16 December 2013

 

Use extra calories productively (through strength training)

So a weekend’s coming up with a Christmas work party, a family get together and you’ve got to sort out stuff to make Christmas magical for your kids. You’ll have no time to exercise, you’ll eat loads and drink too, surely it’s a right off for your training right? WRONG, you can enjoy your weekend to the max whilst still improving your fitness over those few days, because what you’ll be doing is resting and eating. And resting and eating is recovery, and recovery is a big part of training. With more recovery, you just need to give your body more to recover from. 3 days worth, and here’s how.

Exercise 1 – Squat Jumps:
Grab two dumbbells, then whilst keeping your back straight and your heels on the ground, hinge your hips and bend at the knee, squatting down as low as you can to try and touch the dumbbells to the floor outside your feet. Then jump as high as you can and land as softly as you can. Repeat for 10 reps, then go straight to exercise 2.

Exercise 2 – Curl and Press.

Holding two dumbbells, tense your bum and abdominal muscles, then curl both weights up to shoulder height, then push both dumbells upwards in a line over your shoulders. Repeat for 10 reps then do exercise 1 again. If you find this exercise stresses your lower back, or you struggle with overhead flexibility, simply do it seated.

Do 10 sets of each exercise, cycling 1, 2, 1, 2….
Use a weight that challenges you for each exercise (although it doesn’t need to push you to failure, you want to do 10 sets of 10 reps).

Be creative
Christmas is a time to connect with family and friends, and you don’t always need to do this with alcohol, Christmas T.V and boxes of tiny chocolates. Get active with your family and friends (no, I don’t mean bring your grandparents to the gym) go do something festive like ice skating, or go for a long winter walk (maybe find your own mistletoe). If it snows have fun and go make the most of it with sledging or snowballs, and if you’re having a party set up a fun activity for entertainment, and to keep you moving and developing skills. This could be going bowling, or to play pool or adventure golf, or if at home play twister, and if you’re dancing, do it vigorously!

Have a great Christmas!
Gary Cox (BS7 Gym Manager)