Thursday, December 17, 2020 – 08:21
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The hour of finish 2020 and start a new Year, if possible, a little better than the previous one; at least on the right track in terms of our fitness routines. For this, nothing like signing up for this Christmas Challenge, a Christmas training of 12 days and 12 exercises, one a day, to have fun and get to Christmas looking great.
It is a circuit devised by the experts from the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education of the Fitness Institute of Texas (FIT) from the University of Texas at Austin, which can be done almost anywhere and takes just a few minutes a day. The training follows the song format “12 Days of Christmas”, a very popular Christmas theme in English-speaking countries, and can be done at both beginner (going around the circuit) like advanced (doing three or four rounds), depending on the physical condition of each one. Just an observation: stretch before and after of each session and take a few minutes rest between exercises to drinking water.
12 days of Christmas Challenge
- Day 1: a burpee. From a standing position, bend your knees and place your hands on the floor in front of your feet. Keep your shoulders on your wrists and step back with your feet in a plank position, making sure your hips stay up. To get up, take a step with your feet towards your hands and jump into the air raising your arms above your head.
- Day 2: two little worms. This exercise, Inchworms in English, is great for your abs. From a standing position, bring your hands to the ground and walk into a plank position. Then move your hands back towards your feet and return to the starting position. Keep your core tight throughout the movement.
- Day 3: three bridges. With your knees bent and your core in tension, press your heels and lift your hips off the floor, squeezing your glutes and hamstrings. Slowly lower your hips to the ground.
- Day 4: four push-ups. With your spine in a neutral position and your shoulders over your wrists, slowly bend your elbows to 90 degrees as you lower your body toward the floor. Make sure to keep your hips up and your torso in tension throughout the movement, and don’t let your lower back drop. Press with your hands to extend your elbows and lift your body back to begin.
- Day 5: five squats. Put the weight on your heels, as if you were sitting with your hips back on a chair. Keep your chest up and your knees in line with your toes.
- Day 6: six climbers. Lying on your stomach, keep your hips low, core tight, and lift your shoulders over your wrists. Move your knees toward your chest, alternating over and over.
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- Day 7: seven reverse lunges. Keeping your torso upright, core in tension, and toes facing forward, step back and drop one knee to the ground while bending the other 90 degrees. Return to the starting position by stretching your legs and bringing your feet together.
- Day 8: eight single leg hip hinges. Standing, with your legs slightly bent, lift one back, leaning on the other and bring your torso forward until it is parallel to the ground. Both sides of the hips should remain even and the core tight as you move. Alternate movements with both legs.
- Day 9: nine bird-puppy. From the quadruped position, tense your core and slowly lift your opposite arm and leg off the ground. Imagine having a glass of water on your hips; no water should be spilled while the arm and leg are extended.
- Day 10: ten jumping jacks. Keeping your knees slightly bent, clench your core and jump your feet apart and together while linking your arms above your head.
- Day 11: eleven side kicks Keep your core in tension and kick to the sides of the body, alternating legs. The knee of the supporting leg should remain slightly bent.
- Day 12: twelve plank ups Lying face down, in the plank position, lift your body supporting yourself on your wrists with your arms outstretched and lower them alternately to support them on your forearms.
According to the criteria of
