How to Stay Consistent With Workouts Through the Holidays: 6 Simple Habits for Busy Christian Moms

Thanksgiving is about a month away, and you can probably already feel it. The calendar is filling up with school stuff, church stuff, travel and birthdays. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, a familiar thought shows up: "I'll get back to it after the holidays."

If that's you, you're not lazy and you're not alone. Here's what I see every year: the holidays get busy, and health is the first thing we push off. Not because we don't care, but because we're so busy taking care of everybody else. Here's how to stay consistent with your workouts and healthy habits through November and December, without adding one more thing you dread.

1. Name the real problem: it's not the holidays

This is what I truly believe: it's not the holidays that derail us, it's busyness.

The calendar fills up, and without ever making a decision about it, health quietly drops to the bottom of the list. We tell ourselves we'll start in January, or that we'll get back to it when things calm down.

I say this with so much love because I've done it too, but those are excuses. Not because we're lazy. We're busy serving everybody in our houses and our churches. But taking care of your body is important. It's one of the ways we steward what God has given us, and it matters most when we're pouring out the most.

2. Make the habit small enough to survive a full calendar

Here's the truth about busyness: it always wins unless the habit is small enough to survive it.

I've told you for years that I believe the busiest season of your life is the best season of your life to build a habit of health and fitness.

The key is to decide your minimum before the week happens. Not your ideal week. Your minimum, the thing you can do even on the day that falls apart.

A daily plank is a great example. It's one position and one video. You don't need a gym, you don't need childcare, and you don't even need to change your outfit. It's the lowest barrier I could think of.

And if you can't do that day's plank, try a different one. You're not failing, you are adjusting.

3. Choose a simple movement that does a lot

Why a plank? Because it looks simple, but it asks a lot of your body in a short amount of time.

Trainer Kate, one of the trainers inside The Stronger Collective, put together a list of plank benefits. A few stood out to me:

• It builds core strength.
• It strengthens your back.
• It improves your posture.
• It improves balance.
• It boosts your mood.

For a mom who wants to get stronger and have more energy but has very little time, that's a lot of return for a few minutes a day. It's also a friendly workout routine for beginners, because if one variation is too much, you try a different one.

4. Attach your workout to something you already do

One of the simplest healthy habits tricks is to stop deciding every day. Instead, attach your movement to something that already happens.

Right after you brush your teeth. While the coffee brews.

Make the decision once, then just keep repeating it. You're not waking up and debating whether to work out. You already decided. Now you just show up to it.

It removes a surprising amount of mental load.

5. Pair movement with gratitude

This is my favorite part.

Think about what we usually do during a hard hold. We count. We wish it was over. We stare at the clock. But what if that time was a moment of worship?

While you hold a plank, your body is working and your mind is free. So use that time to turn your heart toward God. Pick one thing to thank Him for every time you hold still.

It doesn't have to be a plank. It could be a wall sit. It could be standing in line at Target. Movement plus gratitude changes how a hard thing feels.

6. Don't do it alone

The last piece is the one that makes the rest stick: accountability without pressure.

Nobody needs to yell at you. You just need someone to notice. When a friend says, "Hey, I saw you did it. Good job," it goes a long way on a tired day.

It doesn't have to look polished, either. When I did this last year, I posted photos of my kids and my husband doing it with me. The best photos aren't highlight reels. They're a mom in her workout clothes with a toddler on her back. That's real life.

If you don't have a group, start with one friend. Text her and tell her you're doing a daily something this month. Having one person check in is often the difference between "I did it this week" and "I didn't."

Why showing up matters, even when it's wobbly

There's a reason this is so personal for me. Last year I filmed a set of plank videos right before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I knew something was wrong in my body. I'd been through the testing. I was losing strength, trying to build it back, and I didn't understand why it felt so much harder.

If you watch closely, you can see me wobble in a few of those videos. Last year it was a little embarrassing. Now that wobble is tender to me. But here's why I'm sharing it: a plank, even a wobbly one, is something you can show up for in a hard season.

This year the holidays look different for me. I'm not training the way I used to. For me, it's small micro and express workouts and back-to-basics workouts. Nothing crazy. But I'm still showing up, and that's the point.

Your simplest holiday season yet

Let's pull it together. It's not the holidays that derail us, it's busyness. So make your habit small enough to survive it. Attach it to something you already do. Pair your movement with gratitude to God. And don't do it alone.

This isn't about having a perfect November. It's about getting to Thanksgiving and being able to say, "I moved my body every day." In a month that's going to be very full, that's a very real win.

If I could say one thing to the version of me wobbling in those videos last year, it would be this: keep showing up. You will never regret that you kept showing up.