Don’t let the hectic holiday season derail your efforts to stay active. Although it can be tougher to fit into your schedule, it can also be more important than ever. After all, the holidays very often mean more stress and far more calories than you normally consume!
By fitting in a modified workout, you can keep it as part of your regular routine - mentally and physically. A short workout can accomplish so much. It can maintain strength, endurance, flexibility and be an ideal tool to help balance the stress of the season.
ACTIVE-8 Circuits
You can use the principles of circuit and interval training to create quick and easy workouts you can do at home or on the road. These circuits are based on eight minutes of activity using 4-8 exercises. You can incorporate any equipment you may have on hand including bands, dumbbells, kettlebells or loaded shopping bags!
Try these formats using your favourite or familiar exercises or visit for full workout outlines to download.
Tabata-inspired 4 x 4 training
This concept can be applied to both strength and cardio exercises. You could focus on upper body, lower body, alternate upper/lower or alternate one strength exercise and one cardio drill.
In this circuit, the work time is short, so the objective is to perform the exercise as hard as you can for 20 seconds.
Set up:
- Exercises: choose 4 exercises
- Timing of set: 20 sec. intense effort followed by 10 sec. of rest/recover
- Set: 4 sets of each exercise, then move to the next
- Total time: 8 min = 4 exercises x 2 min (4 sets of 20:10)
Example:
- Lower body - squats
- Upper body – push-ups
- Lower body – lunges (do 2 sets each leg)
- Upper body – rows (with weights, books, or loaded shopping bags)
Circuit #1 – Timing
Use the same concept of combining exercises, but vary the timing. Given the work time is longer, the focus is more on endurance than maximal intensity.
Set up:
- Exercises: choose 4 exercises
- Timing of set: start with shorter work time and gradually increase
- 30 sec. work followed by 30 sec. of rest/recovery
- 40 sec. work followed by 20 sec. of rest/recover
- 45 sec. work followed by 15 sec. of rest/recovery
- Set: 2 sets of each exercise, then move to the next
- Total time: 8 min = 4 exercises x 2 min. (2 x 40:20)
Example:
- Total body - Kettlebell swing
- Cardio – skipping or stairs (high or low)
- Total body - lunge with overhead press
- Cardio – ladders or lateral leaps on the floor (high or low)
Circuit #2 – Total body and core
The concept of circuits stays the same, but you can play with the order and the timing.
Set up:
- Exercises: choose 3 exercises + 2 core
- Timing of set: start with shorter work time and gradually increase
- 30 sec. work followed by 30 sec. of rest/recovery
- 40 sec. work followed by 20 sec. of rest/recovery
- 45 sec. work followed by 15 sec. of rest/recovery
- Set: 1 sets of each exercise, then move to the core ones
- Total time: 8 min = 4 exercises x 2 min. (2 x 40:20)
Example:
- Total body – squat with cross chop (one set each side)
- Total body – hinge and row
- Total body – pick-ups to top shelf – right leg with left arm
- Total body – pick-ups to top shelf – left leg with right arm
- Core #1 – plank (from the knee or toe)
- Core #2 – superman lifts
Don't make your health and fitness an all-or-nothing choice over the holidays.
Choose exercises you feel confident with and use "comfortable but challenging" as your guide with intensity.
By varying the range of motion and the amount of resistance, exercises can be modified to fit any level of activity and fitness.
If you have a specific question we'd love to hear from you at . We also have a quick survey to find out your biggest challenges to help plan workouts and support for our new online challenge to be announced soon.
