The New Year is less than two weeks away! The holiday season is in full swing, as well as the parties, food and festivities that come along with it. Many of us travel to visit friends, family and faraway places during this time of year. Being a Savvy Auntie is tough – you are a role model to your nieces and nephews; don’t let being away from home and your normal routine prevent you from exercising and lead to gaining weight.

Staying healthy during this stressful time of year is important not only for your body, but also your mind. Make sure you maintain a daily exercise schedule that includes both strength training as well as cardiovascular training. This will ensure a good calorie burn and preserve your muscle at the same time.

My favorite ways to ensure that you can strength train in addition to performing cardio while you are away is to use calisthenics as well as resistance bands. These are great tools which are often overlooked when at the gym. Bands are inexpensive, lightweight and easy to carry in luggage. What’s more, the change in your routine will often yield visible results!

If you are visiting your niece or nephew this holiday season, why not enlist them to try the workout with you? Resistance bands are a great tool to introduce exercise to kids. Just be sure the band is the appropriate resistance for the child’s age, and always supervise them when exercising together.

Check out this sample routine – sure to challenge you and give you a total body workout!

Resistance Band Training

1. Warm-up and stretch with a 10-minute jog.

2. Perform each of the following exercises for three sets of 12 repetitions in circuit form. There are three circuits here; go through the first, performing each exercise for 12 reps, then repeat the entire group of exercises three times. You will then move on to second circuit, perform it three times and move on from there. You can view video demonstrations of each exercise on my YouTube channel if you’d like pointers on how to execute each move.

Circuit #1:
Walking Side Squat with Resistance Band
Bicep Curl with a Resistance Band
Tricep Overhead Extension with Resistance Band
Shoulder Overhead Press with Resistance Band

Circuit #2:
Walking Side Squat with Resistance Band
Squat with Resistance Band
Front Raise with a Resistance Band
Lat Pull Down with Resistance Bands

Circuit #3
Walking Side Squat with Resistance Band
Reverse Lunge with Resistance Band
Hammer Curl with a Resistance Band
Reverse Flye with a Resistance Band
Upright Row with Resistance Bands

3. Stretch and cool-down.

Becky Wenner, owner of Becky's Fitness Company, is a proud Aunt of five.

Published: December 22, 2010