Winter Workouts for Fitness Clients

The month of December comes laden with holiday excitement. Whether families come together to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, everyone feels the magic in the air this time of year…and the frenzied time crunch to fit in all the shopping and party-hopping! Important self-care this month involves making time to squeeze in regular workouts. Here we present some holiday-themed workout variations to help keep spirits high all month long.

Putting the Fun in Functional Training

Holiday-themed workouts can inject new energy into already challenging group exercise classes and/or personal training sessions. With a little creativity — and holiday music, of course — fitness professionals can transform the gym into a winter wonderland! Something as easy as renaming an exercise to sound more festive can put a whole new spin on the workout. Below we offer some favorite options to incorporate for clients this month ~

Jingle Bell Jam (Warm-up)

Either on a treadmill, stationary bike, or outside in the snow, engage in a brisk walk, easy spin, or light jog. Keep going for 3-5 minutes, then proceed to the next activity.

Santa’s Sleigh Push

1. Load up a weight sled on the workout floor with the desired amount of weight
2. Standing behind the sled, grab handles using a high-grip hand position
3. Drive through the legs and push the sled across the floor
4. Perform 3 to 5 sets of back-and-forth, resting 30 seconds between each pass

Spin the Dreidel

1. Sit on the floor, knees bent, feet flat down, leaning back at a 45-degree angle
2. Holding a medicine ball, twist slowly from right to left, touching the medicine ball to the floor on each side
3. Perform three sets of 12-15 reps per side

Faster, Rudolph, Faster!

1. Hold one end of a battle rope in each hand, maintaining a tight core and slightly bent knees
2. Create alternating waves with the ropes for 30-60 seconds
3. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat for 4 rounds.

Snowball Fight

1. Stand in front of a rebounding wall, holding q medicine ball at chest level
2. Squat and quickly drive up through the legs, then throw the ball up to hit the wall at a spot 4 feet-5 feet above head level
3. Squat and catch the ball as it rebounds
4. Perform three 20-second sets followed by 20 seconds of rest

Gift Haul

1. Load up a barbell for a deadlift
2. Stand with feet hip-width apart, core braced
3. Push hips back, bend knees, and grab the barbell just outside of the knees
4. Extend chest, flattening back, and push down through feet to lift the bar up past knee-height, finishing with hips thrust forward
5. Push hips back, slide the bar down, bending knees to return to the starting position
6. Repeat 3-4x

Speed Skating

1. Starting in a slight squat position, leap laterally to the right, landing softly on the right foot
2. Immediately jump to the left, landing on the left foot
3. Continue for 3 sets of 20 jumps, resting 30 seconds between sets

Holiday Yoga

Yoga provides the perfect opportunity to take a mental break from the hustle and bustle of the season and reclaim some internal energy. Consider these ideas for a yoga class, and feel the holiday stress ebbing away ~

Winter Solstice Salutation

1. Start in Mountain Pose and inhale deeply
2. Perform a series of Sun Salutations, breathing through each pose:
   • Mountain pose
   • Forward fold
   • Plank
   • Upward-facing dog
   • Downward-facing dog
   • Walk hands and feet to the top of the mat
   • Forward fold
   • Slowly rise up one vertebrate at a time, ending in Mountain Pose

Kwanzaa Circuit Class

Rather than the usual circuit training program, treat clients to a workout inspired by the 7 candles of the Kinara. At the end of 7 minutes, pause for 30 seconds and embrace the joyfulness of Kwanzaa. Repeat 2-3 times.

Perform each of the following exercises for 1 minute, resting for 10 seconds between each:

1. • Jumping in place
   • Push-ups, either on the floor or against a wall
   • Squats
   • Planks
   • Triceps dips on a bench, optional with feet elevated on another bench
   • High knees
   • Wall sit

For instructors or trainers with multiple daily sessions, customize the workout with 7 different exercises. Keep the clients guessing!

Bring Some Holiday Spirit to a Strength Class

For personal trainers and instructors who regularly lead power and strength-based training, these variations will put everyone in a festive mood! Set up a circuit to make things more interesting ~

Rudolph’s Power Legs

Holding a weight plate, clients perform the following moves, repeating as time allows

1. 10 Regular squats
2. 5 forward lunges, then 5 backward lunges; switch legs
3. 10 Romanian deadlifts
4. 10 Sumo squat pulses

Star of David

Set up two cones, 10 meters apart. Clients will perform a star burpee (jumping up with hands and legs spread out like a star) at one cone, sprint to the other, turn around and do another star burpee. Repeat as time allows.

Santa’s Bowlful of Jelly

1. 10 reverse crunches
2. 10 flutter kicks (each leg)
3. 10 v-ups
4. 10 plank up-downs (each arm)

Lighting the Menorah

Set up two cones, 10 meters apart. Clients execute a candle burpee (jump up like a pencil, with hands straight up) at one cone, sprint to the other, turn around and perform another candle burpee. Continue back and forth as time allows.

Just Like the Song

Trainers can recreate the fun of everyone’s favorite holiday carol, “The 12 Days of Christmas”. Set up 12 stations, either in a row or in a “U” shape. Place the necessary equipment at each station, allowing enough room for several individuals at each station. Clients begin by completing Station 1; then they move on to complete station 2, then repeat Station 1. Continue in this fashion: Station 3, then 2 again, then 1, then on to Station 4, etc. This mimics the order of the 12 days of Christmas in the song. See how many clients can complete all 12 verses — Stations 1-12! Note: clients might feel ready for some chilled eggnog by the end of this workout.

Here again, trainers/instructors can feel free to swap in their personal favorite power moves.

1. 10 Squats
2. 10 Walking Lunges (5 each leg)
3. 10 Hand Release Push Ups
4. 10 Sea Turtles
5. 10 Jump Squats
6. Lateral plank walk, 6x each way
7. 7 Band Shoulder Presses (alt.: use DBs)
8. 8 Deck squats
9. 9 Head Banger Push Ups (in downwards dog position)
10. 10 x 10m shuttles (100m total running)
11. 11 Burpees
12. Bear Crawl – 12 crawls forward, 12 crawls backward

Spirited Fitness Frenzy Boot Camp

Each of the following exercises represents a typical daily event in which one may find himself engaging during the holidays.  Between each exercise, clients sprint to end of the gym and back to the next station. The first time through, clients stay at each station for 1 minute. If they choose to perform several sets, each station goes for just 30 seconds.

If available, set up this class in a fairly spacious area, to allow for the back-and-forth sprint dashes!

1. Sip the morning java– wall sits while doing dumbbell curls (like drinking coffee)
2. Chop the wood– sledge hammer on tire
3. Shovel the snow– lift medicine ball from feet and “throw” it over opposite shoulder
4. Carry the suitcase– holding dumbbells away from the sides of the body, walk sideways across the room; perform 5 squats, then repeat toward the other end of the room
5. Shake the snow off the rug– battle rope slams
6. Toy hop tango– jump over 8 hurdles
7. Grocery shopping– push sled to plate, add, push to next plate, add, etc.  Pull back to beginning
8. Dragging– lying prone on the floor, imagine an exhausted and limp body; use arms to drag body back to starting point
9. Happy hour– repeat station #1 while deeply breathing

Take a well-deserved break before staring the circuit again.

High-Intensity Interval Holidays

If clients threaten to cancel a session due to a time crunch this month, call them out on it by offering a HIIT workout. Everyone can take a break to exercise for just 15-30 minutes. Sweeten the deal by playing upbeat holiday tunes to keep the energy flowing.

This HIIT workout does not require the use of any equipment, so personal trainers can even offer this workout via Zoom ~

• Jolly jumping jacks: 20 reps (beginners) or 40 reps (advanced)
• Santa squats: 10 reps (beginners) or 20 reps (advanced)
• Frosty’s incline pushups: 10 seconds (beginners) or 20 seconds (advanced)
• Partridge in a pear plank: 30 seconds (beginners) or 40 seconds (advanced)
• Grinch’s single-leg glute bridge: 5 reps per leg (beginners) or 10 reps per leg (advanced)

Complete circuit 3x if time allows, resting 30 seconds between sets

Final Thoughts

Having fun with functional training and fitness should take top billing this time of year, to help clients offset the inevitable days of holiday meals, treats and beverages. With a little time and ingenuity, we can make the month of December one they will surely remember!

References

https://www.westernracquet.com/blog/holiday-themed-workouts

https://www.leagendersfitness.com/news/2017/11/26/the-holiday-hustle-the-eight-minute-no-equipment-workout

Holiday-Themed Workouts to Help You Stay Active

https://www.bootcampideas.com/t/christmas-themed-workout/