SOS Fitness: The Best Exercises To Get In Shape Before The Holidays

The holidays have not yet begun, and judging by the dry statistics of the fitness tracker, you have reeled hundreds of thousands of steps. New Year's Eve fever is high time to be included in the register of sporting events. The pulse is off scale, my legs are buzzing in the evening! A specially designed gymnastic complex should help them cope with the increased load, about which the consulting podiatrist Nikolai Ilyich Petukhov and trainer Maria Skakun told us in detail.

Required inventory: tennis ball, golf ball, fitness roll, step platform (a step can replace it), fitness mat.

We train the feet

We put the tennis ball under the heel, a little closer to the center of the foot, and roll it with a small amplitude to the right and left. Hereinafter, we perform the movement 5-6 times. We adjust the pressure force according to your well-being. It is not forbidden to hold onto the back of a chair or anything else to maintain balance.
Move the ball under the ball of the thumb and repeat the exercise (the heel is motionless on the floor).
We roll the ball with the front of the foot from the thumb to the little toe, feeling each bone.
We roll the ball from the heel to each toe (as if along rays) through the entire foot.
We roll the ball along the inner arch of the foot, turning it inward. You can work out the foot in more detail and "pointwise" using a golf ball.

A whole galaxy of specialists - from chiropractors and kinesiologists to neurologists and orthopedists - will confirm that the strength and vitality of our body begins with the feet. Our expert, the executive director of the League for the Promotion of Podiatry, Olga Chizhevskaya, adheres to the same point of view (read also: "How foot health affects your life and beauty").

The feet are not only a perfect mechanism for moving in space (from party to party in the context of the coming holidays), but also a part of the body with a rich set of nerve receptors. In ancient China, it was considered an "energy window" of the body, and in modern podiatry, experts agree with this. The interconnection of the nerve endings of the foot zones with the internal organs allows you to influence the entire body.

Expert advice:

You can give yourself acceleration on the final pre-holiday straight by writing down self-massage of the feet in the list of nightly rituals. For this purpose, massage rollers, orthopedic rugs, and even homemade devices (so as not to go far behind them) are suitable.

The recommended addition to the massage is salt baths. They improve blood circulation in the legs and relieve swelling, acting as a general strengthening and revitalizing agent. The bath requires warm water (38-39 degrees) and two tablespoons of sea salt per 10 liters of water.

An additional plus: salt dries out the skin a little, reducing excess sweating. Relevant during the period of races in shopping centers in fur boots, isn't it?

We train calves

After we have worked out the whole foot with the balls, you can take a fitness roll and knead your calves properly.

Starting position: sitting on the rug. We put our leg in the area of the gastrocnemius muscle on a roll and perform swinging. Do you feel the strength to increase the load? Place your free leg on top. You can additionally complicate the exercise by standing up on your hands (by lifting your pelvis off the floor).
Starting position: standing on a step platform fixed at an angle of 20 degrees. If you don't have one, you can step up the step. The toe is on the step, the heel hangs in the air. Feel like your foot is falling inward? Lift your toes. This 10-minute standing is perfect for tightening your calves.

We train the shin

You will need a fitness roll for this exercise. Starting position: standing on the rug on all fours. Place the roll under one leg. We roll it 5-6 times. Feeling overly stressed? Take more stress on your arms. We change legs and finish the set of exercises.

We climb into the loop

Since the idea of buying a fitness membership in December attracts the prize of "folly of the year", we recommend using functional training. The main plus is that you don't need an equipped gym. Enough workouts using suspension loops that can be easily fixed both at home and in the office (also read: "5 exercises that you can do in an office chair").

This device consists of strong nylon straps and non-slip rubberized grips. Loop workouts are the same familiar stretching, endurance, strength, or coordination exercises (planks, squats, lunges, etc.). But when they are performed, more muscles are “turned on” and more energy and calories are consumed.

Example: When performing lunges, the leg is fixed in the loop - you lose stable support and must spend energy to maintain balance.

Another point: such training creates a high metabolic response that allows you to burn fat deposits within a few hours after exercise. What you need for express preparation before the holidays.

In fact, the loops are a “fitness room in your pocket”, since the simulator can replace, to some extent, a trainer. So, if you can't do a certain balance exercise, use the loops as a support at first.

About safety rules:

Suspended simulators are shown to almost everyone without limitation, since the level of load during training can be any. But there is also a danger of “overworking” in the name of “new self”. Therefore, the main thing is to practice carefully, closely monitoring your feelings, and not try to overcome the discomfort.