Navigating the holidays can be tricky. 

And it can be one of the most challenging times for health and fitness. Usually there's more stress leading up to the holiday season. More pressure to spend time with distant relatives... travel across the country... or get everything ready to host your family for several days. 

With everyone else indulging, the pumpkin pie and candy canes become much more tempting. And it's easy to throw 'caution to the wind' and overdo it on the sweets and desserts. 

This is usually why gyms are not very packed.

(It's when January rolls around where this all changes and the rush begins...) 

With the excess availability of sugar-coated cookies and treats and the colder weather making it harder to want to go outside, what do you do? 

How should you approach your weight-loss goals? 

Should you focus on weight-loss or weight-management during the holidays? 

An argument could be made for either, but I'm going a share a few distinctions to help you navigate this challenging time of year. 

Growing up in the burbs of Chicago, my brother never felt athletic. 

He wasn't very coordinated and didn't have great balance or body awareness. He tried his best but sports like basketball didn't come as naturally to him as it did for others. In fact, they were pretty challenging for him at times. And at times he'd get picked on by the other kids for this. 

So naturally there were times where he stopped finding joy in sports or anything involving physical activity.  Instead he would gravitate towards reading, videogames and books. 

When he was in college, I convinced him to give weight-lifting a try. He was hesitant at first but he gave it a try. And kept working at it.

Not only did he start to gain more confidence physically, but he discovered he had enormous untapped physical strength. And over the next few months, he started getting ripped and building putting on lean muscle. 

The rest is history. 

Ever since then he's discovered a whole new level of athleticism where he knocks out hundreds of push-ups in a single workout and dozens of chin-ups. This never would have been possible if he believed that 'he wasn't athletic'. 

In the video below, I'll share a few insights to help you breakthrough this belief of "not being athletic"  so then you can embark on your fitness journey with renewed hope and discover what untapped strength and potential may be waiting for YOU.