What better way to KICK OFF day ONE of our 12 Days of FITMAS Challenge, then with a PLANK?  Am I right, or am I right??!!   It’s day ONE – so we have just 1 exercise today.  A 60 second PLANK hold!

We’ve got OPTIONS!

You can plank from your toes, or modify from your knees if needed.

You can do a high OR low plank (on your forearms) – whichever you prefer.

Just make sure you have AMAZING plank form.  Let’s talk about it …

• Shoulders, elbows and wrists are in line – stacked on top of each other.
• Eye gaze is just ahead of your hands.
• Core is braced with hips tucked under.
• Your body makes a straight line from your head, through your hips, to your heels (or knees if you’re modifying).

Put on some music that pumps you up – this will help distract you.  60 seconds may seem like a LONG time in a plank!!  Music helps 🙂

And take breaks through the 60 seconds if you need – but do your best to stay in it as long as you can.

Your FIT TIP today is to DRINK YOUR WATER!  You should be drinking ½ your body weight (in pounds) in ounces of water each day.  AND!!  An AMAZING tip to help you not overeat at dinners – drink a FULL glass of water right before you eat!  It will help you feel full faster 🙂

Go drink your water and  ROCK OUT your plank on day ONE of our FITMAS challenge.  Comment below when you’re done and let us know how it went … see you tomorrow!

How was day ONE yesterday?  Did you crush your plank?  The great news is that you’re going to have quite a few more planks over the next 11 days, lol!  So you’ll get lots of practice.  Each day we start with another 60 second plank.  You’re welcome :).

Each day I give you a new move, and you will add it onto the last day’s workout.  So today, on day 2, we have 2 moves:

1. Plank
2. Jumping Jacks

For the jumping jacks the key is your feet and arms move together in synchronicity.  They start IN together, they go out together, then they come back in together.

The JUMP is optional.  You can jump this move – or you can tap side to side, with the arms still starting in, then opening up and closing back down with the feet tapping.  Coordination 🙂

You control your speed in this move.  You can take your time, or you can move with POWER and speed.  Up to you.  You’ve got 60 seconds. 

Plank and jacks.  60 seconds each with 30 seconds break between.  Repeat 1-3 times. 

Today’s FIT TIP is this – Pick ONE meal and allow yourself to indulge a bit.  Not all day.  So if you know you have a party at night, eat like you normally would, according to your goals, throughout the day.  Then allow yourself more freedom in just the 1 meal.  The majority of the time, you’re still focused. 

Make sense?  Sound do-able?  Let us know if this tip is helpful, and how your workout today goes …  Comment below …

Welcome to day three – by now you’ve figured out the routine I’m sure.  Today you’ll do the 2 moves from day 2 – then add on your new move.  Excited to find out what it is?

1. Plank
2. Jumping jacks
3. Squats

Yup – it’s SQUAT day!  Get your 60 seconds of plank and jumping jacks done (again – you can jump or step the jacks) … take 30 seconds rest between .. then it’s time to SQUAT!

Let’s talk SQUAT form –  Basically – it’s like you’re sitting down in a chair, then standing back up again.

The KEY with squats is to ensure your booty is going back.  Your knees will bend and we want them to track towards your toes, but please be sure your knees don’t track PAST your toes.  Protect those knees 🙂 And keep your chest lifted through the whole move.

You’ve got 60 seconds of squats – take your time in your reps and really master the form.  As usual – you’re welcome to repeat today’s moves 1-3 times (depending on your fitness level and available time)

Your FIT TIP today is VEGGIES!!  Good for you, packed with amazing nutrients, colourful and flavourful VEGGIES!  When you go to fill up your plate at your parties, try to fill it ½ full with bright, colourful veggies!  Then split the remaining ½ between protein and healthy carbs.

This is a great tip to help you not overeat at parties, but also to use in your daily life.  Work to fill your plate ½ full with vegetables.

Question – what’s your FAVE veggie?  Comment below …

4 exercises today!!  The routine is getting longer 🙂  Are we having FUN yet??  Welcome to day 4!

60 seconds each – 30 seconds rest between:

Plank … Jumping Jacks … Squat … High-Low Plank

Today’s new move is the HIGH-LOW Plank.  Basically – you start in a high plank (yup – you’ve been mastering this form already!) … then you lower into a low plank on your forearms.  As soon as you get there, you press back up into high plank – pulling your hands back under your shoulders. 

Keep moving from high to low and back to high plank for 60 seconds!!  You can be on your knees or toes for this one, and take a child’s pose break if you need.  Then get right back in it.  Your planks are getting stronger!  You’ve got this!

And your FIT TIP for today … Bring a Healthy Side Dish.

I do recommend asking the hostess ahead of time just so they’re not surprised when you show up with a dish – but this is a great tip just to ensure you have something healthy to pile on your plate.  And make enough extras to share with other guests.  You don’t want it to seem like this is just for you.  Share the healthy yummies.

What’s your fave healthy side dish?  Let’s share some yummy healthy recipes 🙂

We’re working the BOOTY and ditchin’ the stretchies today!  Welcome to day FIVE 🙂

Your new move that you’ll be adding on today is the GLUTE BRIDGE!  On your back with your knees bent, squeeze your booty and lift your hips UP.  Then really focus on RESISTING GRAVITY back down.  Don’t just drop, instead resist down.  Like you’re pressing down on wet cement!  That’s how to FIRE up the booty!  You’re welcome!

So your full workout today … 60 seconds each / 30 seconds rest:

Plank … Jumping Jacks … Squat … High-Low Plank … Glute Bridges

And you’re going to LOVE today’s FIT TIP almost as much as the glute bridges.  When you go to the big meal parties – NO stretchy clothes allowed.  So often we know we’re going to overeat, and we dress for it.  We wear looser pants and baggy sweaters.  Instead – I’m challenging you to wear tighter, form fitting clothes.  You’ll know when you start to overeat!

Lol – you get me?  What’s your party outfit going to be?  We want to see!  Post pics …

We’re LUNGING into day six today!  I’m sure you’re doing awesome showing up each day and getting those workouts done!  Today we LUNGE!

I know I know – most people hate lunges – because they’re hard!  Lunges work multiple BIG muscle groups – and because of it, they burn a million calories! 

Here’s my biggest tip with lunges – stand on RAILROAD TRACKS.  Why?  Which is easier to balance on?  A tightrope or railroad tracks?  That’s why.  Make sure you stand with your feet about hip width apart to help with balance.  Then – step back into a nice deep lunge.  Focus on bending from the back knee (this tip helps to keep the pressure OFF your front knee).  Make 90 degree angles at your knees – and ensure your knees never pass your toes.  Keep your body centered between your legs. 

Yes – lots to think about – but the good news?  You’ve got 60 seconds.  Don’t rush your reps.  Take the time you need to get your form right, and just keep moving through those lunges. 

And for your FIT TIP today … DON’T DRINK YOUR CALORIES.  Hmmm … some of you will be totally OK with this tip, and some may not be friends with me right now.  But really think about this.  Everything you put in your mouth has calories.  You can either choose to use those calories for good, colourful, nutritious food that will FUEL you – or you can ‘waste’ them and drink them away.

 is PACKED with hidden calories!!  Iced coffees and fancy drinks have even more.  Be present to it.  Be present to how many extra calories you’re drinking each day.  And know that this is a great way to SAVE a whole of calories.  Don’t drink them.

There – I said it.  I hope you don’t hate me too much.  I know it’s the holidays and many want to drink.  It’s ok.  Don’t cut it out entirely if it’s important to you.  Just be present and do your best to limit how many calories you drink.

Questions?  I’d love to hear them!  How did you do with the lunges?  Ask away any questions on the lunges, or any other exercise / fit tip …

It’s the 1 week mark – welcome to day 7!!  If you’ve been doing your daily workouts, you’re building consistency and that is so important!  SUPER proud of you!  If you’ve missed a couple days – no stress.  There’s enough distractions and stress in our lives right now 🙂  Just show up when you can – do what you can – and you are awesome.

For day 7 – Today we WALK and CRUNCH.

For our crunches, I like to keep my hands out in front, reaching forward – rather than the typical on head.  I find this puts more of the work into the core!  That’s where we want it.  Keep your chin tucked to your chest, feel pressing your tummy IN and your lower back on the ground. 

Take a giant exhale and lift those shoulder blades UP off the ground, reaching forward.  Then slowly lower back down.  Don’t just drop – keep the core working and slowly lower – 1 vertebrae at a time.

Add your 60 seconds of crunches onto yesterday’s workout.  Take 30 second breaks between each move – and have fun with it.

WALKING is your FIT TIP today.  This is honestly something that is SO very good for you – not just to do after a big meal, but really every day.  After dinner, when you’re feeling full and just want to sit & chill – get UP! Get some fresh air and go for a 10 minute walk.  This helps to jump start the digestion process and will really help you feel so much better after those big meals.

Comment below when you’re done your workout for today – we want to hear from you how it’s going.  Post an emoji how you’re feeling.  And – we want to see a selfie from your walk tonight.  Show us where you’re walking …

I am so excited to share our FIT TIP today as it’s really one of my faves!!  I LOVE dessert and I LOVE baking!!  Today I’m sharing how we can still enjoy all the holiday baking, while still staying on track with our goals.

But first – let’s crush our workout!  Today’s exercise is the MOUNTAIN CLIMBER. 

Start first with beautiful plank form.  You’ve been doing so great working on your planks each day so far.  Be sure in your climbers to keep your eye gaze ahead of your hands.  If you start watching your feet, your hips will go up.  Keep them down 🙂

To climb – just pull 1 knee in towards your chest, step back to plank, then pull the other knee in.  You control your pace.  You can run it – or you can step it.  You’ve got 60 seconds.  Rock it!!

Now let’s chat Healthy Baking Swaps … I truly LOVE baking!  I love cookies, muffins, cakes – and my FAVE is cupcakes!!  But – I don’t like how typically unhealthy baking is.  Honestly – it’s so easy to take an ‘unhealthy’ recipe and swap out certain ingredients to make it a little better for you.  And that’s the key – just thinking about ways to make things just a bit better. 

Swap out butter for coconut oil, banana or applesauce

Swap out sour cream for greek yogurt (not flavoured!  Opt for plain to save hidden sugar)

Swap out sugar for coconut sugar, monk fruit sweetener, honey, agave, maple syrup or fruits

Swap out food colourings with pureed fruit

Swap out ½ the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour

The bottom line is this – baking can still be enjoyed.  Just look at the list of ingredients in your fave recipes and get creative.  What are some ways you can swap out some of the sugars & fats, and add in some extra nutrition? 

I’d love to hear from you on this.  Will you be swapping out in your holiday baking?  Got some recipes?  Let us know how it goes if you do.  Let’s share some recipes!

Day 9 already!!  Whoop whoop!!  Are we having fun yet?  I’m so happy you’re here – I’m having fun sharing with you 🙂  And today is a really great day – today we’re talking about all those super yummy traditional family faves we all LOVE to dig in to.  We’re going to talk about how to enjoy them much!  Plus – we’re adding in side lunges!  So it’s a full on party in here.

Today’s workout – Side Lunges!!

Honestly – these are my fave lunges because they give such a great stretch to the inner thighs.  Yes – lunges can feel good, right??!! 

My tips – Take a big step out to the side – bending the leg you stepped out on – the other leg stays straight.  Keep both feet facing forward, and flat on the floor.  As with all squats & lunges, knees should track towards your toes but never past .. and keep your chest lifted through the move.  Pull back into the center, then lunge to the other side.

Are you keeping track of the full workout?  We’re now 9 exercises in.  They all are:

Plank … Jumping jacks … Squats … High-low plank … Glute bridges … Reverse Lunges … Crunches … Mountain climbers … Side Lunges

For your FIT TIP today: 

Plan ahead.  List out your fave holiday dishes – the ones you look forward to each year.  Gramma Ruth’s sweet potatoes.  Nana Shirley’s stuffing.  What are the dishes that you enjoy most, and really look forward to each family holiday meal?  Allow yourself to enjoy them.  But perhaps politely decline the rest.  Stick to your 50% veggies rule … and allow yourself to really savour and enjoy the traditional family faves – that you have planned ahead and know which ones you’ll indulge in.  And pass on the rest.

What dish are you most looking forward to at your family meals?

The final countdown to Christmas is here!  We’re in our last 3 days of our FITMAS Challenge.  I truly hope all these FIT TIPS and workouts have been helping you stay on track with your goals – and you’ve been enjoying this little bit of fun in your days 🙂

And the FUN continues today with Triceps Dips!

The key with the dips is to ensure the movement is coming from your elbows bending and using your arms to squeeze back up – and NOT from your hips going down and up.  Put the work in your arms.  Squeeze into those triceps – you’re going to love 60 seconds of dips!

Form tips – keep your fingers pointing towards your heels and your shoulders right over top of your wrists.  You’ve got this!

Your FIT TIP today is simply to stay active through the holidays.  Earn your extra calories in your meals by BURNING them off with extra activity.  We’re at 10 exercises now.  What started out as just a 1 minute plank, has now become a full workout.  Be sure to do this workout each day.  Go for your walk after dinner.  And any other activity that you can work into your day is super encouraged. 

No – it’s not about spending 3 hours a day in the gym.  But it IS about making sure you’re doing things to stay active through the day.  Even if it’s taking the stairs instead of the elevator – or getting extra steps by taking the farthest spot in the parking lot.  Intentionally move your body through the day.  This will help you burn extra calories so you can indulge a little at your holiday parties.  Calories IN vs. Calories OUT.

What are YOU doing to stay active today?

Self-control!!  Ahhhhh!!  Raise your hand if YOU have self-control at the holiday parties??!!  I know – so many of us struggle with it – and that is what we are going to dive in to today.  But first we’re going to get our workout done …

Today’s exercise is the Side Plank Opener.  I LOVE this one – Core, shoulders, booty, balance, stability, control.  We’re working it all. 

Start off in a low plank with your arms stacked horizontally across.  Rotate your body and open up into a side plank – reaching for the ceiling.  Hold strong in that side plank – like your body is between 2 panes of glass so you have to be perfectly perpendicular to the floor.  With control, roll back down to plank, and the rotate to the other side into another side plank.  Hold it strong for a moment before rolling back through. 

Move slowly and with control – and hold that side plank each time for a second or 2 to really own it!  Modification is to have your knees down and just straighten out the top leg as you hit that side plank.  60 seconds – break as needed.  Add it onto yesterday’s workout.

So now your FIT TIP – Use PORTION CONTROL when at your parties.  Yes – we all want to go back for 2nds, 3rd, and more.  But is that really in your best interest?  Use all the tips I’ve given you – fill your plate with 50% veggies – plan ahead and choose the items that are special to you that you want to indulge in – drink up your water.  And then the fun tip is to do your best to still have that self-control. 

Just be aware of it.  Yes you CAN control what goes on your plate.  You CAN control the fork that goes to your mouth.  It’s hard sometimes.  I hear you.  I feel you.  But you CAN do it.  If your goals are important to you.  Absolutely NO WHERE in this challenge have we talked about saying NO or depriving ourselves of anything.  You have the full green light to eat the items that you want to eat.  Today I’m just suggesting that we use a little control and not eat too much of it. 

Another tip – have a protein shake BEFORE you go to a big meal.  It will help to fill you up slightly so you don’t overeat.

Does all this sound do-able?  Is it helpful?  So far, which has been the tip that has helped you the most?

Come on back tomorrow for our very last day …

I had to bring them out at least once through this challenge – and today is the day.  It’s our LAST day of the 12 Days of FITMAS – and today we BURPEE!!  And along with burpees, my message to you is about living in BALANCE!

Let’s get the BURPEES done before we talk balance …

Burpees really CAN be fun!  There are a million variations to the burpee, but in its simplest form, a burpee has 4 parts:  Squat.  Plank.  Back to Squat.  Then Stand up.

You can jump through the moves – or step through, to modify.  To intensify – you can add a push up at the bottom and a jump up top.  Just keep moving – down and up.  At your own pace – for how long??  Oh right – 60 seconds!!  Add your final move on to yesterday’s workout.  Whoo Whee – we sure created an amazing full body BLAST over the last 12 days!!  SO super proud of you!!! 

OK – so we’ve got our workout going – now let’s chat about BALANCE.

Here’s the thing friends – life is all about BALANCE.  It’s the holidays.  Christmas is here.  If there is just ONE THING that I want you to take away from this challenge – it’s that I want you to ENJOY EVERY MOMENT of this Holiday season with your family, your friends and your loved ones.  Enjoy the parties.   Enjoy the togetherness.  Enjoy the food.  Enjoy it all.

You’ve been working so hard staying on track with your goals over the last 12 days (and possibly longer!).  It’s totally OK to have a night off.  To just enjoy. 

Friends – it’s all about balance.  You’ve earned it.

BUT here’s the thing.  Let it all go over Christmas.  But then the next morning – back at it – with NO hard feelings.  Know that you’ve earned your time off.  Take the time off.  Then get right back at it. 

Is it ‘falling off the wagon’??!!  HECK NO!!!  It’s balance.  It’s the 80/20 rule.  You’ve worked so hard and you’ve earned a night off.  But with excitement and enthusiasm – the next day you’re back on track.

Make sense?  Balance is KEY to successfully and enjoyably living a healthy, fit life. 

Friends – I am so very proud of you.  I am so proud of your efforts – for showing up each day.  For doing your workouts.  For taking the time to read through and take some suggestions for FIT TIPS.  I hope I’ve given some food for thought – and have helped to make your holiday season enjoyable, and still healthy.

Now go – be with your family. Be with your loved ones.  Have the most wonderful Christmas ever and truly enjoy every moment.   Let’s be in touch over the next few days to discuss how we can kick off the next year ready to ROCK your goals more than ever before.  With positivity and excitement.