By Ross Collins
As "Black Friday" shopping starts earlier and earlier, many Americans will perhaps begin to worry. In your haste to snag the best deals are you neglecting your post-Thanksgiving feast workout?
No need to despair! You can turn your mall marathon from pathetic to powerful by just building on what we already do so well: shop. Functional training is the hot topic among fitness pros. But you don't have to go to the gym to function. Just build your body as you buy! Below are 10 exercises designed to turn traditional after-Thanksgiving shopping into a great fitness workout.
1. Lateral hanger raise.
We shoppers prefer to try on multiple items without leaving the changing room. That's just more efficient. It can also be good exercise! Grab four or more attractive ensembles by their hangers. Hold clothes out to the side, half in each hand. Arms straight, no drooping, please! Wend all the way to the back-of-the-store changing rooms. You can increase the intensity of this exercise by making your way around the entire crowded store, maybe with some added pushing, as you'll need to create plenty of space shopping with your arms stretched out.
Major muscles worked: deltoids.
2. Shop squats.
You want to take a closer look at that pair of cute shoes on the bottom rack. Instead of bending over and picking them up, squat. Weight through your heels, please! Now the shoes are about at eye level. Hold that pose. Examine the shoes while continuing to squat. Stand up, repeat. Go for the burn!
Build on this exercise by bounding up escalators and stairs two steps at a time. You may have to push past other shoppers to do this, making the shop squat a good cardio challenge as well.
Major muscles worked: quadricepss, hamstrings, glutes, full lower body. A good squat works up to 260 muscles!
3. Top shelf calf raises.
Can't quite reach that pair of jeans on the high shelf? Rise to your tiptoes. Hold it! Examine the item from the shelf while staying on your toes. Lower and raise several times.
Major muscles worked: calf (gastrocnemius and soleus).
4. Plyometric get-'em-downs.
Okay, so the pair of jeans is actually higher than you can reach on tiptoe. Instead of relying on a (probably non-existent) sales clerk, snatch the pants yourself. Ease down to a half squat. Jump. Reach out and grab that garment! Don't want it after all? Jump again to return it to the shelf.
Major muscles worked: full body for speed and strength.
Warning: Not recommended for retrieving breakable items.
5. Bottle curls.
Liquid is heavier than you think! One gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds. Buy a couple jumbo-sized bottles of shampoo or lotion at the beginning of your expedition. As you move from store to store, bottle in each hand for weight, flex your arms biceps-curl style.
Major muscles worked: biceps.
6. Quad door sweeps.
You can open doors with a mere push, sure. That's a little bit of exercise, but our upper body is used to it. Why not challenge your lower body instead? Push at the bottom to open the door with your foot. You'll feel it your quadriceps, and in fact, in your whole lower body, challenged in this surprisingly difficult exercise.
Major muscles worked: quads, abdominals.
7. Checkout line tree pose.
One of the worst parts of Black Friday shopping: waiting in those interminable checkout lines. Why not make it part of your workout? Try standing on one leg. If you can, bring the other heel up until it rests above your knee on the side. Stay in "tree pose" as long as you can. Switch to the other leg.
Major muscles worked: core, lower body. Balance challenge.
8. Penny-drop lunges.
Will the government ever dispense with those annoying pennies? Worth little of nothing--except as part of your shopping exercise routine! We inevitably drop these coins we get in change. Instead of just letting them go, use this opportunity to do a lunge. One leg back, one leg in front, back straight. Bend front leg and pick up that coin. Add a couple more lunges for good measure.
Major muscles worked: quads, hamstrings, gluteals, core.
9. Weighted mall walk.
Got a few heavy purchases? Don't ask the kids to haul them off to the car! Get nice carry bags, and lug them around with you throughout your shopping. Get benefits of the gym-time "farmer's walk" exercise without the dumbbells. Remember: back straight!
Major muscles worked: whole body. Walking fast, it also can be a reasonable cardio exercise.
10. Food court dips.
Find a sturdy and stable plastic chair--that is, all of them, as food court chairs have to handle a heavy American shopping population. Ease yourself into the chair. Place your hands at your sides holding the front of the seat. Slide your butt off the front of the chair. Still holding the seat, your legs out in front, dip up and down.
Major muscles worked: triceps, abs.