A Thanksgiving Workout

By Neghar Fonooni
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I really can't believe it's that time of year already.

Time for turkey and taters, and best of all, pie! The holidays, no matter how we try to spin it, place a pretty heavy emphasis on food. It's often hard to remain committed to eating healthy, nutritious meals when there's a parade of rich and often not-so-nutritious holiday food around us.

This is where we at Girls Gone Strong come in, to remind you that part of living a healthy lifestyle includes the occasional indulgence, and the occasional celebratory meal or treat, while still keeping an eye on what's important to you with regard to your health and your physique.

On Monday, we posted two delicious and healthy recipes that you can prepare for your Thanksgiving get together, and today we are giving you a free workout.

One of the best ways to avoid some of detrimental effects of a big holiday meal (like feeling sluggish, or storing up way too many of those extra calories) is to put in a solid workout beforehand. We know it can be difficult to make time for the gym on Thanksgiving between travel, guests, and cooking—not to mention, some gyms might not even be open!

That's where a metabolic finisher comes in handy!

These workouts are fast, effective and can require very little equipment, or maybe even no equipment at all. Finishers are sort of a cross between lifting and cardio. This is a great strategy to offset the extra intake from your holiday meal, and will leave you feeling more productive on an otherwise sedentary day.

Molly, Alli, and I got together last week in Baltimore to work on making Girls Gone Strong a place for you to be educated and inspired about all things fitness and nutrition. We also brainstormed ways to better serve you and create an even more rich and interactive GGS community. Our week was incredibly busy, but we wanted to make sure that we got a little exercise in there in every single day. One day we all trained together at Alli's gym and another day we took an fantastic yoga class.

But, in between all this GGS training fun, Molly and I made sure to do some metabolic finishers at my place, including one of my favorite kettlebell finishers. Here it is, so you can give it a try, too!

5 rounds of:

  • Kettlebell Swing (2 or 1 arm) x15-20
  • Kettlebell Squat (goblet or double) x8-10
  • Kettlebell Snatch (or half snatch) x8-10 each side

I do workouts similar to this one a few times a week and I always enjoy them. One of the best things about a metabolic finisher is the afterburn effect, which basically means that your body will continue to burn calories at a higher rate than normal long after you've finished. So you get to spend less time working out and more time burning fat, which sounds like a pretty ridiculous trade-off in my opinion.

Check out Molly and I getting metabolic on a chilly Baltimore  day (sorry about the kids yelling in the background!):

This workout is our gift to you, and a very small token of our sincere thanks for your support of GGS and your involvement in this amazing community. You can do this workout tomorrow as you prepare to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with your loved ones.

No matter what, make sure you enjoy the holiday. Relax and give thanks for the incredible things your body can do and the wonderful people you have in your life. We are thankful for you, and we wish you and yours a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

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About the author:  Neghar Fonooni

Girls Gone Strong co-founder Neghar Fonooni is a fitness and lifestyle coach, writer, entrepreneur, veteran, wife, and mom. Neghar’s mission is to help women all over the world live fit, happy, empowered lives without stress and shame. Learn more about Neghar on her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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