Happy end-of-year chaos season! Many of us find ourselves away from home this time of year, or at home but with lots of things happening, kids running around, visitors to tend to, and the like. And even if things are relatively chill, you might have that weird sense of ennui that tends to happen in the fuzzy period between Christmas and New Year’s and not really feel like doing all that much activity.
Whatever’s going on, I thought you might enjoy trying the workout I usually do in these situations — maybe I don’t have time, space, energy, or equipment for a full-on workout, but I’ll pull out a few simple movements to give my back, shoulders, hips, and core a little love and just generally work out a few kinks. (This is especially helpful for me when I’m traveling and sleeping in an unfamiliar bed — my cranky back is so sensitive to a strange mattress.) No warmup, no cooldown, just a few simple movements to make me feel a little more comfortable in my body.
I wrote a piece for the Times a few months ago about exercising on vacation, and was heartened that many of the experts I spoke with agreed with me that it’s totally fine to just take a break if that’s what’s feeling right for you. But I also loved what Cedric Bryant, PhD, the very lovely CEO of the American Council on Exercise, told me: Basically, that the point of vacation is to relax, and a little movement is a great way to reduce stress, lower cortisol, sleep better, and help you actually enjoy your time off a little more.
Anyway, here’s the workout! In a super-unfun twist, I had to film this twice because my mic ran out of battery the first time. Whoopsie doodles, as my kids like to say. But this all feels just right because the whole point is that you can do this workout even when circumstances aren’t perfect. I’ve deleted and retyped and deleted an apology from this post about 10 times!
One last thing: As a holiday gift to you, and partly because things went a little sideways, I’m keeping this one free. If this is your first time joining me for a workout, keep in mind that this isn’t a typical How to Move workout — they’re usually quite a bit more intense! (Or at least scalable to be as intense as you like.) I hope you’ll consider a paid subscription in the new year to help support this work, but either way, I’m really glad you’re here. Thanks so much for reading and moving with me. Happy almost–new year, friends.
Do each movement for a minute (or a minute per side for the bird-dog). Do the whole set once, twice, or three times depending on how much time and energy you have.
Is/Ts/Ys: Stand or kneel in a hinged position, with arms hanging straight down. Lift your arms by your ears into an I shape, then return. Now out to a T shape, then return. Finally, out to a Y shape, then return. Repeat.
Glute bridge: Lie on your back with feet flat and knees bent, feet flat on the mat. Press into your feet to lift into a bridge, one bone at a time from tailbone to upper back; or with your back flat, lifting hips straight up and down. (Or a single-leg glute bridge for half the set on one foot, then the other half on the other.)
Bird dog: Come to all fours, and reach your right arm forward and left foot back. Lift arm and leg to shoulder and hip height, and either tap down to the floor or crunch elbow to knee underneath you. (Either 30 seconds per side or one minute per side, depending on how you’re feeling.)
Russian twist: Sit up tall on your butt with knees bent and feet flat in front of you. (Option to float your feet off the mat.) Hinge back with your spine neutral, and twist your torso toward one side, then to the other.
xo
Anna
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