Christmas party season: Fitness tips
Right so last week we talked everything food but this week the focus is toning your body so you can be the envy of everyone else at the Christmas party! Not only will exercising assist in your weight loss goals and help achieve the perfect party body but the endorphins you receive from exercising will help your mental happiness and help you feel more lively and energetic so that you can get through all those parties. We have collected our favourite fitness tips to assist you this winter season and have also kindly added in specific workouts that combat all those wobbly, danger areas every woman hates…
- Invest in some cleansing milks that contain hylauronic acid or you could apply a brightening face mask, as this natural acid helps to destroy dead skin cells, firm up your skin and also leaves your skin feeling lovely and moisturised.
- If you are planning on going to the gym during party season, make sure to eat a carb-heavy meal two hours before that planned gym excursion to give your body some kind of energy. Once there, the last thing you want to do is anything HITT (High Intensity Interval Training) – that will do more damage to your already weak body than good. Instead get yourself into a steady pace on a treadmill and start working up a sweat, which gets rid of those toxins! Some light weights will help too.
- You need to exercise for at least 30-40 minutes, four times weekly until Christmas. It can be anything you enjoy- swimming, fast walking, salsa – even pole dancing! Anything that gets your heart rate up and makes you break into a sweat will burn fat and calories.
- Or why not try our Flabelos Vibration plates? Flabelos gives you a full body workout whilst you stand on the vibrating plate for 10 minutes. A minimum of 3 sessions are recommended per week to achieve optimum results. Reduction in cellulite, toning of the body and weight loss are some of the benefits you can expect to gain from this treatment.
- Below are a variety of exercises that you can perform mostly anywhere. These exercises focus especially on those areas all us women stress about, especially during party season!
Tummy flatteners
These exercises will target your abs to help trim a big tum.
- Lean back and twist. Sit with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Take your arms out in front of you and lean back about 10 inches, then twist your arms and your whole torso to the right on the exhale. Then breathe in to the front and sit up straight again. Repeat to the other side. (Two sets of 8).
- Superman. Go on all fours, pull your stomach in, stretch your spine, raise your right arm and your left leg to hip height. Reach as far you as can, then lower both limbs back down again, together. Breathe out on the raise and breathe in when you lower, trying to keep the hips still. (Repeat x 20).
- Reverse curls. Lie on your back. Lift your legs in the air. Raise your bottom and lower back off the floor for a moment. Don’t place your hands on the floor to help you, and don’t push back placing strain your head. Lower your torso down as gently as you can. (Repeat x 50).
Bingo wing blasters
The downward dog press up is perfect for toning the shoulders, back and triceps.
From standing bend until hands are close to the floor. Walk feet back so you create a triangle, bottom in the air and hands and feet on the floor. Unlocking elbows to the side, press down towards the floor, feeling the movement in your shoulders. Push off to straighten arms again, making sure your head isn’t looking up. (Two sets of 12).
Bum trimmer
The curtsey lunge is great for toning the buttocks.
Take your right foot behind left leg and bend knees down towards the floor. Move hands towards your left foot, leaning down to the floor. Straighten up, taking arms and right knee into the air, hold, then bend to get back to starting position, this time with left foot behind right leg and hands on the right foot. Repeat on right side. (Two sets of 12).
Thigh slimmer
Prisoner squat is good for toning the inner thighs.
Stand with feet wide apart and toes turned out. Bend knees, keeping feet flat on the ground. Place hands behind head, elbows to side, go as low as you can then push back up to starting position, back straight and heels on the floor. (Two sets of 20).
Chest enhancer
This exercise helps to strengthen the pectorals (muscles of the chest) to create the perfect cleavage.
• Lying horizontal and face down, place your hands under your shoulders with your palms on the ground. Curl your toes upward so that the balls of your feet touch the ground.
• Raise yourself using your arms, supporting your weight by your hands and the balls of your feet. This is your ‘start’ position
• Bending your elbows, lower your body towards the ground. Your neck and head, neck and back should remain perfectly straight throughout the movement
• When your elbows reach a 90 degree angle, drive up explosively so that your hands leave the floor. Clap them together then put them down to catch you.
• Repeat this movement ten times. Once this becomes easy, increase the number of repetitions to fifteen
Tip: Breathe out while pushing up on the press ups. Do not hold your breath.
Overall Conditioning This is the ultimate exercise for exercising your chest, arms, front deltoids, thighs and abdominals giving you a total body conditioning. Your natural bodyweight provides plenty of resistance for a workout that improves your stamina and aids fat loss. The perfect burpee is otherwise known as a squat thrust followed by a jump. Follow the steps below to execute the exercise correctly:
- Stand with your feet just under shoulder width apart, bend knees and reach down and place hands on the floor so that you are sitting on your heels in a crouch position of a squat thrust. • Transfer all your weight onto your hands • Thrust legs out and back as a normal squat thrust • From the squatting position jump up, feet leaving the floor before hitting the ground again and returning to the squatting position and start again.
Tip: To boost the intensity of the workout BMF uses the burpee in conjunction with running. All our sessions incorporate the above exercises with running and last a total of 60 minutes.