With all the pages of my favorite fitness and women’s magazine’s holiday editions, I get to see the many benefits yoga can provide, especially in this particularly stressful time of year. The holiday season can be joyful and celebrated and also a whirlwind of obligations and pressures that are hard to manage with any time to take a break.
At the risk of sounding like a cardio snob a label I’m willing to embrace I realize if I have 30 minutes a day to do exercise (and let’s be honest, I feel lucky if I can manage to do even that), and I have a big party coming up in less than a month and a half, I just can’t hold on any more. Now, don’t get me wrong: if you are a person who works out all year round, you should definitely go to yoga once a week.
Yoga is great for flexibility and relaxation, but if you’re just starting a fitness routine with the goal of fitting into that coveted size 8 dress, then mama you better be prepared to sweat. I would recommend the following routine to those who are ready to get back to fitness as the holidays approach.
For starters, you should do three cardiovascular activities (or at least two) to keep the mind fresh and keep yourself motivated and wanting to work out again every day.
You can mix and match workouts for running, walking, running on a treadmill, elliptical, spinning, aerobics, kickboxing, bike riding, rollerblading, or stair climber.
Work on one of them for at least 30 minutes four days a week. And don’t forget: you should have a 3-5 minute warmup to get your blood flowing and then some stretching while you wait in line at the deli or coffee shop. Furthermore, it is important to include strength training in your lifestyle as well as cardio. Work on your strength for 30-60 minutes, twice a week, using free weights, a stability ball, or Nautilus machines.
Just like your cardio workouts, do a 3-5 minute warmup before you work on the heavier lifting and then do 3-5 minutes of stretching to help recover muscles. Focus on the body parts that will be very visible in your holiday outfit (arms, back, calves, legs, shoulders… you get the idea). And remember: now that you are energized and ready for that holiday outfit, yoga, kickboxing, Pilates, and meditation can be integrated into your routine.
The benefits are immediate: a strong body, better posture, infinite energy, and a radiant glow that will be visible at any holiday party. Right now, the focus is on getting that beautiful halter dress to fit. So let’s raise those heart rates and get the endorphins high so we’ll look good as we go into this happy season. Embrace the sweat, relish the challenge, and let’s make this holiday the healthiest and happiest one yet,generate head line,meta title,description,key words,urlandhashtags,
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