Thanksgiving Gut Buster Workout

One of the more colorful emails to appear in my inbox this month was a compendium of Thanksgiving-themed exercises, courtesy of New York Sports Club (a subset of the Town Sports International gym chain). Assembled by Master Trainer Amy Hoff, the collection promised to "help even the most overindulgent combat the year's biggest holiday meal." Sure, I'll take that.

The team at NYSC had actually taken time to connect the calorie burn of each exercise to a serving of a particular Thanksgiving food. In other words, according to their research, a set of "Jiggle Buster Jumps" could work off two slices of turkey (100 calories a slice). Three sets of "Pumpkin Pie Push Ups" might burn off not (as I'd first assumed) a slice of pie, but rather a half cup of stuffing (250 calories). The pie business (350 calories), it turns out, promises to be taken care of with three sets "Second Serving Squats." Should I want to wind things down with a glass of wine (95 calories), I'd be in for three sets of "Football Runs."

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll admit I didn't actually eat the foods in question on the day I tested these, but I ate a whole lot of other bad-for-me things. In other words, the will was definitely there.I started out with the "Jiggle Buster Jumps." This exercise gets kicked off standing, feet six inches apart. From there you bend your knees down to a 90-degree angle (like you're sitting in a chair). Then, you "leap up as high as you can taking a giant step to the front." You repeat this movement going to both sides and also backward. Yes, I felt completely ridiculous. But in some ways this made the experience engaging so it went faster. And the move themselves were easy. NYSC recommends 24 to a set.

Next up were "Pumpkin Pie Push Ups." I love stuffing, so mastering these felt key. They were a little more tricky, it turned out: As you come up from a standard push up, you're supposed to "rotate to the right into a side plank, taking left arm up to the ceiling." (If you're having trouble, you can keep your knee on the floor.) The idea is to round this off by coming back into push up position, then repeating on the left side, ultimately alternating for ten reps. The strength and balance components made these considerably less fun than the jumps. But because of that I finished feeling pretty confident that this could, in fact, do some damage against stuffing-induced fat.

NYSC suggests performing the "Second Serving Squats" "holding a plastic pumpkin filled with candy." I'll venture a guess they'll work just as well with three books or a three-to-ten pound weight. As far as I could understand, the exercise itself seemed to be a just a very slow, controlled squat. Simple enough. One tip I liked -- don't go below 90 degrees. (I sometimes try to impress myself with my ability to go deeper. So this was good to know.) Here, 20 constitute a set.

Rounding things off-and for the wine lovers out there -- I took one for the team and tried a set of "Football Runs." Here, you're supposed to start in push up position, then use a thrusting motion to bring your right knee into your chest, then return your leg to the floor and alternate, 20 times. I'll say it: I felt pretty tough. Definitely well-equipped to take on that glass of wine.

Pluses: The overall concept is useful, since so many of us tend to spend Thanksgiving not just away from the gym, but also stuffed into small spaces with family. These pretty standard and easy-to-master moves work in that context.

Minuses: Obviously, there was a fair amount of forced stuff going on here. We'd probably all be as happy to do some unadorned squats on the 26th.

Takeaway: I'm not sure how much I buy into the eye-for-an-eye (or, in this case, squat-for-a-pie) workout philosophy, but I do think the suspension of disbelief here can be incredibly motivating, something especially important as holiday stress sets in. On that note, I'll sign off with a "Holiday Shopping Shape Up" Stand with the balls of your foot on the lowest step on a flight of stairs. Slowly drop your heels, letting the weight of your body stretch your calves and release built up tension.

Learn more: New York Sports Club Homepage

If you're traveling this holiday season, try some of these evergreen tips for staying fit on the road.