How to Look After Your Fitness Through the Festive Season (Without Killing the Fun)

For many cyclists, December represents a welcome pause in the year. The events calendar is empty, the pressure to progress your fitness eases off, and riding often has to compete with work deadlines, family commitments and a packed social calendar. Add in short daylight hours unpredictable winter weather and the need to clean your bike after each ride, and it’s easy to see why training can quickly slide down the priority list.

But while it may be tempting to write the festive period off entirely, doing so isn’t always as restful, or as helpful, as it sounds. With a more flexible mindset and a smarter approach to training, December can become a month of maintenance, rather than momentum lost, allowing riders to start January feeling fit, healthy, and motivated.

December consistency pays off in January. Riders who maintain even a modest level of structure through December often find January far less daunting. Fitness feels familiar, routines return more easily, and there’s no need for a dramatic reset. Rather than starting again from scratch, January becomes a continuation, a chance to build on a base that’s already there.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways to keep your focus, maintain fitness and have some fun this Christmas.

Shift the goalposts: why December is about maintenance

One of the biggest fears riders have around festive training is losing fitness. In reality, aerobic fitness is more resilient than many cyclists think, particularly when some level of consistency is maintained. The mistake often lies in holding December to the same standards as peak training season.

Rather than chasing gains, the festive period is best viewed as a time to protect what’s already been built. Two or three purposeful sessions per week can be enough to hold fitness steady, especially when those sessions are structured and time efficient. Utilisting virtual riding platforms like MyWoosh can help keep riding relevant during the chaotic festive season.

Former professional, now coach and performance engineer Alex Dowsett tell us more: “Often we’re told by the many voices around us that we must always progress. I’m a big fan of maintenance when maintenance is needed. And if socialisation with loved ones at this time of the year is a priority, then maintenance should be viewed as the win on the success scale.”

This reframing removes pressure and helps riders avoid the all-or-nothing mindset that can lead to weeks off the bike, followed by a frantic restart in January.

Why shorter sessions can make sense this winter

Time is often the biggest constraint in December, and winter conditions only amplify the challenge. Cold temperatures, poor weather and limited daylight can turn what should be a simple ride into a logistical struggle. Never mind the decision making involved when it comes to your clothing choices.

This is where indoor riding can offer a practical solution. Short, structured workouts can deliver a meaningful training stimulus in as little as 30 to 45 minutes, and removes the worry of punctures, poor light or bad weather. MyWhoosh provides a range of pre-built workouts and plans designed around efficiency, helping riders train with purpose when time and motivation can be, let’s face it, limited.

Just as importantly, structure can reduce decision fatigue. When motivation may be waning, being fed an easy to follow session as soon as you log in can make the difference between riding and skipping it altogether.

Training headspace, not obligation

Beyond physical benefits, the value of riding can provide invaluable mental headspace during a busy and often noisy time of year. A short ride can act as a reset, a chance to step away from screens, commitments and seasonal pressures, rather than another task to be ticked off.

Flexibility is key. Missed sessions, swapped days and shortened rides are part of the festive reality. Riders who accept this, rather than fighting it, tend to maintain a healthier relationship with the bike and are more likely to keep riding consistently through winter. Alex continues:

“Happiness and morale is a metric often overlooked. When a rider gets ill in January with targets in July I say to them “it might feel like a disaster now, but if you miss that target in January I promise you we won’t be looking back at that week you were sick in January and blaming that.” The same applies to a ‘relaxed’ festive period of maintenance. But if the athlete is happier because of it then that’s worth at least 6 watts!”

The value of riding with others especially in winter

While winter training is often seen as a solitary pursuit, making time to ride with others can play a significant role in maintaining motivation through December. Shared sessions or rides add accountability and a sense of connection, both of which become more valuable when routine is disrupted.

Riding in a group, chatting the miles away, can go a long way to keeping your mind off the monotony of training on your home roads, but your winter doesn’t have to mean long outdoor group rides all the time. Varity with virtual group sessions and shared routes allows riders to train alongside others, even when schedules don’t align.

MyWhoosh supports this through group rides, events and shared virtual environments that help cement the social aspect of cycling, without the logistical barriers winter often brings. For example, through December you can join in on the MyWoosh 300 and 500 Festive rides starting on December 24^th and finishing January 1^st, helping you finish the year strong with others.

“Indoor training has moved on massively in the last 2 decades, I’d argue it’s still maybe not quite as great as the great outdoors but there’s some great added motivation benefits from riding indoors that you don’t get outdoors. Competitive racing, group rides, structured training all add to a mix to keep things interesting. It’s never been a better landscape.”

For many riders, simply knowing others are riding at the same time can be enough to turn a tentative plan into a completed session.

Enjoy the season, protect the habit

Looking after your fitness through the festive season isn’t about sacrifice. It’s about adapting expectations, choosing smarter sessions and recognising that maintaining the habit of riding is often more important than chasing numbers.

With shorter, purposeful workouts, a supportive community and flexible tools that remove barriers to training, riders can stay connected to their fitness, arriving in the New Year ready to move forward, rather than catch up.