Hittin' it over the holidays

Penned by Jeff Schiffman

Happy Holidays, all!

I always tell my clients in RIDE to make three New Year's Resolutions: a small, a medium and a large.

Your small is something that you can do easily, starting today. Maybe leaving your phone in your pocket or car when you go out to lunch or dinner with friends or family.

A medium is something that might take a bit more work- calling an old friend to rekindle, finally organizing that closet space, etc.

The large is the big one- the one that you'll have to work at all 2016. Maybe its a major fitness goal, a new job, a new outlook on life. Write all three of your resolutions down and post them somewhere you can see- maybe publicly as a Facebook profile, (if you really want to hold yourself accountable!) or just on a post it note on your fridge. 

If one of your small or medium goals is to get in better shape, it doesn't have to wait till 2016! The holiday break is a great time to get going on your body, even if you are away from your normal routine, or far from Romney. Even if you're visiting friends or family this break, here are a few great exercises you can do to tighten back up that core that will certainly be taking in a lot of extra calories over the Holidays. I am lucky enough to spend much of my time traveling for work, so I do a round of these (five times through) and know it keeps me tight, even when I not in my usual routine. 

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Rabbit push up with a jump

STEP 1:

Start at mountain pose

STEP 2:

Small jump with hands by side

STEP 3:

Hop back to plank position

STEP 4:

 Ensure your elbows are tightly hugging your ribs (like a rabbit!)

STEP 5:

Push up in rabbit position

STEP 6:

Return to stand, repeat

 

 

Accordion crunch with weight

STEP 1:

 While on your back, place a light weight in between your feet. Don't have a weight? Grab a hardback book, (like the Bible in the hotel you might be staying in!)

STEP 2:

Start in boat position, palms open and facing the sky, butt and lower back on the ground, shoulders and head up

STEP 3:

With head level, bring knees into chest hold for 1 second

STEP 4:

Return to boat position, repeat

 

 

Tick-tock planks

STEP 1:

Start in simple plank pose

STEP 2:

Crunch Right leg in towards  left shoulder

STEP 3:

With core engage, slide right leg over to right shoulder

STEP 4:

Kick right leg back with a slight extension upward

STEP 5:

Return to plank pose, repeat for left leg. This can be done to music in a four count: right shoulder, left shoulder, extend back, down- keep it quick and get that heartbeat up!

 

Pigeon stretch

STEP 1:

 With one leg back, cross opposite leg in figure 4 position.

STEP 2:

 Sit up tall, inhale. 

STEP 3:

As you exhale, inch your hands forward on the ground

STEP 4:

When you can creep your hands further no more, collapse the head and neck into downwards. 

STEP 5:

 Inhale to bring the chest back up as you crawl your hands back to your body.

STEP 6:

Repeat opposite side

This is one of the most important stretches we can do, and helps a great deal after a long day of sitting while traveling.