Fighting Fat With Holiday Workouts

We’ve established that time is of the essence over the holidays – you want a routine you can get done in minimum time, but with maximum effect. Here are three quick, but highly effective holiday workouts you can try. Aim to train at least three times a week over the holidays, switching between the three workouts every session.

Tabata

Designed by a Japanese exercise researcher, Tabata is the ultimate in butt-kicking workouts.

It only lasts 4-minutes, and while you may scoff at this, they’ll likely be the hardest 4-minutes of your life. A Tabata is pretty simple to set up. Pick a multi-joint exercise (for this example we’ll use body-weight squats.)

- 20 seconds as many squats as you can
- 10 seconds rest
- Repeat 8 times

And that’s it. Very short, but very effective. The best exercise to use in a Tabata are squats, kettlebell or dumbbell swings, burpees, medicine ball slams, pushups, alternate lunges, hill sprints, step-ups, clean and presses and squat thrusts.

Ideally you’d get four different Tabatas done in a workout, but they beauty of a Tabata workout is that even just one has huge benefits. You could knock out a Tabata pushup workout while waiting for your potatoes to boil!

Full-Body Weights Workout

Weight training is a surprisingly good calorie-burner. Not only does it burn calories while you’re doing it, it also gives you a massive metabolism boost, meaning you carry on burning them long after your session’s finished. Full body workouts make weight training even more metabolically advantageous too.

- Back Squats or Front Squats – 5 sets of 5 reps
- Deadlifts or Lunges – 5 sets of 5 reps
- Bench Presses or Pushups – 5 sets of 5 reps
- Barbell or Dumbbell Rows – 5 sets of 5 reps
- Overhead Presses or Dips – 5 sets of 5 reps
- Chin-ups or Pull-downs – 5 sets of 5 reps

Use a weight that allows you to just about complete all the sets and reps with and aim to go a little heavier each workout.

Metabolic Circuits

Metabolic circuit training is the perfect blend of weights and cardio. You get the strength and muscle increases of a weights workout, plus the fitness, fat loss and calorie burn of a cardio session.

The rules are simple – pick six high intensity exercises that between them hit your whole body, and perform each for 30 seconds at maximum intensity. For example –

- Kettlebell Swings
- Jump lunges
- Incline Pushups
- Medicine Ball Slams
- Resistance Band Rows
- Burpees

Rest for 90 seconds, then go again. Start with three rounds and add a round each session. Once you can do six rounds, bump the time up to 40 seconds per exercise.

Holiday training doesn’t have to be time-consuming, boring or even feel like a chore. With the right attitude and approach to training you can minimize the usual holiday weight gain, enjoy your time in the gym, and possibly even come out the other side fitter, stronger and leaner.