Stressed During the Holidays? There’s a Workout for That.

The holidays are billed as a chance to slow down, shift out of the daily grind, and spend meaningful time with loved ones. But in reality, this season often lands somewhere between mildly chaotic and completely overwhelming.

To support our nervous system during this stressful period, we often turn to what we know: movement. While exercise is certainly one of the most reliable ways to regulate stress, the type of exercise we triathletes gravitate toward (anything that resembles suffering to the untrained eye) can actually add physiological stress.

The cortisol spike that is triggered by high-intensity workouts is typically adaptive, strengthening the body’s stress resilience over time. But during high-stress periods when your sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) is already running the show, it’s beneficial to balance those default training sessions with lighter, low-cortisol workouts.

Here are five lighter workouts that you can try sprinkling into your routine. You’ll still experience improved mood, better sleep, and reduced stress, but you’ll also give your body some much-needed rest and recovery.

Hike or walk in nature

You may live by the mantra of “why walk when you can run?” but walking actually offers several benefits, making it a perfect low-impact activity for the off-season.

Green exercise, or moving in natural environments, has a restorative effect on the brain and body that is enhanced during periods of high stress. If you’re able to walk in a place that inspires awe, then you may gain even greater benefits, such as boosts in joy and prosocial positive emotions like compassion, gratitude, and amusement.

There’s also evidence to suggest that taking regular walks in green environments may increase heart rate variability, which is an indicator of stress resilience, beyond that achieved in suburban settings. So, bundle up and head out for a walk in nature.

Do yoga, pilates, or barre

Taking to the mat, reformer, or barre offers you low-impact strength training with an emphasis on movement and breath. Paying attention to the way you’re breathing while you’re moving helps narrow your attentional focus and encourages presence, which helps reduce the feeling of overwhelm.

These workouts also promote mobility, core stability, and muscular endurance without placing heavy demands on your joints or nervous system. As an added bonus, the emphasis on alignment and control builds functional strength that supports injury prevention once your training ramps back up.

Take a dance class

Dance offers a unique, holistic way of regulating stress that is often overlooked. Recent research suggests that dance engages multiple regulatory systems at once by integrating movement, rhythm, emotion, and social connection. This combination makes dance a wonderfully effective way to reduce stress and support the nervous system.

Maybe go way out of your comfort zone and sign up for a dance class, or, at the very least, put on some music and dance around your living room. No one’s watching, and if they are, invite them to join you.

Shadowbox

Shadowboxing is a low-impact cardio workout that involves moving around an area while punching the air or an imaginary opponent. You can even pretend to box with your own shadow (hence, the name).

Shadowboxing is often used as a warm-up before hitting a punching bag or boxing against a real-life opponent, but it’s also an effective standalone workout, especially when you need to release some stress without beating up your body too much.

Swim, bike, run, and strength train – but keep it chill

Doing a light workout doesn’t mean abandoning the activities we love. Continue swimming, biking, running, and strength training – but maybe don’t approach them with your default “no pain, no gain” mentality.

Reduce the intensity, shorten the distance, decrease the weights, and ditch the metrics tracking altogether. Maybe team up with a friend who doesn’t “tri” as hard as you do, using the time to connect (social connection is a valuable stress reliever) while maintaining a conversational pace. You can even make these workouts more recovery-centric by reducing the duration of the main workout and adding more warm-up activations or post-workout stretches.

Consider this your science-backed invitation to integrate lighter workouts this holiday season – just don’t get all “triathlete” about them. By giving your nervous system space to downshift, you’re building the foundation for stronger training blocks ahead. Pay attention to your stress levels and don’t hesitate to lean into some gentler movement, recognizing that easier movement is sometimes the most productive thing you can do.