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Butcher's Dog! Regular
outdoor fitness tips from the canine on creatine. Cold wet
nose and glossy coat guaranteed.
Have A Healthy
Christmas!
Christmas is great, great for eating too
much, drinking too much, putting on a load of excess weight
and generally feeling like a bloater, but it doesn't have to
be that way. Follow our simple guidelines and you could have
a happy, healthy outdoors Christmas...
Go for a walk on Christmas
Day...
It might sound like heresy, but Christmas
morning is blissful for walking or running. It doesn't have
to be an epic, though if you're local to the hills a good
four-hour stomp is nice, just getting out and doing
something in the open air will set you up for a cracking
Christmas lunch or dinner. Don't worry, you can go for
around a week without exercise without losing significant
amounts of fitness, but it's a great psychological boost to
get out and do something active. You'll feel less like a
couch spud and more like an outdoors athlete. And if you
can't get into the hills, try a run or bike ride. London's
never felt so healthy.
Go Easy On The Bad
Things...
No one's saying you should abstain from
chocolate, chipolatas and festive booze, but come on, do
you really need to scoff that entire family-sized Toblerone
before dinner - yes, the OM editor once did that - instead,
fill up with turkey , which is a pretty lean, healthy meat,
sprouts and, erm, festive salad. Watch out for roast
potatoes saturated with basting fat, chocolate and nuts,
which contain handy protein but a load of fat as
well.
Booze, of course, is, well, rather nice
at Christmas time, but don't overdo it. Alcohol is stuffed
full of empty calories, and at 7 calories per gramme, has
only 2 calories per gramme less energy in it than fat.
Hmmm.... Plus you can't even carbo load on it as the stuff
is processed slowly in the liver rather than going straight
to the muscles. Don't forget to drink water as well, you
dehydrate fast and rehydrate slowly and, of course, alcohol
is a serious diuretic.
See this previous Butcher's Dog
article
for more depressing info on the demon booze. But hey, go
easy and you might even enjoy a proper day out on Boxing
Day...
Motivational Presents
Ask for some stuff that'll motivate you
to get or stay fit - it could be a climbing guide book, a
coffee table trekking manual or a new heart rate monitor if
you're feeling serious. It'll help to keep you focussed and
help you turn down that tempting fifth helping of Christmas
Pudding.
The Get Out Clause
Okay, maybe you have no willpower at all.
So, what can you do? Our advice is to take a leaf out of
American alpinism guru Mark Twight's book and use the whole
things as a spur. Pig out, get wrecked, forget about
walking, climbing, scrambling and biking for a day or two,
but when you emerge two stone heavier, feeling like death
and barely capable of movement, use the SELF DISGUST you
feel as a motivator to train, walk or climb, longer and
harder.
Finally
This probably doesn't need to be said,
but there are a few things you shouldn't do at Christmas.
Never, ever, eat the tinsel. Never steal Santa's milk and
cookies - it's bad karma and he'll be back to get ya - and
don't be tempted to smoke pine needles... Never borrow your
nephew's brand new bike and try to show him your stylish BMX
tricks and don't be tempted to snog Santa, it can play havoc
with your hormones.
And last of all, never, ever go climbing
after an alchol-fuelled Christmas dinner. Unless it's a
chimney route of course where wedged guts are the order of
the day.
And above all, have a good
one.
The Butcher's Dog
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