Diary jam-packed with festive fun? Our clever fat-fighting workout will prepare your body for the good times ahead.
Even the most health-conscious gym bunnies find it hard to avoid the highs and lows of party season. But this year, we’re trying a new approach: rather than the usual routine of depriving ourselves from enjoying all the festive treats on offer (only to cave in), we’re going to embrace the celebrations and ditch the guilt by preparing our bodies as best as we can.
We’ve developed smart, insulin-stabilising and metabolism-boosting workouts that’ll get your body in the best shape possible to deal with whatever the celebratory season has in store. The compound exercises are designed to really crank up your metabolism speed by targeting all the big muscle groups. How? Building lean muscle mass means your body has to burn more calories at rest, so this workout will keep your fat burn ticking over. And if you do it all at a high intensity like we’ve suggested, you’ll be working wonders for your body’s insulin sensitivity, making it better able to deal with blood sugar spikes from those festive foodie treats.
So don’t throw away a year of hard work. Give the workouts here a go, then party all night. You deserve it.
How to do it
Perform one set of each exercise in a circuit-style with no rest between moves or sets. Then take a one to two-minute rest and repeat for the allocated number of sets for your level.
Kit you’ll need
2 x dumbbells
Barbell
Box
Beginner: 2 x 10 reps
Intermediate: 3 x 10-15 reps
Advanced: 4 x 10-15 reps
Burpee
Areas trained: Legs, bottom, core, shoulders
Technique
-Crouch down to place your hands on the floor by your feet.
-Jump your feet back to bring your body into plank position, then immediately jump them back to the starting position.
-Jump up as high as you can, then land softly and go straight into another rep.
Safety tip:
Don’t let your hips drop lower than the rest of your body when you’re in plank position
Squat and press
Areas trained:
Bottom, legs, shoulders, rear upper arms
Technique
-Holding a dumbbell by each shoulder, bend at your knees and hips to push your bottom out behind you and lower into a squat.
-Extend back to the start and press the dumbbells overhead.
-Slowly lower and repeat.
Safety tip:
Keep your shoulders back and chest up
Lunge with rotation
Areas trained:
Legs, bottom, sides of stomach
Technique
-Holding a weight in front of your chest, take a large step forwards and bend both knees to about 90 degrees with the back knee just above the floor.
-As you do this, twist your upper body to the side of the front leg, bringing the weight toward your hip.
-Push back up to the start and repeat on the opposite side. Alternate sides for each rep.
Safety tip:
Don’t let your shoulders hunch
Plank transfer
Areas trained:
Core, shoulders, rear upper arms
Technique
-Start in plank position on your forearms, with your body in a straight line.
-Push up onto your hand on one side, then the other side.
-Go back down to your forearm on the side you started with, and do the same on the other side.
-Repeat fluidly.
Safety tip:
Keep your neck lengthened throughout
Press-up renegade row
Areas trained:
Chest, upper arms, core, shoulders, upper back
Technique:
-Start in plank position on your hands.
-Bend your arms to lower your chest to the floor, keeping your body in a straight line throughout.
-Push back up to the start, then row one dumbbell up to your side.
-Lower it, then repeat from the start, alternating arms with each rep.
Safety tip:
Don’t let your lower back over arch
Clean and press
Areas trained:
Legs, bottom, shoulders, upper arms, back
Technique:
-Holding a barbell in front of your thighs, bend your legs to create momentum, then row the barbell up toward your chin.
-Rotate your grip to drop your elbows under the barbell then press the barbell overhead.
-Reverse the movement and repeat.
Hot tip:
Great whole-body move
Single-arm snatch
Areas trained:
Bottom, legs, core, shoulders
Technique
-Bend at your hips and knees to take hold of a dumbbell between your feet.
-Explosively extend your body, driving the dumbbell towards the ceiling using the momentum generated.
-Lower and repeat, alternating arms with each rep.
Box jumps
Areas trained:
Legs, bottom
Technique
-Stand with a box or deck in front of you.
-Jump up onto the box and land softly.
-Jump or step back to the start and repeat
Hot tip:
Plyometric moves help to build power
Fat-fighting foods
Prepare for party season with these metabolism-boosting foods.
1. Chicken breast Fill up on protein-packed foods like chicken and fish, which help to maintain lean muscle mass – the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism.
2. Chillies
Not only do these fiery little things fight fat, they can also suppress cravings. Chop them up into your stir-fries and curries.
3. Leafy greens
Spinach, broccoli and other green vegetables help to detox the liver to create a better environment for fat-burning. Load up!
