As you prepare for your Thanksgiving holiday feast, chances are you’ll consume more calories than you ideally would with your usual routine during your Thanksgiving meal, even if you are making healthier choices. Stay on track with this 5-day workout plan, designed to burn calories, and reduce guilt this Thanksgiving!
How to Use This Workout Plan
With the busyness of the holiday season in mind, I wanted to keep this workout routine simple. The workouts included in this plan range from 10-30 minutes. Each workout is intentional and efficient, designed to make the most of your time spent exercising so you can get on with your to-do list - whether that be preparing for the big meal, or Black Friday shopping.
This routine involves exercise before, on, and after Thanksgiving Day to boost your overall calorie burn, and breeze through this holiday week without guilt or weight gain. Let’s take a look at this week of workouts, so you can get your game plan in place for the holiday week ahead!
Full Body Workouts
In this workout plan, I’ve included 3 high-intensity full body workouts for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. By design, these workouts target your entire body, using compound exercises to engage multiple muscle groups at once, increasing your calorie burn. These workouts are effective and efficient, designed to maximize your time spent working out.
Follow along with the workout videos as I instruct you through each exercise and rep. I can’t promise every workout is going to feel easy, but I can promise I’ll be there struggling through every last rep with you. While the workouts may not be easy, the exercises in this plan are selected with beginners in mind. So regardless of your fitness level, you can feel comfortable following along with this routine. As always, just try your best!
Core & Cardio
Tuesday and Thursday will be your core and cardio days. These days will focus on core-specific work to strengthen and tone your entire core area, along with 30 minutes of your cardio of choice.
Your goal for your cardio sessions should be to maintain a comfortable, conversational pace, and just simply move your body. Cardio is a great way to burn calories while being a little lighter on the muscles and intensity than some of the exercises we will be doing in our full body workouts.
If you have a cardio machine at home, feel free to put it to use for these workouts - rowing, walking, jogging, running, cycling, stepping, etc. are all welcome here. I don’t want these sessions to be boring or dreaded. I encourage you to find something you enjoy doing. Especially on Thanksgiving Day, consider creative ways to involve your family or start a new tradition like a holiday hike or turkey trot.
Equipment Needed
- Dumbbells (optional)
Only one of the workouts in this routine uses dumbbells, so if you don’t have any, feel free to get creative by using household items, or simply replace this workout with one of the other full body workouts in this routine.
Thanksgiving Week Workout Plan
| Day | Focus | Workout |
| Monday | Full Body | 30-Minute Low Impact Full Body Workout |
| Tuesday | Core & Cardio | 10-Minute Beginner Core Workout & 30 Minutes Cardio |
| Wednesday | Full Body |
15-Minute Full Body Dumbbell HIIT (Repeat 2 times for a full 30-minute workout) |
| Thursday | Core & Cardio | 10-Minute Lower Ab Circuit & 30 Minutes Cardio |
| Friday | Full Body | 20-Minute No Repeat Bodyweight Workout |
I hope this plan helps you to stay on track with your goals this Thanksgiving and have some fun while you’re at it! Once you’ve finished this routine, I hope you feel excited and encouraged to ramp up your fitness routine through the holiday season. If so, be sure to check out some of our other workout routines such as Two-Week Summer Workout Bootcamp, 4 Week Strong & Toned for Summer Workout Program, or Workout Plan for the New Year which will be a great way to keep you on track through the holidays.
