The Holiday season between Thanksgiving and the New Year are busy times for most people. With family gatherings, travel, gift shopping, preparing special meals and holiday treats, parties at the office and with friends and with family… WHEW! For many, the exercise program gets put on the back burner which means that you lose some of the gains that you’ve worked so hard to achieve earlier in the year. The solution: if you don’t have time for your regular routine, a quickie workout is better than no workout – and if done properly, can keep you moving forward towards your health and fitness goals or at least maintain your progress!
What is a Quickie Workout?
When planned properly, pick just a few total body strength exercises and hammer through them with as little rest as possible. Keep in mind, the quality of the movement matters, so just because you’re going fast doesn’t mean that it’s OK to be sloppy. Rest as little as necessary to be able to do each exercise with proper technique. Choose a few exercises that work all of the major muscle groups: the pushing muscles, pulling muscles, legs, and trunk. You may use just body weight or external resistance – it doesn’t really matter. Your heart rate will also be elevated, meaning you’ll get some cardio done too. These types of workouts keep metabolism elevated, so you’ll continue to torch fat long after the session has ended.
Examples of a Quickie Workout
The most effective workouts will be high intensity intervals of some type: Tabata, ladders, pyramids, HIIT circuits, etc.
Here is a basic example:
Squat – works lower body and core, especially if using barbell. Back squat, front squat, split squat, overhead squat, etc.
Push-Ups – works the pushing muscles of the upper extremity as well as core muscles.
Pull-Ups – works the pulling muscles of the upper extremity.
Lots of variations just with this list.
- You can do a ladder (start with 10 reps of each exercise, then 9, 8, 7, etc until you get to 1). Note your time and try to improve upon it next time (remember to use good technique).
- You can set a timer for 15-20 minutes and see how many rounds you can complete in that amount of time.
- You can do 8 reps of each exercise Tabata style before moving on to the next exercise on the list.
Not Fit Enough for High Intensity Workouts?
That’s OK! Focus on doing a few exercises that target the major muscle groups as mentioned earlier: legs, trunk, pushing and pulling muscles. Rest as needed to do each exercise correctly.
Need More Help?
Call me today and we’ll discuss your situation in more detail. We can schedule a fitness assessment to see what your specific needs are so that you don’t waste time doing the wrong exercises. Get your customized quickie workout today!
Happy Holidays!!