As we enjoy the holiday season we begin to find ourselves struggling to balance office parties, family gatherings, holiday shopping–let alone squeeze in our workouts!
Below are some easy ways to keep the waistline trim while purchasing the items on your holiday gift list.
1. Savvy Shopper Speed Walk
From parking your car at the farthest end of the parking garage to speed walking from store to store, walking is one of the easiest ways to get the heart pumping while doing your holiday shopping. Want to burn even more calories? Integrate a bent-elbow arm swing to tone your shoulders and to engage your abdominals, which will tone your core.
2. Stair Climber
Even though most multilevel shopping malls equipped with escalators and elevators, opt for the stairs. Not only is stair-climbing one of the best exercises for toning the thighs, hips, and glutes; it also has one of the highest caloric expenditures. Feeling guilty about that Grande Peppermint Mocha? Burn even more calories by skipping a stair in between each step.
3. Shopping Bag Farmer’s Walk
An awesome exercise for building abdominal strength is the Shopping Bag Farmer’s Walk. A farmer’s walk mimics a farmer walking with heavy milk containers (or shopping bags)! Begin by standing tall and evenly divide the contents/weight of your shopping bags between each hand. Engage your abdominals and shoulders while walking between stores.
4. Shopping Bag Bicep Curls
The abdominals are not the only muscle getting a workout carrying all those shopping bags. Shopping is a great workout for the arms and shoulders. While carrying your shopping bags, integrate 3 sets of 10 bicep curls and 3 sets of 10 shoulder lateral raises. Remember to breathe and to maintain proper form. If you feel a little silly doing this in the store, just think of how ridiculous the guy in the Santa suit looks–and how fabulous YOU’RE going to look as a result of your burning off calories!
This blog post is courtesy of Dr. Emily Splichal
