Before you get busy with the holiday celebrations, try this festive fitness challenge to help keep yourself on track during the most wonderful time of the year.
Medicine ball slams
- Begin standing upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent, holding a medicine ball with both hands at chest level
- Contract your core and drop your hips down into a squat position
- In one movement, press through your heels and extend your legs while simultaneously lifting the medicine ball overhead
- Contract your core and slam the ball on the ground in front of your body
- Squat down to pick it up and repeat the movement for one minute
Incline push-ups
- Begin standing in front of a box or a bench
- Place both hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart on the bench or box
- Step your legs back into a plank position keeping your body in a straight line and your head aligned with your spine
- Bend your arms to slowly lower yourself down towards the box or bench
- Once you are an inch or so above the bench or box, extend your arms and press yourself back to the starting position for one rep
Russian twists
- Sit on the ground with your knees bent towards your chest and your feet slightly lifted off the floor
- Hold a dumbbell, medicine ball or weight plate (or clasp your hands together) in front of your chest
- Rotate your arms and torso to one side and pause momentarily before returning to the centre for one rep
- Repeat on the opposite side