Top 8 Exercises to Do Before the Turkey Arrives!

Waist and hip management can be challenging during the holiday season, sometimes it might feel like hibernation eating before our heavy winters arrive. This year take 20-30 minutes to do these exercises before anyone arrives for the turkey and keep yourself on track. In addition below are a couple food pointers that will help you eat less, and stay focused on not overindulging as the day goes on. Want personalized diet and exercise advice....in home personal training is proven to increase your success rate by accountability!

A good rule of thumb, is to cut 200-300 calories, at least 3 days BEFORE the big day. This way your aunts triple dipped chocolate peanut butter pie will not catch up to the thighs! If you figure that 3 days of calorie cutting will give you a safe cushion of 600-900 calories. It takes 3500 calories over your body’s natural calorie needs to create a pound of fat in the body, and it takes 3500 calories to burn to lose it!

Start your day like every other day. Wake up and eat breakfast. By not treating the day as an “all day food celebration” you can allow yourself to eat slightly more calories at the dinner meal. Secondly, having breakfast will start your metabolism cranking and keep you fuller throughout the day so that you don’t level the dessert table after the meal.

Drink plenty of water, ideally ½ your body weight in ounces of water will keep you sufficiently hydrated. The human body can sometimes misunderstand thirst as hunger. Causing people to eat more when in fact the body doesn’t want more food but more water! For example, if you weigh 120 pounds you should drink 60 oz of water.

Lastly, make sure you exercise! Even if “you don’t have time”, waking up just 20-30 minutes earlier will help to burn a couple calories as well as remind  you to stay focused on your long term goals. Exercise sends out “feel good hormones” and by doing this it will remind you how hard you’ve worked as well as what it takes for the pounds to come off. By teaching yourself moderation, healthy portions and balancing sweets and nutritious foods, you can still eat any dessert you want, just not the whole pie!

Take 20-30 minutes to complete this set of exercises and I guarantee you will be burning fat, building muscle and sweat induced. So get ready to be challenged. All of these exercises will be superset which means that you will perform the 2 exercises back to back and then rest. After your rest you will repeat the set of 2 exercises.

1A. Start with crunches. Feet up in the air and put a ball or pillow between the knees. As you crunch up, squeeze the ball. If you want a challenge, lower and raise the legs, still holding the ball between the legs, as you crunch up. Do 2 sets of 20-30, depending on your fitness level.

1B.After you have performed the above 1A crunches, plank. You can plank anywhere, if you do not have a resist a ball, put your forearms on a chair, couch or even on a bed. The closer your feet are together, the harder the exercise.Remember to keep the hips down. Rest and then repeat 1A and 1B.

2A. Jumping jacks, 25-50 depending on your fitness level.

2B. Push ups, as many as you can do in 30 seconds, even if you have to do bent knee.Push yourself. Anyone can do push ups, start with one or two military (straight leg) and then switch to bent knee. You have to start somewhere! Rest and then repeat 2A. and 2B.

3A.Hit your stairs, go up and down the stairs for 1 minute as fast as you can climb them. Minute 2, climb them 2 steps at a time.

3B. Lunges with lateral raises. Set of  15-20.If you do not have weights use soup cans or water bottles, of course fill them with water first! As you lunge forward raise your arms out to the sides of your body. Rest and repeat 3A and 3B.

4A.. Squat jumps. Squat and jump as high as you can go up, gently land and repeat for 15-20.

4B. Mountain climbers. In the plank position, jog the feet in towards the chest one at a time. 30 seconds to a minute depending on your fitness level. Rest and repeat 4A and 4B.

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I wish you the best of luck and a happy holiday season. Remember everything in moderation and just a couple exercises a day, 20-30 minutes, can change how you feel and your waist line!