For many Americans, Thanksgiving is the official kick-off of the holiday season. It’s also a big excuse for many to kick their fitness program. Well, not if I can help it!

You don’t have to throw away months of hard work and training just because you go overboard on one or two days. So, to ensure from the get-go that you don’t get crazy with the gravy… the first thing you should do on your holiday morning is get moving!

Working out before you even touch all of the fixin’s may make you less likely to splurge later on. Why? Click on my video and I’m going to show you a workout that will kick your butt so hard you won’t want to undo it (I hope)! Plus, working out right off the bat as opposed to saving it for later (which is code for “not at all”) will burn off some of those extra calories you’ll consume when you’re gorging on your second slice of pumpkin pie.

So, watch my video and then print out these notes to follow along for when you do your pre-holiday workout. You’ll need a treadmill and two dumbbells that are light enough that you can perform 15 repetitions, but still challenging that you feel the burn at the end of every set.

Total workout time: 35-40 minutes
1.) Warm up on the treadmill for one to five minutes at a comfortable pace
2.) Walk at a minimum of 3.5 miles per hour at a 4% incline for one minute
3.) Carefully grab your dumbbells and perform 15 overhead presses while still walking
4.) Next, walk for one minute and then perform 15 hammer bicep curls while still walking
5.) Now, get off the treadmill — but keep it on — and perform a total of 20 alternating reverse lunges while holding your dumbbells at your sides
6.) Get back on the treadmill, lower the incline to zero, and crank up your speed and run at a medium to high pace for five minutes
7.) After your run, bring your pace back down to at least 3.5 miles per hour and bump your incline back up to 4% for one minute
8.) Repeat three times

Health and fitness is a necessity to keep us living long, fulfilled lives. But if we need it to live, why is it so damn hard? Because we unnecessarily make it that way!!! Whether you need to lose 50 pounds or just want to get back in shape, beginners can’t expect to jump in head first and see instant results. That, more likely than not, may lead to really sore muscles, injuries, malnutrition, and a strong detest for exercise. I don’t blame you. But there is a way for you to kick your program off easier –and correctly– so you eventually do see lasting results.

If you’re getting your butt into shape for the first time, you need to initially take it slooooooow. Forget about what other people are doing! They may not have the same goals as you! Instead, start out with lighter, but challenging, weights that allow you to do higher repetitions while still feeling “the burn.” No matter where you are now and what your goal is, EVERYONE should ALWAYS lift weights.

To prevent injury that will keep you away from exercise even longer, use correct form while focusing on every movement and muscle you work. Also, perform compound movements. They work more than one muscle group and are great for conditioning yourself for overall performance.

You want more? Click on my video to see what I’m talking about! After you watch it and try out the exercises, comment on the blog or email me at jenny[@]bridesmadefit.com.

Lower Back. Even the name sounds like it’s not a priority so why the heck would you consider it? Well, you should! If you’re a living being right now, your lower back is being engaged constantly — and most-likely being mistreated. I know you don’t mean to disregard your back when your slouching in your work chair, helping your buddy move, or racking too much weight at the gym… but you are.

Now is the time to start incorporating lower back exercises into your routine. If you’re one of the lucky ones who has 6 months of snow-shoveling to look forward to like me, then you’re especially in need of a good exercise to get you going so you don’t injure yourself. Deadlifts are the answer.

A deadlift can include a barbell or dumbbells being lifted from your shins to standing position, using primarily your lower back, along with the hips, butt, and legs. You may typically see men doing this movement at the gym, but ladies need to do them too!! Because deadlifts require sufficient form and strength of the lower back, injury is very common if you get lazy. But, I don’t want you to avoid this movement all together either. So, click on this week’s video, watch, and learn the correct way to perform a deadlift for a strong, sturdy, sexy lower back!

And finally, I give a big shout out to Jon over in the UK who just finished the New York City Marathon! He raised over £2,500 for the Orchid Male Cancer Charity. He said that he used some of my workouts to help with some of his resistance training and he actually shed five minutes off of his time! That is awesome! So, congrats to Jon!

If you want to email me a question or share some fitness news that you would like to see on the next show, EMAIL ME! (jenny[at]bridesmadefit.com)

As a trainer, I am constantly asked by people how they can target their “lower abs.” In actuality, there is no such thing as lower abs. Humans are programmed to store excess fat in the lower abdomen region for survival. Unfortunately, this God-given (or, evolution-given) trait is unbecoming if stored in high amounts. And the site of it tricks us into thinking all of those crunches we’re doing aren’t paying off.

Fat loss in your abdomen can only come from a consistent program of cardiovascular exercise and a nutrition plan low in sugar and refined carbohydrates. Read these words: you CAN eat carbs!! Complex or simple carbs in minimal portions. Along with a good program to help you burn the fat, toning the abdominal muscles will make them stronger and look more defined.

The abdomen is made up of a series of muscles. The region in the center we target for a six-pack is the Rectus Abdominis. Performing jackknife crunches can target this muscle in it’s entire range of motion, upper and lower.

Along the sides of the Rectus Abdominis are the Internal and External Oblique muscles. These can be targeted from twisting motions, such as the bicycle crunch.

The Transverse Abdominis is the muscle in the center of the core underneath the obliques, which acts as a girdle. To condition this muscle, you can perform exercises that invert the pelvis, such as a prone position pike on a fit ball. See this awesome abdominal workout in this week’s podcast, and try it yourself!