In the UK, the Christmas season brings tonnes of cold weather, festive food, very busy schedules and a lack of motivation to get out to the gym. As such, many people lose their routines over the holidays, and this can lead to the formation of bad habits. Therefore, having a space at home where you can train is ideal for staying fit this Christmas and welcoming the new year in great shape. Therefore, this blog will help guide you through 'the best Exersci equipment for holiday workouts'.

Essential Exersci Strength Tools for Effective Christmas Workouts

Strength training is integral to maintaining health. Besides the well-known improvements to physical and athletic performance, strength training also helps to combat sarcopenia. Sarcopenia refers to a progressive loss of muscle mass, strength and function, and is very common, especially within older adulthood. In fact, research reports that strength training can combat sarcopenia and, in turn, improve quality of life.

More relevantly, strength training is reported to increase your resting metabolic rate (Source). This means that you burn more calories, which aids in weight loss. Considering the festive season is accompanied by an increase in calorie intake, this is a crucial contribution to avoiding unwanted weight gain and maintaining a toned physique.

Therefore, it is crucial that strength training is part of your training routine.

Strength Training You Can Do at Home This Holiday Season

Equipment required:

• Adjustable dumbbells
• Resistance bands
• Kettlebells

Adjustable dumbbells 

Adjustable dumbbells should be at the top of your list if you have yet to purchase them. They are extremely versatile and compact, making them ideal for home gyms. As you can scale the weight to your desired level for each exercise, you are able to optimise the physiological adaptations, such as increased strength and muscle mass, from every exercise and for every muscle group. You can perform goblet squats, dumbbell deadlifts, chest press (floor or bench), shoulder press and bent over rows... to name a few. These exercises, completed with weighted dumbbells, will induce significant increases in strength and muscle mass, but also improve bone health. 

Resistance bands

Resistance bands are often included throughout our posts. They can be used alone to build strength, but also paired with other equipment to regress an exercise. For example, you can pair them with your pull-ups to better match your training abilities to maximise your adaptations. You can also perform strength exercises such as band squats, glute bridges, standing/banded rows, shoulder presses and bicep curls. These exercises will aid in building muscle and toning the full body, whilst being very portable to be used wherever, even if you are on a holiday trip. 

Kettlebells

Kettlebells are great for performing power-based movement, with research finding significant increases in functional strength and power from performing kettlebell training. They are also incredibly compact for the variety of exercises that can be completed with them. For example, you can complete kettlebell swings, goblet squats, single-arm rows, gorilla rows, turkish get-ups, deadlifts, shoulder press... the list goes on. Similar to dumbbells, they are great for increasing strength and muscle mass. However, with the type of exercises that you can complete, they are great for improving your rate of force development (power). Additionally, kettlebells are great for use within super sets and circuit training, which increases calorie burn, helping you stay in shape over the Christmas period. 

Complete Christmas Workout Routines Using Exersci Equipment

So now you have the information on what little equipment you need to stay fit this Christmas, it's time to put it all together and create a programme. We understand that creating a programme can be quite stressful and take up time, which you may not have over Christmas. So we will help you by providing some example routines for you to be able to fit your training into your busy schedule. 

Simple Festive Workout Plans for Busy Days

10-15 Minute Resistance Band Workout

Repeat 3 times:

• 10 band squats
• 12 rows  
• 10 shoulder presses 
• 12 glute bridges 
• 20-second plank

This is quick, effective and suitable for all levels. You also don't need much space to complete this routine.

20-Minute Dumbbell or Kettlebell Strength Circuit

Repeat 3-4 times, with 30s rest between sets:

• 12 kettlebell swings 
• 10 goblet squats
• 12 bent-over rows
• 10 shoulder presses

Due to the short rest periods, this routine will help improve cardiovascular fitness as well as increase strength and build muscle mass.

30-40-minute full body strength workout

Repeat 3-4 rounds with ~90 seconds rest to recover energy systems:

• Goblet squats (10-12 reps) 
• Bent-over rows (10-12 reps) 
• Resistance band chest press (12-15 reps) 
• Resistance band shoulder press (12-15 reps)
• Kettlebell swings (10-20 reps, using lighter weights for the higher reps)
• Dumbbell shoulder press (8-10 reps) 
• Resistance band glute bridge (12-15 reps)
• Plank (20-30 seconds)

These exercises will target all major muscle groups of the body, making it the perfect full-body training programme with the equipment we have discussed. 

Conclusion

Trying to stay fit this Christmas is a very healthy and achievable goal to have, and can even be completed with simple and minimal equipment. Hopefully, we have provided some ease and saved you some time from having to plan your training. You are able to complete the above routines with very minimal space and, more importantly, with only a few of Exersci's high-quality and compact range of gym equipment.

Stay active this Christmas - Be sure to explore our complete range of home gym equipment to help you achieve your training goals.