Pre-Thanksgiving Workout Guide - How to Prep for a Big Meal

Should You Exercise During Thanksgiving?

Short answer - Yes! Why? Because it’s fun! Because it’s good for you! Because a pre-Thanksgiving workout will help you digest your big holiday meal, and combat feelings of guilt, stress, and fatigue. 

How To Work Out On Thanksgiving Day

The holidays are special. Your holiday workout should be, too! We’re giving you ways to enjoy your time with friends, family, and food, and keep you on track with your fitness goals. 

Start Your Day With Movement

The best way to ensure you get your workout in during a busy holiday is to get it done early! If morning workouts aren’t your thing, try a gentle walk around the block first thing after you wake up to get your blood pumping. An object in motion tends to stay in motion – starting your day off with any kind of movement, no matter how brief or easy, will increase your chances of sticking to your workout goals for the day. 

Check for Local Thanksgiving Day Workouts

Many running clubs, nonprofits, and boxing gyms offer free or donation-based Thanksgiving workouts for the community. These events are often casual and social, so take the opportunity to try a workout outside of your comfort zone (Low stakes! Fun vibes!). Sometimes they ask for canned food or clothing donations for folks in need, and sometimes you just walk in ready to work out. 

Stay Connected for Your Fitness Routine

Even though traditional gyms might be closed for Thanksgiving, connected fitness programs are open and ready to help you fit in some Thanksgiving exercises. Online training apps, like FightCamp, are great to fit a workout in whenever and wherever you may be traveling to. So there is really no excuse to not stick to your fitness routine. 

Establish the 5K Challenge

Maintaining your fitness routine during the holidays is tricky, especially if you’re traveling. Plus, it can be hard to find “me time” when you’re with your family. So why not work out together? Challenge your family to do a 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day — run a 5K, walk a 5K, or bike a 5K. It’s not a race (but you can make it one!), just an easy way to get outside, get your Thanksgiving workout in, and spend time with the people you’re most thankful for.

Make Thanksgiving Fitness a Holiday Tradition

Working out together is a healthy, invigorating way to spend time with family and build strong muscles, strong minds, and strong relationships. Thanksgiving-themed workouts are a fun activity for kids, too! Here are three zero-equipment, free Thanksgiving-themed workout ideas:

Speed Chores!

Thanksgiving means Turkey, football, pie, cooking, and…cleaning. But the hosting prep doesn’t have to be drudgery! Write out each person’s to-do list, set a timer, blast some music, and go! If you have a fitness wearable or heart rate monitor, you can make it a fun competition to see who burns the most calories!

Go for a Walk or Hike

Pick a local hiking trail, hill, or park, and get the whole family out for a walk. What makes this a tradition? Make the route your Thanksgiving Day Route and mark it by ending the walk with a holiday treat like hot chocolate or homemade brown sugar cookies. 

Train Together

If you or a family member trains in a specific sport like boxing, basketball, or dance, set aside an hour on Thanksgiving for that person to “train” the rest of the family. If you box with FightCamp, for example, teach your family the 6 basic punches and let them practice on a heavy bag or with pads. Teaching each other new skills deepens interpersonal bonds. 

Football Commercial Challenge

If your family watches the game on Thanksgiving, you can sneak in mini-workouts during the commercials. Try an AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) style workout and see how many Thanksgiving exercises you can knock out before the commercial ends. Keep the workout accessible to all ages and fitness levels by sticking to simple calisthenics like push-ups, crunches, mountain climbers, and lunges/squats.

Stay Fit Like a Fighter on Thanksgiving Day

Take your workouts to the next level and train like a fighter with the at-home connected fitness solution used by world champion boxers Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather. FightCamp has everything you need to work out on your schedule, with premium boxing equipment and hundreds of on-demand strength, conditioning, kickboxing, boxing, core, and recovery classes led by real fighters. 

As Mike Tyson said - “FightCamp is the next level of training!”