CREDIT: STEPHANIE LAI
Karen Nixon-Carroll demonstrates the walking plank from her Holiday HIIT routine.

A change in your daily routine is a great time to charge up your workout routine. Your brain may be on mental overload from the fall semester, so I want to make it easy for you and give you Karen’s Holiday HIIT routine.

You have five weeks from the start of this issue and the advantage this week to come and see me for clarification on any of these exercises. This workout does not require equipment, but if you have a stair or a low sturdy chair, it will help enhance a few of the exercises.

You can modify all of them to be less impact or work at a higher intensity. Do the lower amount of reps first and work up to more over the few weeks.

Warm up: Do each move for 20 seconds.

March or jog on the spot, step side to side, squat side to side, jog or high knees, side to side hop or skate, squat jacks or side to side squat with double hop, front flutter kicks, skate or leap side to side, squat jacks or low squat and double hop. Repeat last three moves two to three more times.

The moves:

Jog forward 4 times and squat, jog back and split alternating lunge, repeat 10-20 times

Vertical Squat hops, 10-15 times

Burpees, 5 times

Push ups, 5-15 times

Jacks, 40 times

Repeat above 2-3 more times.

Shuffle side to side, 4 large steps, add a touchdown squat at each end. Repeat 10-20 times.

Scissor Lunge, 20-40 times

Mountain climbers, 40-80 alternating knees

Tuck jumps (single or both legs), 8-20

Repeat above 2-3 more times.

Suicide x3 runs 20-30 foot distance, 18-30 turns

Box jumps (using step), 10-30 times

Walking plank, 8-12 times

Football jog side to side (3-4x) with alternating knee strike

Repeat above 2-3 more times.

Jog up and down step, 20-30 times left, then right foot

Lunge with knee lift (on step), 10-20 times left and right

Dips (step) or alternating side plank, 15-30 times

Squat with side-kick, 12-20 times left and right

Repeat above 2 more times.

Cool down and stretch.

Work from your legs or trunk and outward to your limbs (large muscles to small). Slow down with dynamic (moving) stretches and gradually work to more static stretches for each muscle group.

Karen Nixon-Carroll is the program manager at Fitness 101, Fanshawe College Professor, YMCA fitness course trainer and examiner, Fanshawe FHP grad and holds many fitness certifications for personal training, group fitness and wellness. Email her at karen.carroll@fanshawec.ca.