since you are a rich celebrity, just get lipo after the holidays.
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