Images: Instagram (@mishbridges)
Be honest: when we say ‘Christmas’, fitness is probably the last word you think of.
The festive season is synonymous with champagne flutes, floating in backyard pools and, of course, unleashing the inner glutton on December 25. But even if your holiday schedule is brimming with these very, ahem, important activities, we’re willing to bet there’s ample room in there to squeeze in a workout or two.
If you ask Michelle Bridges, “no time!” just isn’t a good enough excuse.
We spoke to the fitness guru to get her take on how to make exercise happen during a time when, ahem, no one wants to do any.
Michelle Bridges’ 6 tips for surviving the festive season.
"What do you think the number one reason why people say they can't exercise is? And what do you think you've got bags of on holidays? So we can't really talk ourselves out of that one," the fitness guru says.
"The holidays is the best time to make sure you can get your training in. [You're] not having to do it at some disgusting hour like 5am; having a shower in the gym showers which, let's be honest, isn't exactly very nice; and rushing to get to work so you only get 45 minutes in when you'd rather have an hour.
5 of the best travel exercise hacks
"On holidays you can train at a more reasonable hour ... and you've usually got a little more time to enjoy the workout. Plus you can do more active things outdoors, rather than sitting at your desk, even though you may train once a day. On your holidays you can get your training in, but you can be a lot more active."
Need some inspiration? Here's how the stars work out on holiday...
Celebrities who stay fit on holiday
Michelle recommends doing your exercise in the morning over the Christmas break, so you don't have to even think about it for the rest of the day.
"I like getting it out of the way, getting the monkey off the back, so to speak - I don't like having it over my head. I like going about my day going, 'aha, I've already done my training session, yay!'"
She also applies this philosophy to the big day itself. Yes, this is probably quite a controversial idea for those of us who like to wake up on Christmas morning and immediately attack the croissants, but apparently there are a lot of people who start the day with a workout.