• ⏸️ Your Recovery Reset

• 🎅 Santa’s Protein Plate

• 📈 Time Off = More Gains

• 💥 How to Ease Back In

👇 Dive in and Set the Standard!

Eat, Sleep, Recover

Lifters can get in their head this time of year if they get knocked off their regular training schedule.

I’ve been there.

You miss a couple of workouts, sleep in, eat a little differently, and your brain immediately goes, “Alright, I’ve gotta make this up somehow.” So you redline a session to feel okay about yourself.

But you don’t need to do that.

After a year of training hard, a lot of us feel pretty beat up by now. Nothing’s wrong, you just feel washed. That’s usually your body telling you to back off.

Taking some time for family and friends, then waking up and realizing you’re not as sore and tired as usual? That’s progress. So this week, especially, it’s cool to ease up.

Sleep in. Take a nap. Enjoy the family meal. Use our recovery session (in the Training section below) instead of smashing a weight workout.

And if you do hit the gym, remember it doesn’t need to be balls-to-the-wall. You don’t have to punish yourself because you feel guilty for missing your usual workout or indulging in a few treats.

The truth is, you’re not going to fall out of shape from taking a few days for the holiday. If anything, this is when your body actually heals and gets ready for what’s next.

Training hard all year can wear you out. Letting your body calm down is part of staying in this for the long haul.

So trust me, take a break, and you’ll come back feeling healthier, sharper, and eager to get back under the bar when you’re ready.

Set the Standard.

Chris

 🔄The Recovery Session

The holidays are here, and yeah, it’s tough to step away from the gym.
But missing a few days might actually be exactly what your body needs heading into 2026.

When you train hard all year, muscle usually keeps up. Joints, tendons, ligaments, and your nervous system don’t. They recover more slowly, get less blood flow, and stay tight even when you’re still getting stronger.

A short break lets things calm down and flow better, which is why many guys come back feeling stronger.

You don’t want to do nothing, though. That usually makes you stiff. A light reset keeps blood moving and helps your body absorb the work you’ve already done.

Here’s a simple total-body reset you can use anytime you’re away from your usual routine.

🚶 Walk (10–20 minutes)

Get the blood moving. Get some natural light. Get away from your phone.
Easy pace, no agenda, just loosen up.

🤸 Mobility (10–15 minutes)

Move through positions you load all year. Slow and controlled.

• Cat–Cow – 6–8 reps

• World’s Greatest Stretch – 3 reps per side

• 90/90 Hip Rotations – 5 switches

• Deep Squat Hold + Reach – 20–30 sec

🧘 Reset Stretch (5–10 minutes)

• Down Dog → Plank – 4–6 reps

• Low Lunge w/ Rotation – 30 sec per side

• Seated Forward Fold – 45–60 sec

🔥❄️ Optional Recovery

Yoga, sauna, hot tub, or hot or cold shower. Use it to relax or reset, not to test yourself.

You should finish it feeling looser and ready to train again.

📲 Ready for coaching? Stop guessing. Start progressing!

🎅 Keep Santa Jacked

🍪 Power Cookies

Leave a high-protein treat for the big guy.

Macros (per cookie):
180–200 cal | 10–12g protein | 18–22g carbs | 4–5g fiber | 8–10g fat

Ingredients

• Rolled oats + oat flour

• Almond butter

• Vanilla protein

• Ground flax or chia

• Cinnamon + sea salt

• Unsweetened almond milk

How to make

• Mix all ingredients into a thick dough

• Flatten into cookies

• Bake 10–12 min at 350°F

☕ Warm Milk

A recovery drink disguised as a holiday treat.

Macros (per mug):
140–160 cal | 22–25g protein | 5–7g carbs | 3–4g fat
(+10g carbs if honey is added)

Ingredients

• Unsweetened almond or oat milk

• Vanilla protein powder

• Turmeric

• Black pepper

• Cinnamon

• Optional raw honey

How to make

• Warm milk gently (don’t boil)

• Whisk in protein and spices

• Heat 30–60 sec, serve warm

🥕 Energy Bites

Holiday upgrade from raw carrots for Rudolph.

Macros (per bite):
90–110 cal | 5–6g protein | 10–12g carbs | 2–3g fiber | 4–5g fat

Ingredients

• Finely grated carrots

• Rolled oats

• Almond butter

• Walnuts or pecans

• Collagen or vanilla protein

• Dates, cinnamon, ginger

How to make

• Mix everything until combined

• Roll into small bites

• Chill 20–30 min to set

Q: Chris, I’m taking about 10 days off from the gym over the holidays. Do I need to ease back in?
— Jake W., Ames, Iowa

A: Hey, Jake, taking time off is a great plan, but yes, you’ll need to ease back in for sure.

Ten days off gives your muscles a breather, but the bigger win is what happens to your joints, tendons, and nervous system, which take longer to recover.

But you want to go slow when you return to the gym. Research shows strength rebounds within a week or two, but tendon stiffness and coordination need a gradual reload to handle heavy tension safely.

First week back, think light weight, full range, clean reps. Focus on feeling the muscle again, not chasing numbers.

You won’t lose size doing this, but you will set yourself up to train harder and heavier in the weeks after.

Ease in so you can actually push later. That’s how lifters stay jacked.

Question for Chris? Hit reply or email [email protected] and we’ll consider your question for inclusion in a future issue of The Standard.

Champion Mentality

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient.”

— Steve Maraboli

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