It's Friday!! And I just realized it's the last Friday before Thanksgiving!! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite Holidays - full of visiting my husband's cousins and eating way too much amazing Southern food in Georgia! While I love spending time with family and filling my belly with delicious comfort food, I find that I do not have much time to exercise and that I often have to rely on hotel gyms or the great (cold) outdoors as my last resort when traveling for the Holidays.
I am sure many of you feel that same way, but I may have the perfect answer for you with this week's Free Fitness Friday workout: Pyramid HIIT Full-body Workout
Band Walk / Squat and Side Step (Exercise #4)
The beauty of this full-body workout is that it consists of only FOUR exercises, can be performed anytime and anywhere, and it can be completed within 10-20 minutes top! All you need is an open space and an exercise band with medium to hard resistance. The concept of this pyramid workout is to perform 15 reps of exercise 1, 2, 3, and 4 for 1 round and then start back at 14 reps of exercise 1, 2, 3, and 4 for 2 rounds, then start back at 13 reps, 12 reps, ... all the way down to 1 rep of exercise 1, 2, 3, and 4 for a grand total of 15 rounds! That's it! It may sound nearly impossible, but pace yourself and maintain good form throughout the entire workout... and remember, it gets easier with each round and you have some serious calories to burn to make room for all that Turkey, Stuffing, and Sweet Potato Casserole come Thanksgiving Day!
So let's get to it!
Round 1:
- Squat thrust (see video clip #1 below)
- Plan with tricep push-ups (see video clip #2 below)
- Plank with scissor jumps (see video clip #2 below)
- Band walk / squat and side step (see main picture above)
Video #1 - Exercise #1 - Squat Thrust with a jump
Video #2 - Exercise #2 and #3 - Plank with Tricep Push-ups and Scissor Jumps
Now doesn't that workout seem as easy as 1,2,3 and 4? Ok, so maybe it won't be an easy workout, but you will thank me later when you realize how quickly this workout goes by and how great (yet exhausted) you feel after completing it!
So please make sure you fit in some quick workouts in between celebrating this wonderful Holiday with family and friends and remember to give THANKS for all of life's blessings!
Have a happy workout and a Happy Thanksgiving!!