Staying in shape during winter break isn’t easy. Being lazy, eating a lot of the holiday junk or comfort foods, staying up late and sleeping in pretty much consumes most students’ time, but doing so can quickly leave somebody out of shape. To help student athletes take a more proactive approach into their physical well being, coaches are now telling their athletes to do workouts over break to help them stay in shape and avoid the holiday slumps.

“Athletes need to increase their aerobic capacity in their conditioning which is where the speedwork can really come in,” assistant track coach Greg Christianson said. “Then they’re fit and ready to go once break is over.”

The track coaches have given their athletes a schedule of workouts to do over break in order to prepare them for practices and future track meets.

“We give our athletes a lot of autonomy where they kind of know the work that needs to be done, and can tweak the schedule in order to fit their needs,” Christianson said.

Track officially starts working out in January, so it is best that they start working out before hand.

“Our coaches told us all that during the winter break we need to do three days of running and two days of lifting both weeks,” sophomore Kittrell Phillips said. “We also have to stretch a lot and make sure we are ready to go to work and perform at our best.”

Working out over break isn’t necessarily mandatory for the track athletes, but it is highly recommended during the two weeks off. Most track runners may not enjoy conditioning during break, but when the practices begin, and all the coaches are watching, it will be wise to be in the best shape possible.

“I think working out over the break is great,” sophomore Ally Brown said. “Our coaches expect a lot from us and they want us to work hard, not only with the team during practices but also by ourselves at home, pushing ourselves to keep gradually getting better.”

Aside from working out, it is important for athletes to make healthy food choices during their athletic season. With track season right around the corner, track athletes need to keep their diet in mind during holiday festivities.

“It is very important for athletes to monitor their diets so that they are fueling their bodies,” assistant track coach Ryan Priem said. “Athletes need to stay away from carbonated drinks and junk food. They should focus on foods that fuel their bodies. This will ensure that the work they put into training for their meets does not go to waste.”