How to Tone Up and Trim Down for the Holiday Season

With Christmas coming up, you might as well say goodbye to your weight loss plan. However, a twofer tone-up routine that intersperses high-octane cardio bursts with muscle-burning strength moves can give you the edge you need to outlast the temptations of the holiday season. Thanks to Bombshell Bootcamp co-creator Cari Shoemate, a Houston-based trainer who’s whipped hundreds of women into shape with her calorie-scorching circuit workouts, you can sculpt the areas that need the most attention, ready for the season’s festivities.

 

Shoemate’s workout contains butt-boosting exercises, as well as core-strengtheners that focus on working your deep abdominals, obliques, and six-pack muscles, so you can relax when the turkey hits the table. Shoemate even shows you how adjusting a few areas you’ve never even thought of can help you to look slimmer all over. She explains, ‘Sculpted shoulders balance out your lower body, creating an illusion of a slimmer waist and hips.’ To do her trim-and-tone circuit, which includes cardio bursts and strength moves, all you need is a set of three- to five-pound dumbbells and time on three non-consecutive days a week. Add in your favourite form of cardio for 30 minutes twice a week – with bonus points if you make one of these sweat sessions a booty-shaping hill workout – and you’ll be able to say Bah humbug to holiday weight gain.

 

1. Plank Macarena: This move targets your shoulders and abs. Start in a full plank position with your arms straight and your wrists on the floor under your shoulders. Lift your left hand and tap your right shoulder, returning the left hand to floor and repeating with your right hand. After this, tap each hand to the opposite hip. Then, bend your and lower into a forearm plank, and repeat same sequence of shoulder taps and hip taps. Straighten your arms and repeat from the start, continuing for one minute.

 

2. Single-Leg Squat Kick: If you want to get your bum and outer thighs in shape, this is the exercise for you. Hold a dumbbell horizontally with both of your hands at chest height. Your feet should be slightly wider than hip-width apart, parallel, with your left foot on top of a bench or step and your right foot on floor. Keeping the weight in front of your chest, lower into a squat and hold for two to three seconds. Then, lift your right leg about 45 degrees from floor, keeping your weight centred over your left leg. Squat a little deeper by lowering your right foot back to the floor. Repeat for 12 to 15 reps; switch sides and repeat.

 

3. Running V-Sit: Do this move to target your arms, abs and hips. Start by sitting on the floor with your knees bent and your arms at your sides. Leaning back slightly and engaging your abs, slowly lift your feet and extend your legs to form a V. Reach your arms towards your feet, hold your calves for a moment to get your balance, then release. Keeping your legs extended and about 45 degrees from floor, bend your elbows 90 degrees and move your arms back and forth (as if running). Continue for one minute.

 

4. Scissors Lunge: This move covers the most body parts in total; targeting your shoulders, triceps, butt, quads, and calves. Standing feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides with a dumbbell in each hand, lunge back with your right foot, bending both knees 90 degrees. At the same time, lift your left arm forward to shoulder height and your right arm behind you you’re your thumbs facing the sky. Then, stand up and lower your arms back to your sides without swinging them. Repeat with opposite legs and arms and do 10 to 12 reps on each leg.

Categories: arms, cardio bursts, Christmas, floor keeping, hip width, holiday season, left hand, leg squat, minute nbsp, strength moves, Weight Prevention, workout routine

Tis the Season to Be Saucy: How to Have Great Holiday Sex

At New Year’s you get a good smooch when the clock strikes 12, and everyone gets a little passionate come Valentine’s day, but is Christmas sexy? I mean, you eat until you’re gassy and bloated, bicker with relatives and slouch around the house in a big, cosy onesie – that doesn’t exactly scream sexual health to me! However, Jill Di Donato, Adjunct Professor of English at The Fashion Institute of Technology and author of upcoming book 52 Weeks of Sex: Diary of a Single Gal, argues that Christmas isn’t just a time for peace and goodwill, but sexual wellness too!

 

Di Donato recalls, ‘I’ll never forget the Christmas I unwrapped a training bra in front of all of my relatives, and with all the teen angst and melodrama I could muster, threw the package – ribbons flying – at my mother. Pre-puberty, there was something profane about mixing anything even remotely sexual into the holidays. In adulthood, I’ve found the opposite to be true. Why does no one tell you in some sort of advanced 18-and-over sex ed class, “The secret to handling your mother and the I-didn’t-bake-at-all-this-year-again guilt and the dress that won’t zip and the thing you accidentally said to your co-worker at the holiday party is to have a lot of sex?”’ With all the cooking, wrapping, carolling and general festivities to stress about, your sexual wellbeing may be the last thing on your mind. However, with Di Donato’s guide to good holiday sex, Christmas will really be the season to be jolly (wink wink).

 

1. Sneak around: Di Donato remembers, ‘One of my best times was on the cold bathroom tile in a boyfriend’s mother’s house with Christmas music blasting in the background. As we were unmarried, his family didn’t find it appropriate for us to share a bedroom, so we had to sneak around like we were teenagers all over again – except this time we knew what we were doing!’ The thrill of breaking the rules never gets old, so why not jingle his bells when there’s a vague possibility you might get caught.

 

2. Pretend you’re on holiday: Christmas shakes up everyone’s routine, even if you’re not going away for the holidays. ‘Use the disruption in your schedule to stir things up in your sex life by doing something sexually you wouldn’t normally do,’ Di Donato advises. ‘In other words, go into vacation sex mode.’ Researchers at the Kinsey Institute have found that couples have better sex when they’re on holiday because they are temporarily released from the monotony of everyday life.

 

3. Give generously: ‘Generosity is contagious this time of year, and there’s no reason not to bring it into the bedroom,’ Di Donato points out. ‘Rather than focusing on your big finish, try concentrating on your partner’s pleasure. Don’t let him or her put on hand (or any other part) on you; this is all about him or her. Ask what your partner wants and if you’re doing it juuust right. At the end, if there’s an attempt to reciprocate, refuse. It can be your turn another time. Moments of selflessness are good for the soul.’

 

4. Get nostalgic: If you’re single and going home for Christmas, the chances are you’re going to bump into an old flame or two. Di Donato comments, ‘If you’ve always wondered what might have been, there’s no harm in flirting with a person who intrigued you way back when and seeing where it leads. Not only are you older, wiser, and sexier, but your worldliness gives you new perspective on that one who got away. It might be a welcome holiday distraction, or as treacly as it seems, something more…That said, while holiday hook-ups may seem like a good way to avoid a silent night – they can be dangerous territory. Indulge with caution.’

Categories: Christmas, di donato, donato, holiday, holiday sex, nbsp, nostalgia, Routine, sexual

Holiday Hook-Ups: How to Keep Your Sexual Sanity Intact

Although Christmas is portrayed as this lovely time full of family and cheer, the Holidays can really take their toll on your mental and emotional wellness. Because every movie, song and advert you come across paints Christmas as this idyllic, nostalgic time, you can feel pressured to live up to this idealised scenario. And, as most of us inevitably fail to achieve this, your wellbeing becomes affected by feelings of guilt, shame, anxiety, remorse, and even outright depression. Then, you load up on bad-for-you pick-me-ups like food and cocktails and Robert Weiss, Founding Director of The Sexual Recovery Institute, points out that you may risk your sexual health for the same reason.

 

According to Weiss, ‘For a wide variety of reasons, many people have a tendency to make bad sexual choices around the holidays. Office holiday parties are notorious for mismatched couples sneaking off to the copy room for a quickie…And New Year’s Eve is probably the biggest night of the year for regrettable sexual encounters. In fact, I’m pretty certain Baby New Year is the patron saint of one-night stands. Unfortunately, these liaisons are hardly without consequence. Office party hook-ups mean you have to face the other person at work the following Monday, and every workday thereafter…Plus, these ill-advised, heat of the moment hook-ups oftentimes put people at risk for catching and/or transmitting HIV or another STD.’ With that in mind, we have a few sexual sanity guidelines to help you survive the holidays, unscathed:

 

1. Watch your alcohol intake: There are so many events during the holidays that you may as well spend the entirety of December well and truly hammered. However, Weiss warns, ‘Don’t get drunk at the office party (or any other social event). Alcohol is disinhibiting, and over-imbibing greatly increases your risk for making a bad sexual decision.’

 

2. Don’t get nostalgic: If you’re going home for the holidays, you’re bound to bump into an old flame and wonder about reigniting that spark. Weiss advises, ‘Don’t seek out ex-lovers, ex-spouses, or old hook-up partners during the holiday season. These people are in your past for a reason! There is no need to resurrect a bad relationship.’

 

3. Find better ways of coping: If you’re single, Christmas can be a particularly hard time. You’re surrounded by families and couples showing how much they love each other, and this can make things feel pretty lonely. Nonetheless, Weiss instructs, ‘Do not have sex just because you’re lonely or otherwise feeling bad about yourself. Grab a cookie instead, or better yet talk about your feelings with a friend, a loved one, or your therapist.’

 

4. Be honest: If you do decide to have sex with someone, make sure you’re honest about what you want from that person. Say if you just want something casual or if you’re looking for something more. Weiss notes, ‘If you’re dishonest about what you’re seeking you’re much more likely to hurt either yourself or the other person.’

 

5. Be safe: This doesn’t just mean using condoms with new sexual partners – although this is an absolute MUST – but Weiss comments, ‘If you’re meeting a stranger for a sexual encounter, make sure at least one friend or family member knows exactly where you are going, how to reach you, and when you expect to be back. Arrange to check in with that person both before and after your date.’

 

6. Trust your instincts: The Holiday blues can cloud your judgement, but you need to stay in tune with your instincts, whether you’re hooking-up with an old partner or meeting someone new. Weiss explains, ‘It doesn’t matter how good looking the other person is, if something feels “off” to you, then something is wrong and you need to get out immediately. Not everyone is as nice or harmless as they appear online or at first glance in-person. If you get into a sex date and start to feel uncomfortable, it is perfectly OK to leave.’

Categories: Christmas, holidays, hook ups, nbsp, nostalgia, office party, person, safe sex, sexual, sexual sanity, weiss

Had Yourself A Wasteful Little Christmas?

Did you look at the pile of Christmas presents you got this year and feel slightly disappointed? According to Staples, 56% of people surveyed receive at least one unwanted gift during the holidays, and reducing this waste can improve the wellness of your wallet, as well as your family wellness – do you want to beat your partner round the head with yet another pair of novelty socks?

As a giver, the first thing to focus on in giving someone something they want. If you’re not great at this, there are plenty of specialised gift guides online that can give you inspiration and ideas, and there are interactive ones which generate personalized ideas based on the information you provide about the person you’re buying for. Next, look after the wellbeing of your bank balance by making your loved ones gifts. Even if you aren’t particularly inventive, there are loads of DIY guides that can help you create budget friendly, and personalised gifts and some sites provide you with eco-friendly, hand-crafted gifts that your family and friends are sure to love. Why not give the gift of time or talent and offer to babysit or wash the car?

As a receiver of gifts, it’s easier to ensure your gifts aren’t wasted. Re-giving presents has a bad reputation but surely it’s just efficient recycling and if you don’t like it, why shouldn’t someone else appreciate it instead?  Otherwise, recycle gifts the old-fashioned way or think of a creative new purpose for them. You can definitely recycle or reuse wrapping paper, tags, bows and ribbons. If you really can’t bring yourself to love your present, and you can’t think of anyone else who would, be honest and return it so you can get something you will use. You can also donate any unwanted gifts to charity shops.

However, if you really want to save money and wastage, and you know you’re difficult to buy for; lists aren’t just for Father Christmas. Tell your loved ones what you want if they don’t ever get it right and ask them to do the same. It may not seem ‘Christmassy’ but surely you’ll hurt their feelings less by asking for what you want, then by chucking the things you don’t.

 

 

Had Yourself A Wasteful Little Christmas?

Categories: Advice, Christmas, Presents