Time to blow your mind.

This is one of our ChicBoxer’s FAVOURITE workouts that we do in class sometimes and as an early Xmas gift, we wanted to share it with you.  (FYI: We do change the exercises around regularly.)

We didn’t create this workout to help burn off any extra treats you eat.

Although, it will definitely help you with that.

It was created to help improve the QUALITY of your life.

You already know how it works.

Exercise can help you sleep better, cut your stress levels and boost your immunity (all big issues this time of the year!).

That’s not even mentioning all of its other health benefits … like helping to reduce your risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.

Quick and intense workouts (like the one we’re about to share with you) have the added bonus of giving you all those benefits without taking a lot of time.

Family Time Alert.

If you have family around, get them to join you in this workout. This holiday-themed workout makes it so much fun!

It’s a “ladder” workout, done to the format of the song “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

Every round, you add a new exercise, and you do that exercise for the number of reps it would be for the day it represents in the song.

So, for round 1, you would do 1 squat thrust, and then for round 2 you would do 2 squats + 1 squat thrust, day 3 would be 3 push-ups + 2 squats + 1 squat thrust … all the way to day 12, when you would do the whole thing from day 12 through day 1.

12 Days of Fitness Workout

Warm up with 5-10 minutes of light cardio … walking in place, treadmill, etc., and light stretches (leg swings, arm circles, etc.)

~ 1 Squat thrust (burpee with no push-up)

~ 2 Squats

~ 3 Push-ups

~ 4 Speed skaters

~ 5 Plank shoulder taps

~ 6 High knees (each side)

~7 Ab bicycles

~ 8 Lunges

~ 9 Crunches

~ 10 Mountain climbers

~ 11 Russian twists

~ 12 Jumping Jacks

Be sure to cool down with some light movement (walking, stretching, etc.) to bring your heart rate down.

It’s a fun way to get a little movement in, and also spend time with your friends or family.

REFERENCES:

If you need visual references for the exercises above, here are some examples:

Squat thrust (burpee with no push-up) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP2CxUk079I

Squats – www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_VtOYc6j5c

Push-ups (can also be done on knees vs. toes) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l3ySVKYVJ8

Speed skaters – www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOTEyGY93OY

Plank with Shoulder Tap – www.muscleandfitness.com/training/workout-routines/alternating-shoulder-taps

High knees – www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIwxSeKpHtI

Ab bicycles – www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK-bVIj2xZ0

Lunges – www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RVu-R9bS7w

Crunches – www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyd_fa5zoEU

Mountain Climbers – www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/abs-and-core-exercises/videos/mountain-climber

Russian Twist (can be done unweighted) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlccOWys8IU

Jumping Jacks (shows variations) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpH7rm0cYbM