The holidays are a good excuse for some much-needed rest and relaxation, but I always find I’m on a downward fitness spiral after a few days of indulging in my favorite festive food and lazing on the couch. This Christmas Workout Challenge will rescue you from holiday lethargy. It’s a HIIT routine designed to get your heart rate pumping and short enough to fit in between your social obligations. Better still you can avoid exercising outside in your typical holiday bad weather and with these bodyweight exercises, you don’t need any equipment.
The workout is a variation of the popular “12 Days Of Christmas” jingle. Never mind lords a leaping and gold rings, we have sumo squats and burpees.
How To Complete The Christmas Bodyweight Workout
The workout flows just like the song. Each day is a separate set. Start with one jumping jack. Then your 2nd set is two supermans and one jumping jack. 3rd set is three push-ups, two supermans and one jumping jack. Keep going until you get to set 12: twelve knee-to-elbow planks, eleven sumo squats… and finally your last jumping jack.
- 1 Jumping Jack
- 2 Supermans
- 3 Push Ups
- 4 Glute Bridges (double or alternate single version)
- 5 Burpees
- 6 Reverse Lunges (alternate legs)
- 7 Mountain Climbers
- 8 Side Lunges (alternate sides)
- 9 Reverse Crunches
- 10 Chair Dips (prop the chair against a wall for safety)
- 11 Sumo Squats
- 12 Knee to Elbow Planks
Variations
Try to do all 12 sets or aim for a complete run-through of all the exercises. You can use light weights for the reverse lunges and sumo squats.
Safety
It’s a tough workout so be cautious if you haven’t exercised in a while. Practice each exercise first to make sure you have the correct posture. If it’s a long time since you last exercised, if you’re carrying a lot of excess weight, or have any existing medical issues, get checked out by a health professional before you try this workout.
Warm up before you start the routine with 5 minutes of walking in place.
The Exercises
At the end of this routine, you’ll be struggling to get the song out of your head. You have been warned!!!
