Over 60% of consumers plan to buy healthier products this holiday season! But even with strong intentions, the holidays still bring schedule changes, travel, more family demands, and higher stress. This is usually the point in the year when routines slip, motivation drops, leading to more cancellations.
But on the other hand, holidays are a major opportunity to come closer to your clients, support them when they need it most, and build long-lasting relationships that carry into the new year.
In this guide, we’re sharing practical strategies to help you keep clients active over holidays, increase holiday-season gym retention, and make coaching smoother during the busiest time of the year.
We’ll also go through how ABC Trainerize tools can help you deliver hybrid programs, track habits, automate reminders, and stay connected no matter where your clients spend the season. Let’s get started!
Understanding Holiday Stressors & Client Behaviors for Stronger Holiday Fitness Coaching
We all love the holiday season, but, honestly, it is not the most health-friendly time of year. Many people even see it as a “break from” structure, productivity, and healthy living.
Add more social time, more downtime, late nights, and plenty of comfort food, and things become especially challenging for clients who’ve made progress recently.
That’s because there are overlooked stressors, like the relationship clients have with food, their body, and physical activity during this time.
Holiday meals, comfort foods, cultural traditions, and social expectations can make clients feel torn between enjoying the season and staying committed to their goals.
Many don’t want strict calorie counting during this time, yet they also don’t want to lose the progress they’ve made through consistent habits.
That’s where a flexible, intuitive approach becomes essential. Clients often need reassurance that they can enjoy holiday foods without guilt while still honoring the habits that support their long-term health.
This includes emphasizing balance, portion awareness, mindful eating, hydration, sleep, and movement without turning the season into a series of rigid rules.
In 2026, holiday behavior is also shaped by hybrid work patterns, wellness fatigue, and fast, mobile-first content consumption. Clients rely on quick tips, short videos, and straightforward guidance they can use in the moment.
All of this means that your holiday fitness coaching must prioritize empathy, flexibility, and realistic planning.
Simple home workouts, on-demand sessions, habit-focused goals, and mobile-friendly communication help clients stay engaged even when routines break down. Small nudges, like reminders to hydrate, walk, or practice mindful eating, go a long way during high-distraction periods.
📝 Read More: Winter is Coming! Attract More Clients with Winter Workouts
Strategy #1: Offer Flexible, Hybrid & On-Demand Programming
Flexibility is the biggest driver of consistency and retention during the holidays, so give clients options they can do anywhere.
Surveys show that 42% of adults prefer home or hybrid workouts when schedules get busy, which means they’re already open to “holiday-friendly” routines they can complete in hotel rooms, living rooms, or between events.
Holiday workout plans might include:
- 15-minute Travel Strength sessions
- No-equipment conditioning circuits
- Morning mobility flows
- Quick recovery or stretch routines
The good news is that holiday behavior actually works in your favor. People are more willing to shop directly from social platforms like Instagram and TikTok, especially when something solves a seasonal challenge or comes with a festive twist.
Shoppable posts and short, timely videos can help more clients discover your holiday programs and lean into the support you’re offering.
On-demand access with ABC Trainerize ties everything together. Upload a seasonal video bundle, offer virtual drop-ins, or build a simple 10-day program clients can follow at their own pace.
You can deliver hybrid programs, schedule sessions ahead of time, track compliance, and re-engage traveling clients through automated reminders and in-app messaging.
Strategy #2: Holiday-Themed Challenges & Mini-Programs
Holidays naturally have their days numbered, which makes them the perfect setting for themed challenges. But before you think of a high-intensity “go all in” format, remember that a holiday challenge doesn’t need to be intensive.
For many clients, the win is simply maintaining habits, managing stress, or hitting a bare-minimum movement goal.
With ABC Trainerize, you can build challenges that match that spectrum, from simple water-tracking streaks and daily step goals to more structured mobility series or short strength sessions. This gives clients a sense of purpose without overwhelming them during an already busy season.
Effective ideas include:
- A 4–6 week Holiday Survival challenge
- A “Move Daily” mobility streak
- A hydration or steps consistency challenge
- A daily 10-minute stretching session
- A stress-relief or recovery-focused mini program
Light gamification works especially well: streaks, badges, and visible milestones keep clients engaged even when their training time is limited. Pairing the challenge with small wellness habits (hydration, sleep, mindful eating) helps clients navigate holiday meals and maintain balance.
And because ABC Trainerize automates daily tasks, reminders, and progress tracking, you can run the entire challenge with minimal admin while keeping clients consistently engaged.
📝 Read More: 10 Ways to Combat Fitness Boredom as a Personal Trainer
Strategy #3: Habit Coaching + Lifestyle & Wellness Focus
Holidays are a key point in the coach–client relationship because they reveal how well your support holds up when life gets “hectic.”
When you help clients stay grounded through richer meals, more social events, and less structure, you strengthen their progress and your retention for the months ahead.
To do that well, you need habit coaching anchored in a system that helps clients stay consistent. Effective holiday habits include:
- A short walk after meals
- Five minutes of mobility
- Hydration before events
- A mindful moment before eating
- Logging sleep or stress
Small habits keep clients steady without demanding perfection, and ABC Trainerize makes that process seamless. You can monitor patterns and send encouragement while being away from your clients. This way, they can navigate the season autonomously, too, with more ease and less guilt.
The goal is balance, not restriction. Clients appreciate knowing they can enjoy holiday food without losing the progress they’ve made.
📝 Check Out: The Power of Holistic Coaching: Training, Nutrition, and Habits Working Together
Strategy #4: Communication & Engagement to Stay Top-Of-Mind Without Overwhelming
Surveys show that 72% of SMS subscribers expect at least 1 message per week during busy seasons. So make sure you’re using that space wisely with quick reminders, motivational nudges, or a single actionable tip.
Remember to keep it short and timely! With ABC Trainerize, you can schedule or automate push notifications, SMS-style nudges, and in-app check-ins that feel supportive, not overwhelming.
Examples include: workout reminders by sharing their workout streaks, habit prompts like hydration or post-meal walks, holiday challenge updates, or quick “How’s your week going?” messages.
You can even send inspiring on-demand holiday workouts or fitness content like mini videos, gift guides, or stress-relief tips.
When all of this lives inside your app, clients can access coaching anytime, which helps them stay engaged.
📝 Read More: What is an ABC Trainerize Custom Branded App (CBA)?
Strategy #5: Referral & Giftable Offers to Turn The Holiday Mood Into Growth
The holidays are the perfect time to position your coaching as a gift, especially with health-conscious and experience-based presents becoming more popular every year.
Create simple, giftable offers that clients can share with friends or family, such as:
- Coaching gift cards
- A “New Year Kickstart” package
- Mini mobility or recovery bundles
- Bring-a-buddy weeks or partner workout passes
Once you’ve created your bundles, make them shoppable directly on Instagram or TikTok so people can purchase and gift them instantly, without extra back-and-forth or manual coordination.
These kinds of gifts land particularly well right now, since 43% of Gen Z use social media to discover holiday gift ideas and actively look for options that feel meaningful and practical.
The good news is that when someone buys a gift or referral pass, ABC Trainerize automatically handles onboarding, welcome messages, program delivery, and habit setup. This turns seasonal interest into new clients quickly, without manual admin during the busiest time of year.
📝 Read More: The Power of Client Referrals and How to Get Them
Strategy #6: Manage Member Experience to Retain Long-Term, Not Just Acquire Clients
Lastly, something to track during this time is your retention strategy. Holiday seasons often reveal who’s at risk of falling out of routine, which is why proactive member experience matters more now than at any other time of the year.
Small drops in activity, missed check-ins, or slower engagement can escalate quickly if they go unnoticed. With ABC Trainerize, you can spot these patterns early through client activity views, habit tracking, and missed-workout alerts.
Once you identify who needs extra support, reach out with low-pressure, personalized messages: a quick “How’s travel going?”, or a link to a short workout. Many clients just need a slight nudge to stay connected.
Flexibility also helps protect retention. Offering short-term freezes or a gentler, maintenance-focused program shows clients that you’re meeting them where they are, not forcing an unrealistic plan during a busy season.
Finally, think ahead. Set up a “New Year Reset” onboarding flow so clients return from the holidays with clarity and renewed motivation. ABC Trainerize can automate welcome messages, assign new programs, and restart habits so clients feel supported the moment they’re ready to re-engage.
📝 Free Resource: Client Retention Cheat Sheet for Personal Trainers
Holiday Coaching Playbook: A Step-by-Step Checklist
- 1. Audit your client list: Identify who’s traveling, overwhelmed, or at risk, and match your communication style to each group.
- 2. Map your holiday content calendar: Plan workouts, challenges, and check-ins that carry a festive tone visually and emotionally.
- 3. Set up on-demand and hybrid options in ABC Trainerize: Upload travel-friendly videos, schedule minimal-equipment sessions, and prepare alternatives.
- 4. Design your holiday challenge or mini program: Choose a theme, set simple daily tasks, and add streaks or milestones.
- 5. Automate communication: Schedule reminders, nudges, and light-touch updates.
- 6. Launch referral and giftable offers: Create bundles, buddy passes, or short-term programs clients can gift.
- 7. Monitor engagement: Track activity and habits to re-engage at-risk clients quickly.
📝 Free Resource: The Ultimate Guide to Running a Fitness Challenge
Conclusion
Thoughtful holiday-season coaching is powerful because it lets you support clients at the exact moment their routines change and their habits are most at risk.
Each strategy in this guide works toward that goal:
- Flexible and hybrid training for the holiday season gives them autonomy when time is tight.
- Habit coaching helps them enjoy holiday meals, be social, and relax without losing the healthy routines they’ve earned.
- On-demand and virtual content give them something they can access anytime, anywhere.
- Seasonal offers, giftable bundles, buddy passes, and shoppable content let clients share that support with the people they care about.
ABC Trainerize can help you wrap this up nicely. You can deliver programs, track habits, automate communication, and manage referrals from one place, without gaps in the client experience, even during the busiest season of the year.
Log in to ABC Trainerize today and build your 2025-2026 Holiday Coaching Plan, and let’s help your clients stay on track together – try it now!
