This is the time of the year where people start to freak out. There’s the fitness fanatics that start to sweat with anxiety about the parties they have to go to, and there's yo-yo dieters who throw their hands up into the air and yell ‘screw it’ as they face plant into cake and momentarily blackout. It can be a stressful time for those concerned about their physiques, but it really doesn’t have to be. There’s many tricks to help stay on track and prevent doing serious damage, or having to avoid social occasions for the fear of indulging. Here are 5 simple tips and tricks.

Building muscle is hard enough as is - let alone having something possibly impair your potential. Many spend their whole lives trying to get 'too big,' only to find out it's very difficult to get too big! Endurance training (cardio) has an 'interference' effect on strength, power, and muscle hypertrophy gains (1). When added to a resistance training program, it has been shown to negatively impact the amount that can be gained (1, 2). This doesn't mean you can't make progress with some cardio training however - studies have shown you can still make good gains in strength, power, and muscle hypertrophy with the inclusion of cardio training in your resistance training program (1, 2) - it just means you have to be smart about how much and what type of cardio you decide to use. Different types and amounts of cardio have different effects on power, strength, and muscle hypertrophy gains.