Guest Guru: Kate Brown of The Daily Burn

December 14, 2011    |    By +
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Kate Brown is a health expert and certified personal trainer at DailyBurn. Her expert fitness and nutrition tips can be found at DailyBurn Life.

Staying in Shape During the Holiday Season

Between gift shopping, tree decorating, and holiday cookie making, most people have less time to workout this month. But staying fit during the holiday season doesn’t have to be a chore. In fact, you can squeeze in an effective workout in just 10 minutes if you perform dynamic, multi-plane exercises at a high intensity.

A short session of high intensity exercise burns the same amount of calories as a longer session of exercise at a lower intensity. So forget hopping on the elliptical while returning emails on your iPhone. Instead, drop down right where you are and give yourself the gift of 10 minutes of focused time.

All you need is a mat, and a weighted medicine ball (if you are an advanced exerciser). Complete 3 sets of 10 reps the following exercises:

Toe Touch

Starting position: Lie on your back and extend your arms and legs away from your torso in a straight line.

Movement: Bend at the hips and the shoulders, and draw the hands and feet towards each other. Try to touch your hands and feet while keeping your arms and legs straight. If you are an advanced exerciser, hold a weighted medicine ball between your hands.

Return position: Keeping your arms and legs straight, slowly return to starting position in a controlled movement.

Plank with a Rotation

Starting position: Get in plank position by planting your hands and feet on the floor as if you are about to complete a pushup.

Movement: Sweep your right arm up and twist your torso to the right. Pause at the top of the movement and sweep your arm back down and under your body to the left, while twisting your torso to the left.

Return position: Bring arm back toward starting position, but do not place hand back on the ground. Instead, continue the movement for 10 reps and then switch arms.

Knee Tuck Jump

Starting position: Stand with your feet hip width apart with a slight bend in the knee.

Movement: Bend slightly at the hips and jump as high as you can while driving your knees toward your chest.

Return position: Land softly by bending your knees as you land on the ground.

 



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Meet the Gurus


Dana H.
Dana is Editor in Chief at Gifts.com. She loves helping make every occasion stand out with her unique gift ideas, handy tips & special touches. She has over a decade of experience with matching fabulous products with fabulous people.

Dan T.
As the Men’s Gift Editor, Dan is fortunate to be able to blend his work week with off-hour hobbies. Dan’s marketing background goes back over a decade, but he's always been passionate about the “guy” things like sports, electronics and grilling.

Gillian J.
While Gillian oversees Merchandising & Content for Gifts.com, she focuses on Women & Home Gifts. Prior to Gifts.com, she spent over a decade honing her gifting skills in the retail industry.

Michelle D.
Michelle is the Gifts.com Gift Guru who specializes in Teen and Beauty gifts. For the last half-decade Michelle has been refining her teen and beauty gifting expertise by working for Urban Outfitters and obsessing over social media.

Liz T.
Liz is the children & baby gifts trend editor at Gifts.com. Prior to Gifts.com she spent several years matching people with products while working retail. Her niece and nephews give her the inside scoop on kids. She also knows the best gourmet gifts for every occasion.

Felicia W.
Felicia works as a "Gift Guru" with a focus on pet and flower trends. While she is still learning the art of gift giving, Felicia loves focusing her attention on pet gifts. She is always on the lookout for the best and most unique items for our lovable cats and dogs.

Donna K.
Donna is Gifts.com's very own Editorial Assistant. You have her to thank for all of our fabulous Facebook posts and for making sure the blog is up every day. She is a "Gift Guru" in her own right.

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