Exercise of course, what were you thinking? Maintaining or beginning your exercise program during the holiday season is always a challenge. Over the holidays, we are often running around crazy, shopping, visiting, partying, or out of the cold. With a busy schedule and traveling more than usual, it is often difficult to get into the gym for a good workout. With exercise, a little is better than none if you are smart and careful.

At the very least take 30 minutes each day. Even if you have to split it up and do 30 minutes when you wake up. Remember in “Batman Returns” when he crawls out of bed and drops to the floor for his pushups. Tempting, if your results were the same, but I do suggest warming up a bit first. Hard exercise without a warm-up is like stretching a rubber band that has been frozen; not nearly as pretty as Bruce Wayne. Ok, focus.

I suggest 30 minutes, 3 days a week of some resistance training using your own body weight, no major equipment needed.

Upper Body
For each of the following exercises do as many as you can possibly do, take a 30 second breather to stretch, and repeat 3 times unless otherwise noted. My instruction in this particular column is not how to do the basics, but that it is important to get off your butt and DO IT!

1. Push ups: Lie face down on the floor. Place your palms on the floor below your shoulders, but a little wider than shoulder width. Vary the distance on different days or sets to hit the chest at different angles. While looking at the wall in front of you, keep your back straight, toes tucked under, and lift you body from the floor. It is important to keep your body straight and not allow your butt to sag or stick up. Save that for another time and activity.  Remember to inhale before you begin and exhale on the push and inhale as you lower. Maintain a slow steady pace. At the top of each, flex the chest and at the bottom feel a good stretch but do not rest.

2. Tricep dips: With the palms of your hands on your chair and feet on the floor, scoot your butt off of the end of a chair. Bend your elbows and lower your butt towards the floor. Try to keep your elbows pointing behind you. Lower your body until your arms are at a 90% angle then straighten your arms to return to the starting position and again, flex at the top. Move your feet in closer or out farther to change difficulty. To advance resistance, raise your feet on a chair also.

3. Ab crunches. Follow this link to get full instructions and photo tips. This article will really get too long if I keep explaining everything that is basically the same from most good sources. Shoot for 100 and then drop your knees to the right and repeat the same motion for the obliques, and then drop your knees to the left for balance.

4. Wall squats: One of my favorites anytime. Lean you back against a wall with feet shoulder width and the lower to a seating position but without the chair. Lower until your knees are bent no more than 90%. Hold as long as you can, shoot for 2-3 minutes at a time. Repeat 3-5 times.

5. Lunges: I have been known to do these in a mall or walking down a street and my partner is often embarrassed and acts like he doesn’t know me when I do this in the middle of a walk. If you do not have dumbbells, just hold the lunge for 5 seconds each time, being careful to never extend your knee beyond your toe.

Ok boys and girls, I am typing this in Word and I have just gone to page 2 which I would be lucky to get you to read all the way to the end especially since the whole point of this week’s column was that you do not have a lot of time. So I am going to stop here, wish you a Happy holiday Season and encourage you one more time to DO IT ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, BUT DO IT, EXERCISE!

(As always, consult a physician before beginning a new exercise program, the above suggestions are basic and should be taken as a reminder not full instructions for those who have never done any of the activities before.)
Exercise of course, what were you thinking? Maintaining or beginning your exercise program during the holiday season is always a challenge. Over the holidays, we are often running around crazy, shopping, visiting, partying, or out of the cold. With a busy schedule and traveling more than usual, it is often difficult to get into the gym for a good workout. With exercise, a little is better than none if you are smart and careful.

At the very least take 30 minutes each day. Even if you have to split it up and do 30 minutes when you wake up. Remember in “Batman Returns” when he crawls out of bed and drops to the floor for his pushups. Tempting, if your results were the same, but I do suggest warming up a bit first. Hard exercise without a warm-up is like stretching a rubber band that has been frozen; not nearly as pretty as Bruce Wayne. Ok, focus.

I suggest 30 minutes, 3 days a week of some resistance training using your own body weight, no major equipment needed.

Upper Body
For each of the following exercises do as many as you can possibly do, take a 30 second breather to stretch, and repeat 3 times unless otherwise noted. My instruction in this particular column is not how to do the basics, but that it is important to get off your butt and DO IT!

1. Push ups: Lie face down on the floor. Place your palms on the floor below your shoulders, but a little wider than shoulder width. Vary the distance on different days or sets to hit the chest at different angles. While looking at the wall in front of you, keep your back straight, toes tucked under, and lift you body from the floor. It is important to keep your body straight and not allow your butt to sag or stick up. Save that for another time and activity.  Remember to inhale before you begin and exhale on the push and inhale as you lower. Maintain a slow steady pace. At the top of each, flex the chest and at the bottom feel a good stretch but do not rest.

2. Tricep dips: With the palms of your hands on your chair and feet on the floor, scoot your butt off of the end of a chair. Bend your elbows and lower your butt towards the floor. Try to keep your elbows pointing behind you. Lower your body until your arms are at a 90% angle then straighten your arms to return to the starting position and again, flex at the top. Move your feet in closer or out farther to change difficulty. To advance resistance, raise your feet on a chair also.

3. Ab crunches. Follow this link to get full instructions and photo tips. This article will really get too long if I keep explaining everything that is basically the same from most good sources. Shoot for 100 and then drop your knees to the right and repeat the same motion for the obliques, and then drop your knees to the left for balance.

4. Wall squats: One of my favorites anytime. Lean you back against a wall with feet shoulder width and the lower to a seating position but without the chair. Lower until your knees are bent no more than 90%. Hold as long as you can, shoot for 2-3 minutes at a time. Repeat 3-5 times.

5. Lunges: I have been known to do these in a mall or walking down a street and my partner is often embarrassed and acts like he doesn’t know me when I do this in the middle of a walk. If you do not have dumbbells, just hold the lunge for 5 seconds each time, being careful to never extend your knee beyond your toe.

Ok boys and girls, I am typing this in Word and I have just gone to page 2 which I would be lucky to get you to read all the way to the end especially since the whole point of this week’s column was that you do not have a lot of time. So I am going to stop here, wish you a Happy holiday Season and encourage you one more time to DO IT ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, BUT DO IT, EXERCISE!

(As always, consult a physician before beginning a new exercise program, the above suggestions are basic and should be taken as a reminder not full instructions for those who have never done any of the activities before.)