The holidays can trigger mood fluctuations for people. People assume that others are enjoying themselves and spending time with family, but for some of us, the holiday season can be more stressful and lonelier than any other time of the year.
Buying gifts can lead to financial stress.
Seeing everyone’s family photos can be a reminder that we may not have our loved ones with us.
Sometimes, the cold and dark are enough to make us depressed.
No matter what degree of holiday blues you deal with, we make a special effort at Lobo to keep your spirits high during this time of year.
How do we do that?
We have a Thanksgiving WOD, we host an annual Christmas party, and we run a competition in early December (click here now to register if you haven’t yet).
Why do we offer these things?
Namely, we do so because of the support that being in a community offers us.
When the holidays start, we often practice a bad habit of slowing down… a little too much. We suddenly do nothing at all, and it’s really the lack of activity that can put us into a deeper funk than usual.
We often tell people when they walk into the gym stressed out that they’re going to feel so much better after they work out.
It’s cliche, but it’s true. Activity of all sorts, whether it’s physically moving or keeping your schedule somewhat full, keeps your spirits high.
Doing these activities with other people helps even more.
We want you to join us for the events we have going on throughout the holiday season, but we also want to encourage you to sign up for the Winter Brawl if you haven’t already!
Here are 3 reasons why competing can help you beat the holiday blues:
1. Consistency helps keep your spirits high
When the holidays roll around, we tend to take our foot off the pedal and go into hibernation until it’s “New Year, New You” time.
That’s not a small amount of time, though! We have a full month and a half between now and January 1st. That’s 12% of the year!
Not only is that a LONG time to do a whole lot of nothin’, there’s also something that happens energetically when you put off your goals until the new year.
It makes it that much harder to will yourself to “get back to it” when January 1st rolls around.
Let me prove it to you.
If you’ve been coming to the gym for some time, you already know that it’s a lot easier to consistently work out 2-3 times a week than it is to do nothing for a month and a half then hop back into a crazy workout routine.
Same idea applies here.
Lucky for you, competing in the Winter Brawl is not some epic annual event like the Boston Marathon, where you’ll end the day passed out on the ground with bloody nipples (ouch).
The Winter Brawl is more like a 5k; you know you can wake up and do it any day of the year, so it offers you just the right amount of accountability to keep you coming to the gym and eating mostly OK for the next few weeks.
Then, before you know it, January 1st will come around, and you won’t feel the stress of needing to eat celery stalks and do two a days to play “catch up.” (Sounds terrible.)
2. You Gain Confidence & Resilience Going into the Holidays
There’s no better feeling in CrossFit than feeling like you accomplished something you never have before. If we can look beyond the tears in our eyes, we tend to feel that every day after a WOD.
Competing offers you the same thing but more of it!
You complete 3-4 work outs in a day, pushing yourself harder than you ever have before, and you have a crowd of people cheering you on all day.
At the end of it, you can’t help but think, “Wow, I just completed a CrossFit competition. If I can do THAT, what else can I do?”
Handling the pressure and nerves of being center stage gives you an empowering feeling, and that confidence helps to keep your spirit elevated during the holiday season.
3. You’re Actually Excited for the New Year (And Already Way Ahead)
As Bianca mentioned in this video, doing a competition will set a new standard for you personally.
You’ll leave the Brawl with motivation and excitement to continue your new level of performance for weeks and months to come!
Last year, I did the Winter Brawl, and I was so pumped afterward, I signed up for 12 weeks of nutrition coaching with Bianca. I PR’d anywhere from 12 to 15 times, on both my lifts and WODs, in just the first three months of the year! My training had never been that good OR fun.
Same goes for you. After doing the Brawl, you’ll be on fire for the New Year!
When January 1st rolls around, everyone around you will be saying, “Time to get back to it,” but you’ll already be five steps ahead.
Sign up now!
This week is the LAST week to register for the Winter Brawl. We’ll have swag, t-shirts, and a chance for you to win prizes.
If you’ve ever considered competing, the Winter Brawl is a GREAT first-time competition. Our WODs are challenging enough for veteran competitors and accessible enough for newbies. The only thing we expect is for everyone to have a good time and be a good sport.
Registration closes THIS WEEKEND! Grab a partner and register for the competition TODAY!
Then head on over to Facebook and click “Going” let us know you’ll be there.
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