Between holiday shopping, parties, travel, and family traditions on top of the usual busyness, most of us are pressed for time at the end of the year. But don’t let that stop you from fitting in exercise! Today I’m sharing 3 workout ideas to try over your holiday season.
The first routine is a 30-minute HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout that consists of 5 circuits, with 3 exercises in each circuit: a cardio move, a bodyweight strength move, and an abdominal exercise. For each exercise, it’s 30 seconds on / 10 seconds off, and once you complete the three exercises, you repeat it for 3 rounds, then move onto the next circuit. This one can be done anywhere, and chances are I’ll be doing this one when I’m staying at my parents’ house over Christmas!
Tip: I use a free app called Interval Timer for HIIT workouts. I set up my desired intervals (in this case, 45 intervals with 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest), and then once I push start, I can just listen to the alarm interval noises to switch exercises while I’m watching TV or listening to music.
The second workout is a treadmill + bodyweight circuit workout that’ll take around 40 minutes to complete. My father-in-law has a treadmill in his basement, so when I’m staying at his house I usually fit in a workout incorporating incline walking intervals. This workout begins with building treadmill inclines, then switches over to 5 bodyweight exercises for a total body workout. Do 4 rounds for about a 40 minute workout. Only have 20 minutes to spare? Complete 2 rounds for a quickie workout!
Lastly, the third workout can be done anywhere and requires no equipment. With a quick warm up, cool down, and minimal rest in between circuits, this routine takes me about 40 minutes to complete:
Working out helps to boost energy, gets those endorphins flowing to de-stress, and offsets some of those holiday treats. Here are a couple of tips for exercising over the holiday season:
- Be okay with the fact that your workouts may burn less than usual for a few weeks. While you might not be able to workout as frequently or as long as you typically do, every little bit counts!
- Get creative! I adapt to my environment and work with what’s available to me for my workouts over the holidays. Sometimes the best activity for me to do is take the dogs for a long walk with my mom or sister, or I hop on the treadmill at my father-in-law’s. It’s pretty much the only time you’ll find me on the treadmill, but it’s what I’ve got to work with so I go with it!
- Fit in your sweat sessions early in the day. I like to fit in my holiday workouts first thing in the morning, so that I can get them out of the way and then relax with loved ones and focus on the day’s activities – without having to wonder if/how/when I can exercise in the day.
How do you make sure to fit in exercise over the holiday season?
Thanks for sharing these ideas! I need some new workout ideas for at home so I’ll definitely be trying these out soon.
I agree that it’s so important to squeeze workouts in during this hectic time of the year! They (1) help me feel better about the holiday sweets and treats I’m eating and (2) help me avoid the creeping crud that always seem to show up this time of the year. Thanks for the gameplan for some easy workouts! Also, I totally agree about working out early in the day. It makes me feel better, and I go ahead and get it out of the way! 🙂
That’s so awesome that your father-in-law has a treadmill in his basement! I wish we had one because our new neighborhood isn’t walkable at all. I need to work out so bad though. I might have to squeeze the bodyweight one in soon. It looks like a good one!