Five fun Thanksgiving fitness activities

by Jen Foley, MVHNews fitness blogger, Healthy Lifestyles Director at Two Rivers YMCA

So here comes the disastrous (but oh-so-fun) holiday season. How can we balance the Thanksgiving dinner with some activity? Let’s face it, we all feel sluggish after eating a 2,000 plus calorie meal. In order to help us enjoy the sluggishness (instead of feeling guilty) check out these ideas to burn a few hundred calories or even more.

1. Family Bowl Game: Since Thanksgiving Day is about family and football…may I suggest a game of touch football with mom, dad, and all the brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, and uncles?  This is a great way to create great memories and traditions while being active in the great fall weather.  If football is really not your thing, then play a game of softball or driveway hoops.
2. McCarthy Bush Scott County Y Turkey Trot:  The average 150-lb person running burns about 100 calories per mile. Take the plunge with other Quad Citians and sign up for the Turkey Trot in Davenport Iowa. The Scott County YMCA does a great job with this event.  The Turkey Trot has a one-mile and a fun five-mile option designed to help you work up your appetite and burn a few calories for the big dinner…then it’s time for pie!
3. Family Neighborhood Stroll:  Another way to splash in some activity on this busy day is to take a pre-dinner walk with friends, family, and the dog.  This will reduce some of the family and cooking stress (giving mom some space in the kitchen) while you enjoy the fresh air and conversation.  You can also do this post-dinner as well!  This will help avoid the sluggish after- dinner feeling and aids digestion. A nice 3 mile walk takes about an hour an can burn a few hundred calories depending on how strenuous you make the stroll.
4. Shop ‘Till You Drop: Black Friday offers all kinds of opportunities to burn a few calories. Walking though stores is great exercise!  And to boost your activity for the day, park as far away as possible.  This ensures you some additional walk time for planning the shopping strategy or recapping what deal you snagged at that last store.
5. Day-after Workout Tradition: Make the day after Thanksgiving a workout family affair.  Nothing can make you smugger than going to the Y on the Friday AFTER Thanksgiving.   Our nutrition blogger Jeni Tackett, says she and her dad have made it a tradition to work out together on the day after Thanksgiving each year. Hitting the gym on Friday is the perfect way to burn off some extra calories and catch up with dad.

By adding in some physical activity the Thanksgiving holiday becomes more about creating memories and fun traditions with family and friends while avoiding some of the sluggish after affects…or at least it keeps us from derailing our diets while enjoying the turkey and pie!  May your Thanksgiving be a fit, happy and healthy one

Check out two of my favorite holiday workout routines:

After too much turkey, pie, cookies and the rest, try this yoga routine.

And to bring out the animal in you during your family walk, try these primal movements.

Jen Foley is the Healthy Lifestyles Director at the Two Rivers YMCA, Moline.  Jen majored in Therapeutic Recreation at the University of Tennessee and Gerontology at Sonoma State University. She lives in Davenport with her husband, Tim and their two pugs Jack and Lucy. She enjoys having an active lifestyle and helping others achieve their goals.For a listing of all of Jen’s blog posts, click here.