I have started a bit of a tradition with my personal training clients with my Christmas Cookie Crusher workouts. They started back in 2014 with my small group and are officially now a “thing” even though I’m not training them anymore. Here’s the 2015 workout.

I gave up training my small group of friends at 5:30 a.m. a few months ago but we decided that our birthday-themed workouts and the Christmas Cookie Crusher had to live on. We met at 5:30 a.m. on Monday for the 2016 Christmas Cookie Crusher and it may have been the best one yet. Since I’m not officially training them these days, I decided to jump in for the workout and invited another one of my clients.

There were five of us all together and it was such a fun morning of sweating! I have to admit that it reminded me how nice it is to knock out your workout so early and how fun and motivating it is to workout with friends.

I’m going to share the gym workout with equipment that we did with you as well as a bodyweight variation that you can do at home or traveling. I themed the workout around the 12 days of Christmas. It was great because you were constantly switching exercises and adding them on but it took forever! The gym workout below took us 57 minutes.

Let’s go through these movements.

1. Sled push. Push a weighted sled down and back for 50 meters total. Our sled was weighted with 50 lbs. If you don’t have a sled, do a suicide or shuttle sprint.
2. Man makers. Watch this video and take out the push up.
3. Kettlebell complexes. Watch this video for the sumo deadlift high pull then add three kettlebell swings and three goblet squats holding the kettlebell onto it.
4. Pull ups. Strict! Use a band if you need.
5. V-ups. You know the drill. Add a weight if you’d like!
6. Push ups…no explanation needed and make them GOOD.
7. Squats. Anything goes – back squats, jump squats, goblet squats…whatever challenges you.
8. Deadlifts. Same as the squats. You can barbell, kettlebell or dumbell these.
9. Burpee box jumps. Watch this video. Fun times! 🙂 Modify to a step up if needed.
10. Calorie row. Set your rower to calories and go to town.
11. Walking lunges. Add weight if you’d like.
12. 1200 meter run (.75 miles)

Here’s your home version. Movement review….

1. Forearm plank. Perfect form please!
2. Burpee broad jumps. Watch this video.
3. Squat complexes. If jumping doesn’t work for you, stick with air squats.
4. Push up side planks. Do a push up, roll to a side plank. Do another push up. Roll to side plank on the other side. 4 push ups total, 2 side planks on each side.
5. V-ups.
6. Jump lunges.
7. Squats (air squats or jump squats)
8. Speed skaters. Demo in this video.
9. Tricep dips.
10. Sit ups.
11. Mountain climbers.

1200 meter run (.75 miles)

Of course I brought my clients cookies as a reward for making it through! Here’s my 1,000th friendly reminder to ENJOY YOUR LIFE! #workhard #playhard #noshame #noguilt

I hope you’ll try one of the workouts and as always, I’d love your feedback and welcome your questions.

Much love and merry, merry!
Jen