Merry HIITMAS! A Christmas Workout is an intense little cardio + strength workout from Heather Robertson. I found it very metabolic. I did use it as a finisher after another total body strength workout, so I was already fatigued and this workout kicked my butt! You use light dumbbells for some of the exercises to increase intensity and get some strength work but you are not going to get any real muscle building strength work from any of the exercises. However, you do get a little bit of everything. And it’s short, which was the point. A short, intense workout to fit into Christmas day so you can get some strength and cardio. It is set to Christmas music and Heather is wearing all red. All of the exercises are done interval style: 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of rest. There is a timer in the lower right hand corner of the screen, counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recoveries Heather previews the next exercise. This is not a low impact workout.
Merry HIITMAS! A Christmas Workout is 25:10 minutes; 2 minute warm up and 2 minute stretch. Equipment: light dumbbells and a fitness mat. Heather is using 5 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.
Circuit 1:
- Ski jumper (hold one light DB in each hand, lower into squat while also doing a straight arm front raise, as you raise out of squat, lower arms and jump) (5# DBs)
- Prancer & dancer (high knee run forward the length of your mat then butt kick run backwards back to the start)
- Snow angel (lay on stomach with arms extended in front of you, raise arms and legs and hold isometrically, pull elbows behind back while opening legs wide, push arms in front of you while closing legs)
- Santa’s sack (stand with legs wide holding a DB in each hand, lower into squat reaching DBs to floor between legs, when you stand, bend elbows and bring both DBs over one shoulder, like throwing a sack over your shoulder, alternate sides with a squat between each side) (8# DBs)
- Jack in the box (hold one DB in each hand at shoulders, lower into a narrow squat, raise out of squat while also jacking legs wide and pushing DBs overhead) (8# DBs)
- Repeat #1-5
30 second rest
Circuit 2:
- Santa’s helper (lower into partial squat, holding a DB in each hand, the DBs are pressed together, do one hammer curl then take one lateral step and repeat hammer curl, remain in isometric partial squat the entire time, you will take 2 lateral steps in each direction–the length of your mat) (10# DBs)
- Lollipop lunge (alternating reverse lunges, hold one DB in both hands by bar, push DB straight in front of you then lift it overhead, bend elbows to lower DB then push it back in front of you–you are drawing a circle with the DB) (one 10# DB)
- Lords a leaping (lateral leap the length of the mat + one jumping jack)
- Polar bear plank (in straight arm plank, step feet in under body so you are in bear pose then step feet back out into plank)
- Shooting star (lower into a narrow squat with arms extended straight in front of you, pulse 3x at bottom of squat, jump out of squat into plyo jack–open arms overhead into a V while also opening legs wide when jumping)
- Repeat #1-5
For more info on Heather Robertson’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
