Between all of the parties and travel, it can be tough to stay active and on track with healthy eating habits during the holidays. The good news is that there IS a way to fit in a fast and effective workout to prevent you from packing on the pounds over the next few weeks. It involves using one of the most neglected pieces of equipment in the gym so you probably won’t even have to wait in line to get on it: the rowing ergometer. Think of this ultimate holiday season fitness program as 20 minutes of non-stop horizontal power cleans. If done properly, you’ll work your legs, abs, low back, upper back, shoulders, biceps, and grip strength in addition to getting a killer cardio workout. Sound too good to be true?
Give this a try:
Warm-Up 5 minutes at an easy pace.
Then do 10 minutes of high intensity interval training – here is an example: 1 minute rowing as hard as you can (while maintaining proper form) followed by one minute of easy rowing to recover. Repeat that sequence four more times to get 10 minutes of metabolic conditioning intervals.
Finish with a 5 minute cool down.
Done in 20 minutes. Metabolism will still be elevated long after you’ve finished.
If intervals aren’t your thing and you’d like to get involved in a rowing challenge, the folks at Concept 2 (maker of fine rowing ergometers) usually have one going, such as seeing if you can log 100,000 meters in a month. Steady state exercise isn’t as effective as interval training, but it’s better than nothing and can be useful on recovery days.
Simple workouts like this can be fast and effective and you’ll thank me later when you haven’t gained 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Believe me, the pounds go on a lot easier than they come off! You’re welcome 😉