12 Days of Christmas Workout
Words Bevery Pokuah
So, Christmas is right around the corner and the last thing you probably want to do between holiday barbecues and shopping for Christmas presents is hitting up the gym for your boring routine. It’s easy to get carried away during the holidays, add to that frantic schedule of heading from one social obligation to another and often less than ideal weather conditions, and it’s easy to feel discouraged when you get back into your fitness routine after the holidays.
Why not true something different that will certainly get your heart pumping and your muscles burning.
By Sandsun, shutterstock.comThemed workouts are a great way to stay motivated and mix up any exercise routine during the holidays. In addition, you won’t need any equipment to complete it – meaning you can do the workout right in your living room.
That’s where our 12 Days of Christmas workout comes into play. Just like the song 12 Days of Christmas, this workout will continue to build on itself every day, until you eventually end up completing all of the exercises at once. Ready to kickstart your New Year’s training ahead of time? We challenge you to complete our 12 Days of Christmas workout! So, on the first day of Christmas (aka the first day of the 12 Days of Christmas workout), you’ll complete one jump squat. On the second day, you’ll do two forward and back lunges and one squat. On the third day, it’s three crawl-outs, two forward and back lunges and one jump squat. This pattern continues until the twelfth day when you’ll have to complete the entire list. Make sense?
Jump squats
Muscles involved: Glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, abs
Directions:
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your toes pointed slightly outward.
Drop your hips back and down as if sitting in a chair, keeping your knees behind the toes at all times and your hips and ankles in line so that your knees don’t collapse inward.
Continue to drop until your thighs are nearly parallel to the floor.
Engage your core and jump up explosively.
Land gently back at the starting position.
Tips:
Keep your neck long, your back straight and your shoulders back and down away from ears.
Make sure your abs are engaged and use your arms for balance.
If you want to make the exercise easier, stand with your feet wider apart.
Forward and back lunges
Muscles involved: Glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps
Directions:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Take a big step forward with one leg, then bend at the knee to drop your hips.
Lower yourself deeper into the pose until your rear knee nearly touches the floor, and your front knee is directly above your ankle.
Stand back up, step backward with the front leg and bend at the knee to drop your hips.
Descend until your rear knee nearly touches the floor and your front knee above the ankle.
Push off the rear foot to return to the starting position. Repeat for both legs.
Tips:
Don’t let your front knee extend past your toes.
Keep your neck long, your shoulders back away from ears and directly above hips.
Flexibility improves with time, so aim to enhance your range of motion with each step.
Crawl-outs
Muscles involved: Hamstrings, glutes, shoulders, core
Directions:
Stand with your feet together. Keep your legs straight, then bend at the hips and place hands on the floor directly in front of you.
Slowly walk your hands forward, alternating your left and your right hands.
Keep walking until your body is parallel to the floor in a pushup position and hold for 3 seconds
Slowly alternate your hands moving backward until you reach the starting position. Count it as one repetition.
Tips:
Keep your neck long, your back straight and your shoulders back and down away from your ears.
Push-ups
Muscles involved: Chest, shoulders, triceps, lats, core
Begin in a plank position on the floor, with your hands directly under your shoulders, your feet together and your toes curled underneath.
Tense every muscle in your body to form a straight line from your head through heels.
Lower your chest towards the floor, keeping your elbows close to your body.
Extend your arms to push your body back to the starting position.
Tips:
Keep your neck long and in line with your spine, and your shoulders down away from ears.
Burpees
Muscles involved: Chest, shoulders, abs, glutes, quadriceps
Directions:
Stand straight, then squat down and place your hands on the floor outside of your feet.
With your hands planted, jump your feet back and land with straight legs, toes curled under.
Lower your body to the floor, with your elbows close to your body in a push-up position.
Press your palms into the ground to lift your body again.
Shift your body weight to your hands to jump your feet forward into a squat.
Explode up into a jump and land on your feet as softly as possible. That’s one repetition.
Tips:
Keep your neck in line with your spine.
Try to complete the entire exercise as quietly as possible, i.e. jump and land gently.
Side jumps
Muscles involved: Glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings
Directions:
Stand with an object (like a book) placed on the floor to your left.
Keep your feet together and jump to the left and over the object.
Repeat the move, this time jumping to the right and over the object. That’s one repetition.
Tips:
Stay light on your feet and complete the exercise as quietly as possible.
Tuck in your knees for an additional challenge.
Dips
Muscles involved: Triceps, shoulders, upper back
Directions:
Put your hands on top of a surface (like a chair or bench) with your arms extended and shoulders directly above wrists.
Keep your legs straight in front of you with your heels on the floor, or with knees bent to make it easier.
Bend your elbows to lower your hips to the floor.
Straighten your arms and press your body back up to the starting position. That’s one repetition.
Tips:
Keep your neck long, shoulders back and down away from your ears
Engage your core.
Have your elbows tight to your body at all times
Keep your body close to the chair.
Russian Twists
Muscles involved: Abs, quadriceps
Directions:
Sit on the floor with your knees bent at a 45-degree angle and your heels hovering several inches above the floor.
Lean your torso back with a 45-degree bend in your hips and balance on your sit bones.
Rotate your torso to tap both hands on the floor by left hip.
Rotate your torso in the opposite direction to tap both of your hands on the floor next to the right hip.
Count one repetition when you’ve tapped both sides.
Tips:
Keep your neck long and in line with your spine, and your shoulders down away from ears.
Hips should stay firmly grounded on the floor.
Squats
Muscles involved: Glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, core, lower back
Directions:
Stand straight with your shoulders above your hips, your feet hip-width apart, and your toes slightly turned out.
Drop your hips back and down. Be sure to keep your knees behind your toes at all times and your hips and ankles in line so that the knees don’t collapse inward.
Continue to lower yourself as if you’re sitting back in a chair.
Drive your weight into your heels and stand back up to the starting position.
Tips:
Keep your neck long and in line with your spine, and your shoulders down away from ears.
Flexibility improves with practice — try to squat deeper each time.
Engage your abs and extend your arms in front of you to help with balance.
To make the exercise easier, squat with your feet wider apart.
Mountain climbers
Muscles involved: Abs, glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings
Directions:
Place your hands on the floor directly underneath your shoulders. Keeping your hips lifted, extend your legs with your feet together and toes curled underneath.
Tense every muscle in your body to form a straight line from your head through to your heels.
Keep your left foot straight out behind while pulling your right knee in toward your chest.
Place your right foot back down behind you and repeat the motion with your left leg (pulling your left knee in towards your chest).
Repeat for the specified number of times (one mountain climber is equal to one repetition for each leg).
Tips:
Keep your neck long with your shoulders back away from the ears.
Breathe steadily and don’t hold your breath.
Spread your fingers out and grip the floor to keep you stable.
Butterfly sit-ups
Muscles involved: Abs
Directions:
Lie on your back with the soles of your feet placed together, your heels pointed towards your butt, and your arms on floor stretched above your head.
Press your lower back into the floor and roll your shoulders up and lean forward.
Curl your torso off the floor and touch just past your feet.
Slowly lower your body back down to the floor. That’s one rep.
Tips:
Keep your lower back pressed into the floor at all times and your core engaged.
Jump lunges
Muscles involved: Glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps
Directions:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Jump straight up and with legs opposite each other to land in a lunge position.
Descend until the back knee nearly touches the floor, keeping the front knee directly in line above the ankle.
Drive through the heel of the lead foot, jump explosively and simultaneously switch legs.
Land gently with your opposite foot in a front lunge position. Count one repetition when you’ve lunged on both legs.
Tips:
Keep your neck long, your back straight and your shoulders back and down away from ears.
Flexibility improves with time, so aim to improve your range of motion with each step.