Halloween is over. And so it begins: The Holidays. The time of year every fitness fanatic fears: the food…the cocktails…the hectic schedule. This is the time of year that many people fall off the workout wagon. Whether your plans keep you in Mount Pleasant or Charleston or take you abroad, keeping up an exercise routine can be a challenge. In order to prevent all of you loyal gym enthusiasts from losing your groove, here are a few tips to keep up your exercise routines, even in the face of pumpkin pie, egg nog and chocolate Santas.
The key to keeping fit during the holidays is making sure you can workout anywhere and at anytime. Breaking Muscle puts it this way, “Too many people take holidays knowing they will […] lose a level of their fitness, yet they do nothing to combat it. [But] whether you have a gym or not, there is always something you can do to stay active.” And the key to that “staying active” can often-times involve bodyweight exercises.
According to Men’s Fitness, “As long as you push yourself and move quickly from exercise to exercise, you’ll be able to get through some productive workouts in a short period of time. Feel free to mix and match these exercises so your out-of-gym workouts don’t get stale, while addressing every part of the body.”
We have culled some of our favorite fitness expert sites and made a compilation of some great exercises to take with you on vacay.
Density Circuit
Select four compound exercises (that either target all the same muscle or a plethora of different ones), a rep scheme, and a time limit. Density circuits work great when you only have bodyweight to work with. Aim to have the most metabolically challenging and technical exercise as the first in the circuit.
For example:
Bodyweight Squats x 25
Push Ups x 20
Single Leg Hip Thrusts x 15 (per leg)
Pike Pushups x 10
Repeat for 10 minutes, resting as necessary.
2. MensHealth.com expert Travis Steffen, founder of WorkoutBox.com
Eccentric Pushups
“The eccentric pushup is a great way to isolate the pectorals and increase time under tension. As a beginner, each reps should only take 3-5 seconds. However, the advanced exerciser should draw out reps as long as possible. At the bottom, fire the pecs hard and explode up. Perform 3 sets of 5-7 reps.”
Side Planks
“A side plank itself is an effective exercise for developing the obliques, but adding a leg raise in can make this a formidable exercise. Not only will you see benefits throughout the entire core, but you will also get considerable glute and abductor benefits. Perform 3 sets of 30-45 seconds each (per side) including as many controlled leg raises as possible during that time period.”
Iron Cross
“The iron cross is great for developing the rectus abdominus, and is also helpful in strengthening and defining the hip flexors. It is performed by extending the arms and legs, then crunching one elbow to the opposite knee while each other limb remains elevated. Perform 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps per side.”
Bonus Burn
Do as many reps of each exercise as you can in one minute, moving from one to the next without stopping. Rest 90 seconds, then repeat the circuit a total of three or four times.
1. Jumping Jacks
2. Squat Jumps
3. Side-to-Side Hops: Keeping your knees slightly bent and feet together, imagine you’re jumping back and forth over a line on the floor.
4. Burpees: Squat to place your hands on the ground, jump back into a plank position, and do a pushup. Reverse the move to return to standing, jumping off the ground to finish each rep.
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