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Your home workout plan for Christmas

April 06 2022 6 min read

Christmas is great for a lot of things, like visiting family, eating tasty food and enjoying a drink or two.

But there’s one thing that it’s not so great for — keeping fit.

The average person consumes a massive 6000 calories on Christmas day alone. That would be bad enough if it wasn't notoriously difficult to find the time to hit the gym over the festive period. With all our social commitments to contend with, squeezing in a workout can be tough.

To help out, we’ve created a workout plan that you can do at home over the holidays. It’s our gift to you. Not only are these exercises quick to complete but they don’t require any equipment, so you can join in with the festivities without ending up on the naughty list!

 

WARM UP

JUMP PULSES X 30 SECS

  • Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your sides
  • Do two small jumps, then land in a squat position with your arms shoulder-height
  • Do two small squat jumps and then rise back up into the starting position
  • Switch positions on the landing of each second jump to keep the exercise running smoothly

WINDMILL X 30 SECS

  • Keep your feet shoulder-width apart
  • Bend forward while keeping your back straight
  • Keep your arms parallel, with one hand touching the floor and the other pointing towards the ceiling
  • Rotate your shoulders and switch the position of both arms

LUNGE OVERHEAD REACH X 30 SECS

  • Stand with your legs hip-width apart and your arms fully extended at your sides
  • Take a large step forward and descend into a lunge position, bending your front knee 90 degrees
  • Fully extend your arms towards the ceiling as you step
  • Return to the starting position and repeat with the other leg stepping forward

INCHWORM X 30 SECS

  • Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and bend to touch the ground. Keep your legs straight for as long as you can
  • When you reach the ground, walk out on your hands as far as you can with your feet stationary
  • Crawl backwards towards your feet and straighten back up into a standing position
  • Fully extend your arms towards the ceiling, then lower them back to the starting position

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS X 30 SECS

  • Start in the plank position with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders
  • Draw in your knees towards your chest, one leg at a time
  • Keep your body as level as you can, without elevating your hips

 

CARDIO

BURPEES X 60 SECS

  • From a standing position, drop into a squat with your hands on the ground just in front of your feet
  • Kick your feet back behind you, keeping your arms extended so you are in a raised plank position
  • Remain in the raised plank and jump your feet back towards your hands
  • Leap into the air with your arms straight above you, landing back into the starting position

STAR JUMPS X 60 SECS

  • Start in a crouched position with your feet at hip-width and your arms by your sides
  • Jump up as high as you can, lifting out your arms and legs to the sides to make a star shape with your body
  • Land with your legs at hip-width and your arms by your sides
  • Lower yourself back into a crouched position, ready for your next jump

SQUAT JUMPS X 60 SECS

  • Stand with your legs shoulder width apart
  • Lower yourself into a squat position
  • Jump up as high as you can with your arms pointing towards the ceiling
  • Control your landing back into a squat position

HIGH KNEES X 60 SECS

  • Start with your feet hip-width apart
  • Lift your left leg as high as it will go and raise your right arm as if running
  • Quickly switch legs so your right leg is high before your left foot falls and your left arm is raised
  • Repeat as many times as you can in 60 seconds

 

STRENGTH

PLANK X 60 SECS

  • Lower your forearms to the floor with your elbows positioned under your shoulders and your hands shoulder-width apart
  • Step your feet back, one at a time, so that you’re perched on your toes
  • Maintain a straight line from heels through the top of your head, while looking down at the floor
  • Tighten your core and hold the position

SQUATS X 60 SECS

  • Stand with your feet slightly wider than your hips
  • Extend your arms out in front of you, parallel to the ground, and keep your spine in a neutral position
  • Bend your knees into the squat position, keeping your back straight and your knees in line with your feet
  • Keeping the same form, raise your body back up to the starting position

FORWARD LUNGE X 60 SECS

  • Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and engage your core
  • Take a big step forward with your right leg and start to shift your weight forward so that your heel hits the floor first
  • Lower your body down until your right thigh is parallel to the floor with your right shin vertical
  • Press into your right heel to drive yourself back up to the starting position
  • Repeat the exercise with your left leg

REPEAT THE CIRCUIT

WARM DOWN

JOG IN PLACE X 30 SECS

  • Start by lifting each foot only a few inches off the ground
  • Lift your legs higher as you jog until your thighs are parallel with the ground
  • Engage your arms as you jog to burn more calories

QUAD STRETCH X 15 SECS

  • Stand on your left foot and grab your right shin by bending your leg behind you
  • Tuck your pelvis in, pull your shin toward your glutes, making sure your knee is pointing to the ground. Try not to pull the knee backwards or sideways
  • Hold for 15 seconds and then switch sides

CALF STRETCH X 15 SECS

  • Face a wall with one leg forward the other back, bending your front knee
  • Place your hands on the wall and lean your body weight forward, while pressing through your back heel
  • Hold for 15 seconds and then switch sides

HAMSTRING STRETCH X 15 SECS

  • Sit on the floor with one leg out straight
  • Bend the other leg at the knee and position the sole of that foot against your opposite inner thigh
  • Extend your arms and reach forward over your straightened leg by bending at the waist as far as possible
  • Hold for 15 seconds and then switch sides

GLUTE STRETCH X 15 SECS

  • Kneel on the floor with your forearms flat on the ground and your right leg behind you.
  • Lean your torso forward and open your left knee outward to the left
  • Bend your elbows to deepen your stretch
  • Hold for 15 seconds and then switch sides

Now you have your Christmas fitness routine planned out, all you need to worry about is the presents!