The holidays are officially here this week! Thanksgiving is one of my absolute favorite holidays, and I’m sure it is for a lot of you, too. I love getting together with friends and family, I love how it kicks off such a festive time of year, and yes, I LOVE the food 🙂

I’m sure a lot of you are like me in this regard, too – I worry about going overboard at times and even falling off track with my workouts. It’s bound to happen, and it has happened to me in the past – Thanksgiving week can most definitely wreak havoc on your workouts and your normal schedule.

But don’t stress – I’m here to show you how you to enjoy the holiday and the quality family time and still not fall too far off track .. actually, how to not fall off track at all!

Since a lot of people usually start their Thanksgiving travels on Wednesday, this plan keeps that in mind – meaning you probably can’t get to a gym for both your weight training and cardio starting on that day.

So here is a guideline for how you can maximize this week of training as far as hitting all of the major muscle groups and continuing to build muscle and – YES! – even lose body fat. We will do that by incorporating multiple muscle groups (meaning more than 3) in a few of the weight workouts this week, which I don’t normally do. But total-body and multiple body part workouts can be a great way to switch things up when you are pressed for time.

Now, most of you might not be able to adhere to this schedule either, and that’s ok. I do recommend training whenever you can – getting in something is better than doing nothing at all.

MONDAY: Upper Body Superset Workout
Note: Perform 3 sets of 10-15 reps of each exercise, resting for 45 seconds between supersets

• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press/Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise
• Wide Grip Pulldown/Seated Cable Row
• Incline Dumbbell Press/Pushup
• Standing Barbell Curl/Concentration Curl
• Rope Pressdown/Rope Overhead Extension
• Ab Circuit: 20 crunches, 20 leg raises, 20 full sit-ups. Perform 3 full circuits, resting for 30 seconds at the end of each.
• Cardio: 20 minutes of HIIT cardio/10-20 minutes of steady state cardio in the morning or after your workout

TUESDAY: Lower Body Superset Workout
Note: Perform 3 sets of 10-15 reps of each exercise, resting for 45 seconds between supersets

• Dumbbell Squat/Standing Calf Raise
• Single-Leg Leg Press/Barbell Walking Lunges
• Smith Machine Bulgarian Split Squat/Smith Machine Wide Leg Sumo Squat
• Cable Kickback/Stiff Legged Deadlift
• Abductor Machine/Leg Extension
• Lying Hamstring Curl/Seated Calf Raise
• Cardio: 30-45 minutes of steady state cardio in the morning or after your workout

WEDNESDAY: 30 Minute Total-Body Workout
I know Wednesday is a travel day, or a short day, for most. So rather than make you choose one or the other on a day you are already likely pressed for time, I am incorporating both into one workout that you can do in just 30 minutes – actually LESS than 30 minutes – with this Total-Body Combo-Move Workout!

• VIDEO: Total-Body Combo Move Workout

THURSDAY: Thanksgiving!
This one is up to you. Thursday, and possibly Sunday, will be my days off this week. We will be in Arizona spending the holiday with my grandmother, so I will probably go for a walk outside – it is tough for me to sit around completely, so I may even go for an early-morning run while everyone else is asleep. If you can train in the morning, then that’s awesome 🙂

FRIDAY: Weak Point Training
This is the day to put all of those extra calories and carbs to good use. Every time I have a cheat or treat, I train my weakest body part the next day. I just imagine the food being pushed into my muscle.

For me, that body part will likely be glutes – last year it was shoulders. If you can only get in the gym one day after the holiday due to other plans, I strongly suggest you make Friday that day.

As for cardio, make sure you do your cardio after your workout today so you don’t deplete your glycogen stores in the morning. If you can’t do both weights and cardio and only can choose one, bypass the cardio and focus on building up your weak body part.

SATURDAY
Saturday for me this week will be a full off day for me. We will be driving home from Arizona, so I will be on the road for at least six hours. But the great part is, I will have already trained four times this week by Saturday now. Which isn’t bad at all on a holiday week like this!

SUNDAY

I will be doing my usual early-morning cardio on Saturday morning for around 45 minutes. will probably be I will do cardio on this day – around 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how I feel.  Monday starts a new week of workouts and, if you’re following the upcoming 30 Day Holiday Workout Calendar, (stay tuned!) this will be your first day of workouts 🙂

Hopefully this helps some of you with some ideas of how to structure this week so you can still have fun and stay on track. I would love to hear some of your tips and tricks in the forums, or just hear about your Thanksgiving. I hope you all get to spend time with loved ones and that you all have a wonderful holiday 🙂