beat post holiday syndrome no dead ends recovery run guide

During the Spring Festival, everyone stops running and rests, and attending various gatherings is inevitable. The saying 'gaining three kilograms every Spring Festival' is not without reason. While your mood is constantly elated, the social engagements at banquets and drinking tables can nullify half a year's fitness efforts. After all, what goes around comes around, and the weight 'borrowed' must be repaid.

If you increase your exercise intensity immediately after the holiday without a transition period, it will not only fail to restore your physical fitness level quickly but also increase the risk of injury. So, the question arises—how to deal with post-holiday syndrome and correctly and gradually restore your exercise routine after 'overeating and stopping running for half a month' during the Spring Festival?

First, it is recommended to create a short-term exercise recovery plan after the Spring Festival. Planned exercise is an important means to quickly achieve your goals. However, it is essential to develop a scientific exercise plan based on different situations, as blindly training based on feelings may backfire.

Here, I will introduce how to correctly restore your exercise state comprehensively and help you smoothly transition through the troubles of 'post-holiday syndrome.'

Daily dietary adjustments

To cope with post-holiday syndrome, the first step is to adjust your diet. 'Control your mouth and move your legs' applies everywhere. Many people overeat during the holidays, so after the holiday, you need to adjust your stomach and intestines. Of course, this recovery process should be gradual and not rushed, giving your body a buffering period.

1. Get rid of all kinds of snacks and get back on track. Besides discarding junk food and avoiding high-calorie items, simple changes can also help us regain confidence and motivation.

2. Replace staple foods with oatmeal millet porridge, oatmeal pumpkin rice porridge, or eight-treasure porridge, accompanied by steamed corn and steamed sweet potatoes. Whole grains are rich in dietary fiber, which can promote gastrointestinal motility. Try to reduce the intake of meat and eggs and eat more fruits and vegetables.

3. Eat more fungi vegetables, such as mushrooms, which are rich in polysaccharides and have strong antioxidant properties. They are also high in protein and can help regulate the stomach and intestines.

4. Remember to drink plenty of water. The rich oily foods during the Spring Festival can easily cause purine accumulation. Drinking water helps purine metabolism. When consuming foods rich in dietary fiber, the fiber can absorb several times its weight in water in the intestines, promoting bowel movements.

Biological clock adjustment

Staying up late, drinking, and playing cards are essential parts of the Spring Festival. 'Unable to sleep before 3 AM' is also a manifestation of post-holiday syndrome. Overindulgence disrupts the body's normal biological clock, causing dizziness, insomnia, and vivid dreams. Therefore, after the holiday, try to go to bed early and get up early to ensure sufficient sleep.

Exercise recovery: For someone with a regular exercise habit, stopping exercise for more than seven days means their exercise capacity has returned to the starting point, although their cardiopulmonary function and muscle capacity are better than those without exercise experience. Therefore, do not rush during the recovery period. Avoid high-intensity exercise and alternate core strength training with slow jogging. Adding resistance and weight training can help you get back into the exercise state better.

Slow jogging recovery training

When exercising daily, frequent stretching and relaxation exercises keep muscles relaxed and tense. After a break, muscle flexibility and tension decrease. To prevent injury, do not neglect warm-up exercises before starting to run. You can try stretching exercises or a warm-up run by walking slowly, then briskly, and then jogging. This can improve your endurance and extend your training time without tiring your body too much.

It's best to start with slow jogging for post-holiday recovery.

For the first three days, you can brisk walk and jog to gradually get into the exercise state. In the first week, focus on slow jogging, with a pace that allows smooth breathing. For the first two weeks, each run should not exceed 30 minutes or 5 kilometers. After that, increase the distance by 10% each week. If you run regularly, you can reduce the pace and increase the running volume and speed based on your recovery state. After a week of recovery training, consider hiking or trekking on the weekend to give your body a break and adjust.

Note: Drink plenty of water after long runs. Even slight dehydration can cause many unnecessary side effects. Dehydration will slow you down, so carry a water bottle with you and drink whenever needed. After all, water has no calories.

Core strength training

During the Spring Festival, overeating and lack of exercise can easily lead to muscle relaxation, joint stiffness, and a decrease in core strength, especially abdominal strength, which is crucial for runners. Therefore, during the slow jogging recovery period, alternate with core strength training to improve physical function and reduce knee and foot pressure, preventing injuries.

There are many methods for core strength training, such as push-ups, sit-ups, planks, and ab exercises, which can effectively increase muscle endurance and strength. However, to prevent muscle imbalance and injury, it is recommended to focus on low weight and high repetitions.

Weight training and resistance training

After recovery training, you can appropriately add some weight training and resistance training to improve running speed. The simplest weight training includes running with sandbags or barbell squats. You can also choose to climb stairs to increase your body's resistance ability and achieve the best exercise state.

Tips: Gradually increase the intensity. First, if your body feels uncomfortable, you must stop running, even if you think your body can handle it. Rest is paramount.

Second, in your weekly and monthly exercise schedule, there must be a full day of rest each week. Adequate rest is necessary for muscle fiber recovery.

Third, running must include scientific warm-up, post-run stretching, and learning to regulate breathing. Protect yourself and prioritize safety.

After reading the guide, don't hesitate. Quickly make a detailed plan and follow my rhythm to combat 'post-holiday syndrome.'

(This article was originally published in the Running Bible, written by Filory, and is reprinted with the author's permission.)

(Some images are from the internet. Please inform us to delete if there is any infringement.)