Thanksgiving Workout: 5 Exercises For Your Turkey Burn Workout

Thanksgiving is a holiday for feasting and celebrating, but it's also a time devoid of exercise. Your diet often gets tossed out of the window, and you make every little exception to your diet.

You can't resist the turkey or the stuffing, nor the insane amount of wine you will be drinking. After all, what would Thanksgiving be without them? So if you're feeling grateful this year, why not thank your body by doing some turkey-burning workouts?

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Best Thanksgiving Exercises

The following five exercises can tone up your muscles while burning calories. Let's get started:

#1 Goblet Squat

Goblet squats are a great way to build strong leg muscles with minimal equipment.

Do it as follows:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in front of you.
• Keeping your chest up and body straight, slowly lower down into the squat till your thighs are parallel to the ground.
• Don’t let your knees shift forward past your toes; that can cause injury to the knee joint.
• Press through your heels to return to a standing position; repeat for reps.

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#2 Russian Twist

Russian twists are great for the core and lower back. You will need a medicine ball, dumbbell, or kettlebell to do it. If you don’t have any of them, use a small pillow or your bodyweight by sitting on one leg.

Do it as follows:

• Sit on the floor with your knees straight, and hold the weight in front of you.
• Rotate from side to side by twisting at the waist as far as possible without arching or rounding your lower back.
• Focus on keeping your core tight and straight throughout all the motions.

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#3 Reverse Lunge

Reverse lunges are a great way to target the glutes, quads, and hamstrings.

To do a reverse lunge:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Take a step back with one leg, lowering down till your knee is bent at 90 degrees or lower (make sure to keep the weight centered in front of you).
• Push back up through that leg, and repeat on the other side (if you need help getting up from that deep a lunge, grab onto something sturdy like an exercise ball or chair).
• Continue alternating sides till you've completed ten repetitions per side; 3-4 sets total should do it.

Keep in mind that if that's too difficult for you due to knee issues or balance problems, try doing incline reverse lunges, where you will face away from the step rather than towards it.

If there's any pain felt during these movements, stop immediately, and consult a doctor before continuing any kind of physical activity.

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#4 Side Plank

Side planks are an insane core exercise that can help tone up the abs and obliques, making your v-taper more prominent.

To do the exercise, follow these steps:

• Lie on your side with your legs straight and ankles locked.
• Place your forearm on the ground directly under your shoulder so that it forms a 90-degree angle with the body.
• Your elbow should be directly below your shoulder and the top of your forearm should be flat against the floor.
• Resting on this arm, lift up onto the other foot, and raise yourself up till your hips are in line with your shoulders and knees.
• Keep both legs straight, and ensure that you don't move them.
• Hold for 30 seconds to a minute or as long as you can maintain proper form.

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#5 Medicine Ball Crunch

Medicinal ball crunches are a great way to add some spice to your vanilla core workouts.

The added resistance introduced by the medicinal ball places more load on the abs. The use of weights is essential, as it adds extra resistance to an area that might not receive much load, as most people avoid using weights when training their abs.

To do the exercise, follow these steps:

• Lie on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Place a medicine ball between your chest and upper thighs, keeping your lower back pressed into the floor as you curl up.
• Keep your chin tucked into your chest.
• Start with ten reps and work up to 20 per set.

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Takeaway

Now you have five more exercises to add to your routine. It’s important to keep in mind that the aforementioned exercises can be performed at any time and don’t require any special equipment or a gym membership. That means you can perform them from the comfort of your home during the Thanksgiving break.