At the beginning of the holiday season, I get a lot of questions from people about what adjustments I make in my own training and diet between then and the end of the year. 

Do I take time off? If I’m going to holiday dinners and parties, is it even worth it to go to the gym since my diet is completely blown? At my age, doesn’t my body need the time off? What do I do?

No, I don’t take time off from training during the holidays. In fact, I’ve rarely taken time off from training in the last 14 years. During my first 12 years of bodybuilding training, I would usually take two weeks off after my last contest of the year, and two weeks off at Christmas. I had read that it was good to take a couple of weeks off at least twice a year. 

I quit doing it because I repeatedly found that in two weeks, I would add too much body fat and lose muscle, strength and endurance. Not only was it discouraging to see the negative changes in my body composition, but I also found that by the end of two weeks, my body hurt worse from not training than it did from the soreness of training. Not only that, but the first few workouts back would just feel horrible, and I would get ridiculously sore on top of it. 

After 12 years of hating the “time off,” I decided to stop doing it. Now, when I feel like I’m getting stale and need a break from training, I reduce my weights by 40 to 50 percent, but continue to do the normal number of sets and reps.

These workouts are actually boring for me. I like to workout hard! But the easy workouts allow my body to recuperate while still maintaining my muscle and keeping my metabolism up. 

After two weeks of easy training (if I last that long on it), I’m eager to hit it full-tilt again! I’m refreshed without the de-conditioning that takes place from taking time off completely.

Now, back to the question about the holidays. Don’t give up! It’s very important to not miss workouts, especially this time of the year, since you may be consuming more (maybe a lot more) calories than usual.

Every year, I see that the gyms are much less busy from Thanksgiving through the end of the year. Many people have the mentality that since they’re partying and blowing their diets, they’re wasting their time working out. Workouts are never a waste of time! 

OK, so maybe you put on a few pounds from all the great food and drinks you consume during the holiday season. If you’re not working out, it’s going to be worse! Hitting the gym will at least maintain your muscle and metabolism. 

If you don’t workout, you won’t burn off any of the extra calories. On top of that, you’ll lose muscle and strength, and your metabolism will probably slow down, making it even easier to gain fat. Keep training hard! At the very least, you’ll minimize the damage.

Now, here are some helpful (I hope) ideas to allow you to survive the holiday parties with your physique in tact. No. 1: If you drink (alcohol), leave the sweet drinks alone. They have a lot more calories because of the sugary mixers, and most folks will consume more because they taste better and you drink them faster.

Instead, drink your mixed drinks with a non-caloric mixer (water, soda, on the rocks), or choose wine; you’ll be more likely to sip either of these. It’ll last longer, and you’ll drink less. 

Also, refill your glass with water twice for each alcoholic beverage you consume. Often, friends are more likely to put another drink in your hand if they see you with nothing at all. 

Anything you can do to reduce the amount of alcohol you consume at a party will decrease the total calories and make it less likely that you’ll completely give in and pig out on all the “bad stuff.”

Most hosts these days will have trays of cold cuts, fresh vegetables and fresh fruit. Go for these (the “good stuff”) first. It’s likely that you’ll eat less of the rich, high-calorie foods and sweets if you’ve already eaten enough turkey, veggies and fruit to be satisfied.

Enjoy your holidays. It’s such a wonderful time to celebrate with family, friends and co-workers. But don’t give up! Get your workouts done on a regular basis, and you’ll hit the New Year running! 

When all of the New Year’s resolutioneers are dying of extreme soreness after the first few days, you’ll already be looking great and planning to trim off a few holiday pounds instead of dozens of holiday pounds.

Train hard, and eat clean!

Dave Goodin is an IFBB pro bodybuilder and personal trainer. If you want some great motivation, go see the amazing bodies at the NPC Texas State Natural Championships on Nov. 19. There are Natural Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure, Bikini and Men’s Physique divisions. For more information, visit www.texasstatenaturals.com.