There's just over a week to go before you're gobbling turkey and scarfing down stuffing. A few workouts before the big meal will help you stave off the extra pounds when you shovel in those extra calories, experts say. Here's how to gear up.
Don't: Go easy on yourself
Plain and simple, the harder you work, the more calories you'll burn.
“Especially if you only have 30 minutes in your day, definitely you want to push those as hard as you can,” says Connie Beaulieu, owner of C.U. Fit Personal Training in Ottawa. “It's all about burning as many calories [as you can] in order to consume the extra calories.”
People tend to underestimate their power when they head to the gym, says Kalev Jaaguste, owner of Kalev Personal Training Inc. in Vancouver. “They plod along for 45 minutes to an hour, and they're not burning tons of calories and they aren't really increasing their fitness,” he says.
Mr. Jaaguste recommends mixing high intensity with low intensity in your workout to give your muscles and respiratory system an extra jolt. That said, listen to your body and don't go so hard that you feel faint.
Do: Try interval training
That means alternating short spurts of fast and hard sprinting with slower movement and varying levels of resistance Mr. Jaaguste says.
“Your body's ability to do cardio and burn fat is at a higher intensity,” he says. “You burn more calories in a shorter amount of time.”
To do this, warm up for five minutes, then do a 30-second push, either going as fast as you can or moving against as much resistance as you can, says Jessica Tinkler, a personal trainer in Toronto.
Don't: Forget the weights
They're the ticket to blasting more fat in less time, Ms. Beaulieu says.
“A lot of people opt for doing cardio alone when they're trying to burn calories, but by doing resistance training you will increase your lean muscle mass, which burns more calories at rest.”
She suggests a circuit, alternating the weight training with cardio to keep your heart rate up.
If you're not doing a circuit, consider doing your weight routine before your cardio, Mr. Jaaguste says. “You actually burn a slightly higher percentage of fat after a moderate- to high-intensity strength workout.”
Do: Train all muscle groups
You'll not only make the most of your time, but you'll also burn more calories, says Pepe Picco, co-owner of Precision Athletics Inc. in Vancouver.
“I find body weight with weights is the best way to do it, as opposed to using machines,” he says. “You're not going to get the metabolic effect [with machines] as far as fat-burning and recovery required.”
Try moves such as thrusters – holding dumbbells over your head, squatting parallel to the ground, then pushing up – and overhead presses, walking lunges with a medicine ball twist, and pushups. He suggests beginning with 10 reps on weights you can comfortably handle.
Chase the moves down with a fast quarter-mile run, then repeat twice in a circuit. If you're unsure of how to do any of these exercises, he says, ask a personal trainer or an informed buddy to show you.
Do: Exercise the day of
An hour before the feast is best, says Mark Tarnopolsky, professor of pediatrics and medicine and director of the Neuromuscular and Neurometabolic Clinic at McMaster University.
“There are a fair number of studies showing that if you've worked out in the [previous] hour or so, there's an enhanced uptake of both carbohydrates and protein into muscle,” he says. That kicks your metabolism into high gear.
