In 2013, have a merry little fun with your workout

Here's my last post of the year. Hard to believe!

This past year was a pretty big year for me in terms of helping people get fitter, happier, and healthier. I worked with dozens of people one-on-one and in my classes, and I watched almost every single one of them (can't help the fact that there are always going to be slackers) work their tails off to become better at what they want to become better at. So I decided to have a little fun with my last couple of fitness classes of 2012.

Any trainer will tell you that you can only reinvent the wheel so many times when it comes to a specific class. I primarily teach a circuit-style class both at the YMCA of Southern Maine and Fitness Success, and have played around with different interval lengths, exercises, muscle groups, etc. all year long. With it being the Christmas holiday season and all, I decided to turn up the ole brain-power creative juices and create a Christmas themed workout for folks in my class.

Donning my Santa-style thinking cap, I developed a routine that was based on the 12 Days of Christmas song. Each exercise was Christmas related, and each one was 25 seconds long (because Christmas falls on December 25th, duh!). Granted 25 seconds is the shortest interval I've ever done for a class (with the exception of the occasional Tabata training), but people loved the fact that it tied in with Christmas and the rest of the routine.

Fitness Elf

Anyway, the routine went something like this: On the first day of Christmas, your Fitness Elf (me, of course) gave to you, "a medicine ball in a pear tree!" So the first set "station" or exercise would be Tree Pose from yoga while holding a medicine ball straight over head. Then: On the second day of Christmas, your Fitness Elf gave to you, "two legs lunging!" So the second set would be some form of lunges. This went on, around the room, for 12 exercises. My creative juices were GUSHING, but it was completely worth it as the folks in class seemed to love the fun break in normal routine. There was such good feedback, in fact, that I set up a similar routine for one of the hardest working and most dedicated one-on-one clients I have. Joy to the world!

So as we look forward to 2013 and put a good, bad, or indifferent 2012 in the rear view mirror, I challenge you this: Add a little flavor to your exercise. If you are a dedicated gym rat who has been crushing the iron for what seems like forever now, change it up. Get your bike out, put it in a low gear, and go for a ride on your next legs day. Try some yoga if you've never done it. Give your favorite gym's boot camp class a whirl (these sound scarier than they really are...there are ALWAYS modifications.) Go for a run outside instead of on the dreadmill. There are endless ways to exercise and get healthy, you just have to turn on your creative minds. If you are having trouble with finding new ways, ideas, or routines, make an appointment with a trainer at a gym and have him or her give you some advice.

Let's make 2013 the healthiest year you've ever had! Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Enjoy your time with your families and I look forward to writing to you all in 2013!