Easter is such a great time of year. Spring is on the horizon, the days are longer, the sun is shining and...supermarkets are full of chocolate Easter eggs! We want you to embrace the Easter vibes and know that you can balance them out with a variety of different workouts too! And we’ve got 10 different ways for you to workout and stay active over the holiday period.

With the lockdown road map on the horizon, we’re practically counting down the days to gyms opening and workouts with friends in the park too!

From running, walking, HIIT to stretching and mobility, you can workout anywhere and at any time with the EvolveYou app.
This year, Easter falls on the 4th April, which is perfect timing for enjoying time with family and friends, outdoors and socially distanced, and preparing for the return of outdoor and gym workouts too.

Needless to say the start of 2021 has been difficult for many and as much as the EvolveYou challenges have kept our community in high spirits, Easter will welcome a much needed positive change in the air!

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know approximately 2.5 billion dollars is spent, globally, on chocolate? That’s A LOT of chocolate. Understandably, the majority of parents want to celebrate a chocolate filled weekend with their families, but also be mindful of how much chocolate is consumed. Why? Well, it’s not always about the calories. Teeth health, high sugar consumption and general attitudes towards moderation. Moderation and balance are our favourite words and we are all for chocolate as much as we are for consistency and balance with exercise.

However, as much as Easter is fun and balance can seem perfect in theory, many people struggle around holidays.

• Social eating and drinking can cause high levels of stress for people who don’t like eating in public - especially around festivities like Easter.
  
• If you have allergies or particular aversions to food, eating and socialising with family can be tricky.
  
• You may struggle with the anxiety of missing a workout over a holiday period
  

It’s important that we make healthy living and balance accessible to all and here at EvolveYou our aim is to enable every single woman to live a balanced lifestyle. With lockdown easing, life returning to somewhat normal in 2021, we wanted to share 10 different ways that you can exercise and stay ‘positively balanced’ over the holiday period!

1 - Schedule ahead

Holiday plans are usually made in advance and you might have an idea of what your Easter weekend will look like a few weeks or days in advance. Schedule your workout with flex in mind. If you know you’ve got a full weekend of family, cooking and friends, why not wake up that little bit earlier, do a shorter workout or schedule a family walk after lunch? Being active doesn’t always have to be a full on 60 minute strength workout! Enjoy time being active and relax with family and friends at the same time too!

2 - 15 minute workouts

The EvolveYou app has a range of 15 minute workouts and challenges that you can do with minimal equipment anywhere, any time! Get those positive endorphins in and the heart rate up, whilst your oven is preheating for the roast! We know multitasking isn’t always the answer, but in this case, you can quite easily prep the dinner and workout at the same time too!

3 - Walk with friends and family

Now that we’ll be able to meet up with at least one other friend or family member, why not schedule a walk or run on Easter morning? You can laugh, jog and catch up in between whilst soaking up a bit of fresh air too!

4 - Stretching and mobility

The change from lockdown to socialising can feel a little overwhelming at times. Why not bring some calm into this transition period by stretching and mobilising to let the oxygen flow through your body? There are plenty of mobility flows to do on the EvolveYou app!

5 - HIIT

Sometimes a roast dinner and a whole load of chocolate can leave us feeling lethargic and bloated. You might just want to shake it off and Danyele and Krissy have designed plenty of high intensity workouts and circuits on the app! Why not try Danyele’s HIIT Endurance challenge or Krissy’s 800 rep workout? You’ll love the heart pumping fun and it’s a great way to feel energised over the Easter weekend!

6 - Skipping

Our trainer, Krissy Cela, is a great advocate for skipping. It’s quick, simple and effective, Whether it’s 5 minutes, 10 minutes or 30 minutes, skipping is always a fab workout!

7 - Exercise ladders

No equipment? No problem! As well as our home workouts on the EvolveYou app, Danyele loves workout ladders, where you perform the same exercise consistently, for a varying amount of reps. Try the following:

• 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 reps of squat jumps, coupled with bodyweight sumo squats: perform 20 reps of each, one after the other, then 18, the 16 and so on with little to no rest in between each set.
  
• 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 reps of burpees, coupled with ab bikes: perform 20 reps of each, one after the other, then 18, the 16 and so on with little to no rest in between each set.
  

Quick, easy and all you need is you!

8 - Change your workout split

There is nothing wrong with taking the entire weekend off! Do not feel guilty and do not feel like you need to workout. If it helps, why not change the order of your workouts and schedule your required workouts during the week and take the weekend off? There is nothing wrong with this - remember that!

All of these ways to workout are designed to help you feel and know that you can workout and lead a balanced lifestyle to suit you. And remember, a weekend full of chocolate, a roast dinner or a few days off are not going to ruin your routine. In her debut book, Do This For You, Krissy emphasises the need to normalise real life with healthy living. We all have good days and bad days, but we need to prioritise consistency and be patient with ourselves. She says:

“When I learned to be patient with myself, to be patient with my journey, to learn the discipline to keep going, I realised things were becoming more consistent; things were falling into place. I was on my way to forming healthy habits - the most important part of any fitness and health journey.”

When it comes to your food over Easter, it can be tempting to just eat the chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Whilst you can do that, try not to forget a couple of real eggs for breakfast, some protein, veg and and wholesome carbs to keep your energy up over the holidays!

Whether it’s Easter weekend or any weekend, these workouts can be applied anywhere and anytime - just think of balance, remember to eat all the things you love along with all the things you need (fruit, veg and a healthy plate) and all will be fine! Enjoy the chocolate, drink your water and have fun relaxing with your friends and family this Easter - we all need it!