I don't know about you, but I am excited to see what 2014 has in store for me! Not only because of the infinite possibilities a new year represents, but because I am done ready for the holidays to be over with already! I hope that doesn't make sound like a Scrooge, but enough already! Who's with me!?
If we're being brutally honest here, the real reason I'm ready for the holidays to be over is because I made VERY merry and indulged to my little heart's content. I'm not wracked with guilt as a result, but I admit that it's much easier to make good choices when you're not being tempted by cookies and pumpkin pie at every turn!
One healthy habit that I've maintained throughout the holiday season is getting my workouts on. I may have eaten potatoes, but I've not BEEN a couch potato!! Staying active during the holidays can be tricky, especially when you don't have access to a gym or much (if any) equipment. Lucky for me, my mom has privileges at a local gym that was built at my former middle school, so I've had options with which to vary my workouts.
Despite my unlimited gym access (all you need is the passcode for the front door!), about 90% of the workouts I did can be done anywhere because they 1) require minimal equipment, and 2) use bodyweight for most of the resistance. The exercises for which I used equipment can be modified or substituted out entirely for something more "travel-friendly." While I did different things every day that I worked out, my favorite was by far the Deck of Cards workout that I did on Christmas Day with my brother. Here's how it works:
1) You assign an exercise or a body part to each suit. For example, diamonds=pushups or upper body exercises; hearts=squats or lower body exercises.
2) You shuffle the deck and then perform the amount of repetitions of the exercise as indicated on the card. For face cards, I'll do 30 seconds of cardio like Burpees, mountain climbers, fast jump roping, or if I have access to a treadmill, sprints.
3) Aces are high and are equivalent to 11 reps of the prescribed exercise/body part
As you can see below, I'm working on my photo editing skillz: don't judge ;-) For this workout, hearts were bicep curls (with a bar, machine, or dumbbells); diamonds were squats (Byron killed the machine and I did Bulgarian Split Squats as a variation); clubs were triceps (I did rope pulldowns, unassisted dips, and dips off the bench); and spades were abs (crunches, planks, hanging leg raises, etc...choose your poison :-))
Very clever work out hil!
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