Worried about your fitness over Christmas? You can drop volume and frequency as long as you keep in the speed.
By Pat Kinsella
With the fridge full, pavlova everywhere, the cake tin bursting with festive fare and treats and sweets lying in ambush around every tinselled corner, temptation is never so hot on your heels as it is around Christmas time. Combine that with intense summer heat – not to mention Champagne sipping sessions with friends and family – and it can soon feel like your fitness is sliding downhill quicker than Santa’s sledge on ice at the tail end of the year. But what if there was a simple way to keep in reasonable shape over the holidays, without having to do anything too horrendous (like saying no to helpings of brandy butter)?
According to a recent study, there is. It found that ‘endurance performance can be maintained for up to 15 weeks when training frequency is reduced to as little as two sessions per week or when exercise volume is reduced by 33-66% (as low as 13-26 minutes per session) as long as intensity is maintained’.
It’s even better news for strength. The study determined that ‘strength and muscle size (at least in younger populations) can be maintained for up to 32 weeks with as little as one session of strength training per week, as long as exercise intensity is maintained’. If you’re an older runner, the research suggests that you may need to do two strength sessions a week to maintain muscle.
Here’s the takeaway for runners: exercise intensity seems to be the key variable for maintaining physical performance over time, even if you significantly reduce the frequency and volume.
The science of detraining
Don’t stress if family commitments, festive travel plans, social occasions or old-fashioned over-indulgence occasionally ‘force’ you into an otherwise unplanned break from your running routine. You really don’t need to worry about muscle atrophy or any loss of fitness whatsoever if you’re just taking a few days off over Christmas.
As Tom Craggs, running coach and National Endurance Manager with England Athletics, expertly explains, three to five days without a single run might leave you feeling a little stodgy, but it’s mostly in your mind. Such micro breaks don’t result in any negative impact to your cardiovascular or muscular fitness – your VO₂ max and cardiac output will remain the same. In fact, you might even get a bit stronger, especially if you have been training hard in the build-up to the festive period, because your body will see the recovery time as a Christmas gift.
Following five or more days of zero exercise, some small physiological changes do start happening, including a drop in blood plasma volume and a decrease in your cardiac output, which means less oxygenated blood will be reaching your muscles. After 10 to 14 days of inactivity, some effects of detraining do kick in: your VO₂ max might dip by as much as 5%, your cardiac muscle may even shrink a bit and your body will become slightly less efficient in several ways, including how it uses glycogen.
Still, don’t panic. All these alarming-sounding changes are quickly reversible once you start running again – it just means that you will feel slightly sluggish during the first few outings. But if you don’t want to start 2026 on the back foot, it’s not hard to avoid this happening – the trick is simple: just keep those legs turning every few days.
Make it social, make it fun
The words ‘planning’ and ‘commitment’ do a lot of heavy lifting here. You are not alone in worrying about your waistline and fitness levels over Christmas, so the best way to tackle the problem is to do it together. Make some firm promises with running buddies that will get you out and about on the trails or tarmac in the days immediately prior to Christmas Eve, then again on those easy-to-lose days in between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Commit to meeting on certain days – twice a week, at an agreed time – and stick to those plans no matter what the weather is doing. Then, make it fun. Stick on a hat or a pair of reindeer antlers and plan routes that take you around the streets with the best Christmas lights, or along paths that pass the most berry-laden holly trees. Pause for selfies or even stop for a cold lemonade or other refreshments mid-run.
Running clubs are excellent at organising such things, but you can simply pair up with a partner and do it, or go solo if you prefer. If you don’t have anyone to go with, it can really help to simply designate two running days per week over the Christmas period and mark them on your event calendar (to counterbalance the advent calendar).
Punctuate these two days of running with a strength and condition session, either at the gym or at home. As runners, it’s tempting to concentrate on conditioning the lower body to keep leg muscles in shape, but core and upper body strength training is excellent for maintaining fitness and form when you’re not running as regularly as normal. Mixed routines are easy to do in DIY fashion at home, by combining exercises such as squats, hip hinges, lunges, steps training, push up and pull ups. Again, don’t rely on doing such sessions if and when you feel like it (which might be never) – mark them on your calendar and be strict with yourself.
Register For an Early-January Summer Running Event
Stay motivated and accountable over the festive season by signing up for a summer running event. Whether you’re aiming to start 2026 off with a fun run or a PB, having an event in the calendar is a sure way of keeping consistent.
Kick off your summer in style at Runner’s World Portsea Twilight on 3 January 2026 – a run like no other, set against the stunning backdrop of Point Nepean National Park.
Choose your challenge: the fast and flat 5.5K, the scenic 9.5K, or the Kids Dash – each offering breathtaking views over Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay. We’re excited to return to our iconic Quarantine Station start line, with free Portsea Twilight caps for all 5.5K and 9.5K runners, and finisher medals for every Kids Dash participant.
After crossing the finish line, soak up the summer vibes in our lively Event Village – celebrate with a crisp beer or wine, great company, and unbeatable coastal views.
Don’t miss your chance to start 2026 on the right foot – Portsea Twilight is the perfect blend of fitness, fun, and seaside magic.
