The holidays are wonderful, aren’t they?
It’s a time to indulge, but it doesn’t mean we have to lose our way when it comes to health and wellness.
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You could hit the gym or other workout facilities, or get your sweat on at home.
Michael Butchko, a personal trainer at Burn Boot Camp Memorial City in Houston, offered five exercises you can do from the comfort of your home -- or at any other indoor location, with the hopes of keeping those extra pounds off.
Each of these exercises should be done for a minute.
Jumping jacks
OK, we know this is a simple and well-known one that people learned how to do in elementary school gym class. Regardless, they work!
Just raise your arms over your head and spread your legs out at the same time before returning back to the original position. Do this repeatedly to get the heart rate really moving.
“For those people who need modifications, you are going to step out one foot out at a time if you have any knee injuries or ankle injuries,” Butchko said.
Mountain climbers
For this exercise, go down in a push-up position with your hands underneath your shoulders. Then, move your knees up like you are climbing stairs.
“It’s a good core exercise, as well as a good cardio exercise to burn off those extra calories,” Butchko said.
Jump squats
This requires both power and finesse to control yourself.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, then bend down as if you are ready to sit, then jump up explosively.
When landing, make sure you return to the squat position as quietly as possible.
There are some variations that can be done, Butchko said.
“Squats are one of those tricky things where not everyone has the mobility to do them,” he said. “So just go down where you can, where it’s important for you.”
Half burpee
This is similar to the mountain climber exercise in that you start in the push-up position.
Then, you bend your knees and move your jump toward your elbows, all while keeping your hands stationary before using your legs to jump back to the push-up position.
Butchko said the proper technique on this exercise is critical.
“People try and jump their feet in between their hands, which can actually cause a lot of tension on their lower backs,” he said.
Walking
This is another simple and basic exercise that is effective, but this one will take more than a minute.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest adults should engage in 150 minutes of exercise per week; that’s 30 minutes each day for five days a week.
Walking helps with digestion and with weight loss.
“The cool thing about walking is that the more de-conditioned somebody is, the more it helps them,” Butchko said.