By Jessica Barone @chai_haiku
Hey guys and gals, the holidays are coming up – and amidst all the commercial cheer is a secret threat to your dating scene. What could be a worse enemy for your favorite date outfit than the dreaded Heavy-Traveling & Heavy-Eating season? You’re forced to skip gym visits because you’re flying home for the holidays, you want to spend time with family, and – man, oh man – you forgot how good home-cooking could be!
So how do you find time to work out during this hectic holiday season? Inventively.
Here’s three strength n’ cardio exercises to do anywhere, any time. Stuck in an airport? no problem. Staying at hotel without a gym? Not to worry. Read on.
1) The Plank 5
Find a patch of floor that you can spread out on, get onto your feet and hands, back straight, and lower yourself onto your elbows. You’ll want a stop watch nearby.
- Stay 30 seconds on both elbows
- then turn onto your left elbow and do a side plank for 30 seconds,
- then back onto both elbows for 30 seconds,
- then onto your right elbow for 30 seconds,
- and then finally finish with a last 30 seconds on both elbows.
Repeat five times with a minute rest in between. Enjoy those 7.5 minutes! For the more ambitious, double it and do a full minute for each plank position. 
2) The Jumping Jack of All Trades
This is great cardio drill to get you sweating. Get into the jumping jack position, feet shoulder-width apart, arms at your side to start.
- Do twenty jumping jacks (jumping your feet wide apart and bringing your arms over your head each time)
- followed by twenty quick, high knee kicks (as if running in place, bring each knee HIGH into your palm, above your hip, arms swinging in an easy, jogging motion).
- That’s one rep. In between, drop to the floor, do ten pushups, then leap up and do your next Jumping Jack and High Knee drill.
Repeat five times, take a full sixty-second break, then repeat another five times. Do more reps if you feel up to it, with a minute-rest in between each set.
3) The Squat of Atlas
For this you need a heavy object – a stack of books, even – something that you can lift comfortably, but gives your arms a burn after lifting five times.
Standing, spread your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart, heavy object(s) in hand, and squat deeply (the deeper the better), then rise and hold the heavy object above your head, hold for two seconds. Do ten reps, rest for thirty seconds, then another ten reps. Repeat between five to ten times.
NOTE: Always listen to your body and never rush a workout – no injuries this holiday season
When not heading the social media and marketing for Coffee Meets Bagel, Jessica is training for triathlons, cooking Paleo and supporting others as a GoalSponsor fitness and health trainer in San Francisco.
