The festive period can be very difficult to navigate for those trying to keep their fitness game on point.
January is traditionally the time for steamed veg and gruelling Bodypump classes. December is the season for getting into your jams and squirting extra cream on top of your hot chocolate with Baileys.
However, there is now an alternative advent calendar which will nudge you in the right direction while making sure you still get a tasty treat on the daily.
Boostbox’s Protein Bar Advent Calendar was dreamt up by university mates Curt Weston and Sam Burke, who are both passionate about all things health and fitness.
Sam told UNILAD this calendar is boost by name, boost by nature:
It will give you a boost every day during the cold, dark month that is December and hopefully rejuvenate your festive fitness game so that you want to wake up, want to find out / eat your snack, and want to get yourself into the gym / studio / park to get your dose of fitness done for the day.
It will also introduce you to so many great tasting foods and flavours that you might not have known / expected could exist as a fitness supplement.
In this sense you might find that having your protein snack of the day is enough to count as something naughty and that you don’t even feel tempted by the office doughnuts…
Much like your traditional choc calendar, there is a sweet surprise behind each of the 24 doors. However, here you will find a premium protein packed treat from top quality brands, each with an average amount of 20g worth of protein.
Flavours could include anything from lemon drizzle cake to peanut butter to banana bread, but there will be ones included for every palette, proving healthy snacking can be fun.
The calendar will also include special festive workouts and recipes to try out in between your Christmas parties and last minute Secret Santa panic dashes.
Recipes include Pumpkin Spice Protein Oats -one of Sam’s specialities – and even a yummy low calorie version of a Christmas dinner.
According to Sam, there are a number of additional health and fitness challenges we face around this merry time of year:
The challenges are twofold: nutrition & actually getting your fitness in. December is an incredibly social time when you are more likely to eat out, indulge and have a drink or two.
The best part about the festive period is socialising more and having fun and our ethos certainly isn’t about restricting any of that, it’s about balancing your days out so that if you know you won’t be getting any protein later on because you’re eating pizza now for example, then you grab an extra hit from a shake or bar during the day.
The other main challenge is fitting your fitness in especially if you have lots of nights out with hangover days after! The cold and dark mornings / evenings when you are most likely to train either before or after work also make it much more difficult to motivate yourself to go and get it done (we find buying new gym clothes tends to be motivating too!).
For this just try and remember that you can make some serious progress during the winter months so that when summer comes around and the gym starts filling up with people wanting to hit their goals, you’ll already have been smashing them for months!
The perfect early stocking filler for the gym fanatic in your life, shipments will be made in mid to late November.
If you make sure to order your calendar by 25 November, you are guaranteed to receive it by the 1 December, just in time to open that all important first door.
Delivery is completely free in the UK, and in a nice little extra, the calendar is beautifully packaged to look like a festive gift.
The calendar costs £49.99, but until the end of October can be purchased here for just £44.99.
Sam and Curt will be launching Boostbox subscription boxes as of the new year, so this is the perfect opportunity to try out what’s on offer and find out what you like best.
By purchasing the calendar, you will receive exclusive offers and discounts, including in regards to the subscription box.
There is a growing trend for high quality, alternative calendars to choose from.
However, if you are seriously into your fitness, then this is definitely the calendar for you.
Enter a competition to win a 12-month-worth subscription for Boostbox here:
[Win a FREE 12 month subscription to the Boostbox fitness subscription box (worth £500!) ]
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.