Antidote to Holiday Overload: Six Survivor Exercises

Good grief, here we go again. Time to “get through the holidays”. Don’t get me wrong…it’s a great time of year. One where we celebrate something outside of ourselves, and take time to appreciate all that we have been blessed with, including those around us.

But, this can be a challenging time of year for those of us who are trying to stay focused on fitness and eating right.

Six Survivor Exercises

In that vein, I would like to republish a few exercises from an email that I sent out last year around this time. A bunch of people found this really helpful! These are easily slipped into your holidays when you just can’t manage a full-blown exercise session. I call them “survivor exercises”. They are guaranteed to energize you in just a few minutes. Then, you can go back to decorating, partying, cooking, wrapping, writing, or even resting with renewed focus and enthusiasm. I promise. For your convenience, they are also attached to this download.

1. Sit to stand. Find a firm chair. Get up and down from it 10 times in a row. Take care not to have your knees out in front of your toes. Use your butt muscle to get you up!
2. Crossovers. Find a long hallway. Go down it sideways. With the first step, cross one leg behind the other. With the second step, cross the leg in front of the other. Keep going, alternating front and back crossovers. Never mind that your family and friends think you may have lost your mind. Ask them to join you!
3. Heel Raises. Stand tall. Grab on to the back of a chair for balance. Rise up on your toes 10 times. If you want to get fancy, do this again with toes turned in, and then again with toes turned out.
4. Hugs and unhugs. Stand tall. Start with both arms out wide and then give yourself a hug. Unhug yourself by bringing your arms way out to the side again. Try not to shrug your shoulders up. Do this 10 times with abandon.
5. Shoulder rolls. Stand tall again. Bring your shoulders up toward your ears, then roll them back and down, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Do this 10 times.
6. Knee to chest. Stand tall again (are you getting the message here?). Bring one knee up toward your chest. Grab it with both arms if you can and pull it a bit further. Go to the other leg and do the same. Alternate this 10 times.

Yay! You are done! Do these all in one session or even just a few at once. It’s all good! Use the attachment if you want to download the exercises.

All for now,

Cheers and Happy Holidays,
Kristen

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