You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.
With long stints in front of the TV and food aplenty, Christmas can sometimes deliver too much of a good thing.
And while we refuse to feel guilty about indulging in home comforts, there’s no denying how turkey sandwiches and boxsets can leave us feeling a little lethargic.
If, like us, you’re starting to look towards the new year, you may have decided it’s time to shake off the Christmas slump.
To help, Gympass personal trainer Becky Bowman has provided HuffPost UK with a simple, fast workout designed to ease us all out of hibernation.
“Physical activity is proven to boost your mood and improve energy levels which is what we need during the dark winter days,” she says.
Complete 20 reps of each exercise before moving onto 15, 10 and finishing on five reps. You’ll be finished in five minutes or less – and won’t want to retreat to the sofa afterwards.
Squat In-Outs
Stand with your feet together with your arms facing towards your feet. Jump your feet outwards over shoulder width apart bending your knees and heels flat on the ground. Tap the floor to ensure you’re getting low enough into the jump and then jump back to starting position. This is a perfect exercise to target your quads and glutes.
Hollow Rocks
Lie on your back raising your legs and shoulders off the floor with your arms straight behind your head at ear level. Keeping your lower back on the floor, rock your body back and forth like a rocking chair engaging your core. The higher you lift your shoulders off the floor the more your core will be engaged.
Shoulder Taps
Start in the plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your feet hip width distance apart. Keeping the hips as still as possible, bring one hand off the floor tapping the opposite shoulder and repeat on the other side. Try to avoid lifting your bum, you can widen your feet if you need extra stability. This is a perfect exercise to target not only your shoulders but your chest and core.
Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
