Holidays Exercise

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The holiday season is fast approaching, and for most of us, that means working out tends to become less of a priority. Our regular routines get disrupted with holiday-related events and we end up spending more time with friends and family and less time exercising. The combination of consuming extra calories and working out less can have a negative effect on our waistlines. Of course, the irony is that although we’re working out less and eating more, we all still want to look fit and toned in our party attire.
The solution: make sure your workouts are fast and effective!
Here are my suggestions on how to fit in high quality mini-workouts. If you’re used to working out regularly, these workouts will not improve your fitness level. They will, however, maintain your current level of fitness. This way, when you go back to the gym full force in January, you won’t have lost all of your hard-earned cardiovascular endurance and muscle tone.
Holiday Workout Tips
1. On days you can’t make it to the gym, do ten minutes of high intensity cardio in the morning. Ten minutes is short enough that you can always fit it in. Try skipping for ten minutes, or running up and down your home or condo stairs.
2. If you can’t fit in your regular 45-minute cardio workout at the gym, do intervals instead. Interval workouts will allow you to burn maximize amount of calories in a short amount of time. After a sufficient warm up, do 1-3 minutes of intense exercise followed by 1-3 minutes of more moderate activity. Repeat this intense/moderate cycle three to ten times.
Special note: everyone’s version of “intense” and “moderate” is relative to their fitness level. Work at a level that is appropriate for you. Intense should feel hard, like you couldn’t complete the activity for much longer than you were planning to, and moderate should feel like a break from an intense workout, but not a complete rest.
3. On days you absolutely can’t get to the gym, do a mini-workout at home. Do what I like to call “the minute workout”. All you need is a mat or towel and some free weights. If you don’t have free weights try substituting soup cans.
Sample 30 Minute At-Home Workout
Five-minute cardio warm up: Use your living room floor to do jumping jacks or high knees. Alternatively, run up and down your home, apartment or condo stairs.
Five minutes of lower body exercises: Pick five of your favorite lower body exercises and do each exercise for one minute. For example: squats, lunges, jump squats, walking lunges and bridges.
Five minutes of cardio: Run up and down the stairs, jump rope, or do jumping jacks.
Five minutes of upper body exercise: Pick five of your favorite upper body exercises and do each exercise for one minute. For example: push-ups, standing bent over rows, lateral raises, dips and biceps curls.
Five minutes of cardio: Run up and down the stairs, jump rope, or do jumping jacks.
Five minutes of core exercises: Pick five of your favorite core exercises and do each exercise for one minute. For example: plank, side plank, bike kicks, hip lifts and bird dog.
Once all your exercises are complete, cool down and stretch.
4. When you do get the chance to go to the gym, maximize your time by performing multi-joint full-body exercises. This will give you the most bang for your buck.
If you’ve been working out consistently for a year or more, and are comfortable with basic weight training, try this workout below. It incorporates full body weights and cardio intervals.
Weight-Training/Cardio Workout
Warm up:
• 2 min. fast walk on treadmill
• 2 min. light jog on treadmill
• 2 min. run on treadmill
Circuit 1.
• Plank and row – 10 reps each arm
Get into a plank position with toes on the floor and your hands directly under your shoulders. Hold a weight in each hand. Maintain your perfect plank position and row your right elbow up in the air. Don’t let your hips rotate. Do 10 reps and then switch arms.
• Lunge and cable row – 10 reps each arm
Hold the cable handle in your right hand and step your left foot backwards into a lunge position. Lunge down to the ground and as you stand back up perform a row with your right hand. Do 10 reps and switch sides.
• 2 min. skipping or running
Circuit 2.
• Squat thrusts – 15 reps
Holding a weight in each hand, lower yourself down into a squat while simultaneously performing a biceps curl. As you stand up from the squat press the weights up over your head. Lower your arms down to the starting position and repeat.
• Side plank with a reverse fly – 10 reps
Get into a proper side plank position with your left forearm and the outside edge of your left foot on the ground and your hips lifted in the air. Keep your legs and hips stacked and raise your right arm up in the air in a reverse fly position (slight bend in the arm; movement comes from the back of the shoulder). Do 10 reverse flys and then switch sides.
• 2 min. skipping or running
Circuit 3.
• Single leg bridge on the floor
Lie on your back, feet parallel and shoulder width apart. Lift your hips off the ground while engaging your glutes and abdominal muscles. This is your starting position. Alternate straightening one leg at a time without letting your hips lower or shift side to side. Do 10 reps each leg.
• V hold and shoulder press – 10 reps
Sit on the ground holding a weight in each hand. Lean backwards keeping your back straight and your core tight. Your body should look like a “V”. Hold this “V” position and press the weights up over your head 10 times.
• Bird dog – 10 reps each side
Come down onto the mat in a quadraped position, with your hands under shoulders and knees under hips. Engage your abdominals and maintain a neutral spine as you straighten your opposite arm and leg away from the ground. Repeat 10 reps on each side.

• Bosu ball up/up/down/down – 10 reps
Get into a plank position with your forearms on the bosu (dome side up) and your toes on the floor. Maintain a proper plank position with your hips stable and abdominals engaged as you straighten your right arm and place your right hand on the bosu.
Then straighten your left arm and place your left hand up on the bosu. Bend at the elbow and return the right and then left arm back to the starting position. Do 5 repetitions initiating with the right arm and 5 initiating with the left arm.
• Push-up and knee tuck on swiss ball – 10 reps
Get into a push-up position with your legs on the ball and your hands on the floor. Do a push-up and then bring your knees into your chest. Slowly lower back to the start position. Use your core to the control the motion.