12 Days to Christmas Workout

Since Christmas is right around the corner and everyone is now in the holiday spirit, it’s time to have some fun with your workouts.  If you've been participating in my December Holiday Challenge, koodos to you and keep it up.  

This is one of my favorite workouts to do this time of year and it reminds me when I was a kid counting the days to Christmas (who am I kidding, I still count the days).  I have used this workout with several of my athletes (Option 2) and it is as much physically challenging as it is mentally challenging.

Because most of us will be traveling this time of year, it can be difficult to make it to the gym, so this workout requires nothing but your body weight.  The “12 Days to Christmas Workout” consists of 12 exercises performed in a descending ladder format.  This can make for a fun and challenging workout, and of course it’s always best if you can rally up some teammates, friends or family members and do it as a group. 

You can also find this article in the December Issue of BendOr Magazine that just recently hit the streets.

Here are the rules for the workout:

You can do this workout one of two ways, depending on how difficult you want to make it for yourself.  

Option 1:  On December 13^th, you will begin with the first exercise (prisoner squats) and perform 12 reps.  Then each day until Christmas Day you will perform the previous exercise as well as adding the new days’ exercise.  Below is a detailed format of what is looks like…650 total reps.
12
12,11
12,11,10
12,11,10,9
12,11,10,9,8
12,11,10,9,8,7
12,11,10,9,8,7,6
12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5
12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4
12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3
12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2
12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

Option 2:  Beginning on December 13^th, you’ll perform the entire workout (same format as above but all 650 reps) each day for 12 straight days.  If you can manage to do this you will have completed a total of 7,800 reps by Christmas Day (650 x 12).  This is much harder than it may seem.  Just completing the workout for 12 straight days can be the biggest challenge for some. Of course you can always change the order or type of exercises to make it harder or easier.  The exercises challenge you to work in all three planes of movement (frontal, sagital, and transverse planes) and are challenging yet attainable for most.  Rest only as long as needed between exercises, and allow 15-30 sec of rest in between each new round.  Make it your goal to beat your time to complete the workout each week.

Here are the exercises for the workout:

12 Prisoner Squats (hands interlocked behind head)                         

11 Russian Twists (11 ea. side) 

10 Side Lunges (5 ea. side)

9 Hip Bridges 

8 Pushups 

7 Crab Kicks (7 ea. side) 

6 Bulgarian Lunges (6 ea. side) 

5 Pullups

4 Burpees 

3 Hi/Low Planks (3 ea. side) 

2 Power Jacks 

1 Minute Plank w/ Shoulder Taps