November 28, 2024
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Turning daily chores into workouts – like dancing to music – is an effective way to burn a few calories during the holidays, when research shows people tend to put on weight and fall out of fitness routines.
The stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year's can seem like a roving all-you-can-eat buffet, with social gatherings full of high-octane cocktails, comfort food and rich desserts. In the crush of parties, work, errands and travel, fitness routines often fall away, with resolutions to resume them after the first of the year.
On average, people tend to gain about a pound a year – and some research suggests that most of that weight packs on during the holidays.
"Anytime that you're meeting up with family, and you're going to be eating a lot of food … you're probably feeling guilty," said Dan Shapiro, a personal trainer at AFC Fitness in Bala Cynwyd. "It's 100% OK. … Just have some fun. Do whatever exercises you feel like doing."
Dr. John Vasudevan, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Penn Medicine, agreed that people need to give themselves some "grace" when it comes to exercise this time of year. Even pacing around instead of sitting during a party helps, Vasudevan said.
"I like to tell patients that – and this is a mathematical fact – one is infinitely more than zero," Vasudevan said. "One doesn't seem like a lot, but it's already not nothing. And sometimes we strive for such big numbers, we forget that all effort is good."
Shapiro said he squeezes in bits of exercise by playing with his 7-year-old cousin, who loves to be lifted up and down like a barbell, and tossing a Frisbee in the alley behind the house with family members.
Here are some other creative ways to burn calories during the holidays:
Dancing is cheap, free and fun. Research shows it also helps develop strength, suppleness, coordination and balance.
"You're not just thinking about the movement and the coordination of what your body has to do in space, ... you're also thinking about timing, which is (using) a different part of the brain," Shapiro said. "It's extremely good for your body, using it in different ways that are not repetitive."
Crank up the music and and get into the groove with a group of family or friends. Or find private moments to freestyle to your favorite tunes. If you want a more structured way to learn some new moves, try a YouTube dance tutorial like this one that teaches five easy house dance steps in 20 minutes.
Large backyard trampolines may be dangerous, but smaller, indoor mini-trampolines – known as "rebounders" – are safer and can offer a low-impact, full-body workout in a short time.
Jumping on a rebounder is an elastic, so it doesn't fatigue muscles as quickly as other forms of exercise, which means people tend to be able to do it for longer periods of time, Shapiro said. Rebounder workouts also help promote stronger bones, weight loss and better balance, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
This year, Verywellfit tested and reviewed a range of rebounders on the market and recommended these nine.
Buy a jump rope, and see if you can achieve a couple of skips in a row. Then try for 30 seconds or a minute. Continue building up your endurance, said Shapiro, who characterized jumping rope as "crazy cardiorespiratory fitness."
Lots of jump-roping influencers are on social media, such as Dayan Kolev, who first picked up a jump rope several years ago, when he was out of shape. Now, he's a ripped social media sensation:
Pogoing may seem outdated or just for the young, but jumping on a pogo stick, even for a few minutes at a time, is an intense, full-body workout that engages the core and increases endurance. Pogo hops improve lower body and reactive strength, according to GarageStrength. And as this Wall Street Journal article shows, people can enjoy pogoing into their senior years.
Raking, cleaning and gardening are all high-calorie-burning activities. Turn raking leaves into a high-intensity interval training – or HIIT – session by raking as hard as you can for one minute and then raking at a moderate intensity for a minute, on repeat, personal trainer Morgan Rees told Livestrong.com.
To burn more calories while cleaning, Verywellfit recommends stepping into a full lunge each time you reach the vacuum or mop forward, and then bringing the legs back together when you pull the vacuum or mop back. Do walking lunges while climbing stairs with baskets of laundry. Extend one arm to clean or wipe surfaces and alternate sides. For an extra challenge, extend the opposite leg behind your body as you would in a bird-dog exercise.
Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is an effective way to burn calories and build exercise into your daily routine, Shapiro said.
For fun, he recommended visiting the "Rocky" stairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art – made famous by Sylvester Stallone – and doing the following HIIT workout:
Depending on your fitness level, walk or run up to the first level, then walk or run to the bottom. Then walk or run all the way to the second level and back down. Continue the routine until you hit the top of the 72 stairs. Then walk or run all the way to the bottom and rest for 1 to 2 minutes, or for however long it takes for you to recover your breath, without cooling down, Shapiro said. Then Repeat it.
"Anywhere from three to five rounds of that is a fantastic little workout," Shapiro said.
It is important to stretch at the end of exercising, when your muscles are still warm, to help prevent stiffening, Vasudevan said. Also, stretching sessions set to music can be a great way not only to move and gain flexibility, but also to decompress during the stress of the holidays, Shapiro said.
Stretching sends inhibitory signals to contracted muscles, telling them to relax. Also, stretching triggers endorphins, known as "feel-good" hormones, Shapiro said.
Here is a gentle, guided Pilates stretching routine for beginners and seniors:
Laughing lifts your mood – and burns calories – so play charades or other silly games and watch comedies with family and friends during the holidays. One study of 45 couples who watched funny movies and serious movies found that their metabolic rates rose 10 to 20% when they laughed.
A note of caution: If you feel numbness, tingling, weakness or instability in a joint – "like something popping in and out of place or catching" – discontinue what you are doing. Also, be aware of progressively worsening pain. "If you feel like you're clearly favoring one side," that's a sign that you should stop that activity, Vasudevan said.
