Last night was a feast! Our school had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for students as well as members of the community. (The senior citizens by far out-numbered the college kids and it was fun to see the hall so decorated and festive!) A couple of my friends from the track team and I filled our plates with everything: turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, stuffing, and yes, pumpkin pie! We were STUFFED and ready to lay down and take a nap.

This morning, though, I was wide awake and ready to begin my core workout while the coffee brewed! I started the coffee pot and did a “warm up” of high knees, jumping jacks, and jogging in place. Then I got right down to business with squats (regular and plie) and  lunges.

Some days the last thing I want to do is get my sweat on the moment I wake up. Other mornings I have a burst of energy to crank out some exercises. Just go with it! After pouring my first cup of steaming hot coffee, I decided that I didn’t want to do another circuit of ab exercises. My core routine is typically 30 of these, 20 of those, 15 of that, REPEAT x4. But today, the repitition didn’t appeal to me. So I set the timer on the microwave to challenge myself:

Instead of doing a pre-determined number of reps, I did each exercise listed above for 1 minute. The goal is to get as many reps as you can in the minute each. (I tend to go straight from one exercise to the next, but you can give yourself a “rest” time between each minute.) I won’t tell you how many of each I completed, because it’s not a competition between us. It’s a competition between you and yourself!

I will tell you that the transition between burpees to mountain climbers will kick your butt. Don’t know what I was thinking, putting those two together…

I am going to do this same workout next week and try to beat today’s “score” in one or all categories. So write down your results (unless you have a super awesome memory) and go for an improvement in 1-2 weeks. :)

Any then enjoy a perfect mug of coffee, with homemade pumpkin spice creamer if you’re feeling extra motivated today. Less than a week to Thanksgiving, let the calorie pre-burn begin!