Thanksgiving is an ideal time to reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives. It is also a time to recognize that, for many people, this time of year evokes difficult memories and is a time when being with family is not as joyful as it might be for others.
Knowing that with every life there is a unique history, we would like to offer 10 ways to observe Thanksgiving that can be enjoyed by anyone.
Before we dive in, however, we’d like to take a moment to thank you, our gym members, blog readers, and social media followers, for your continued support. We appreciate your trust in our team, your commitment to health and fitness, and the feedback you share to help us give our best!
Thanksgiving ideas to Revive Your Celebrations
01.
Invite a Friend or Family Member Who Might Be Alone for Thanksgiving
Even if your invitation is declined, everyone likes to feel included. Try broadening your invitation list this year and spread some feelings of warmth and welcome!
02.
Try Something Other Than Turkey
Every Thanksgiving, approximately 46 million turkeys are eaten! Save some turkeys from the dinnerplate and try alternative meat or plant-based choices.
You can easily make a main course out of fish, chicken, pot roast, and other meats, or take the vegetarian or vegan route and use hearty ingredients like mushrooms, squash, potatoes, cheese, and cauliflower to craft some delicious courses.
03.
Try Hosting a Friendsgiving
This seems to become more and more of a common practice with every passing year. Friendsgiving is essentially a Thanksgiving dinner that brings together your friends, their friends, and new people who become friends, over good food and great conversation.
With larger events, try asking your guests to contribute to the table by hosting a potluck-style event. This also encourage a diverse dinner spread because everyone’s cooking styles, food choices, and palates are unique!
04.
Spontaneous Exercise Challenge
Any time someone says the word you chose in step 1, everyone in the room has to do their selected number of their selected exercise. The number and exercise will stay the same throughout the evening, and you’ll have fun trying to find your way around these common Thanksgiving words!
05.
Plan a Pre-Event Gathering to Help Disperse the Workload
Plan a simple Pre-Thanksgiving gathering with your intended guests before your actual holiday feast. If you are able, walking to the store can help you steer clear of holiday traffic and impossible parking situations. Everyone can carry an item and even help you with some early preparations like decorating or cooking before the main event.
06.
Serve the Less Fortunate
Whether you’re getting together with others or planning to enjoy some time solo, serving others is a great way to participate in the Thanksgiving celebrations.
All you need to do is a quick internet search to find places in your area where you can volunteer. Don’t stop at serving food, however. If you can, sit and talk with the individuals and families who arrive to be served. Hear their stories, treat them like human beings, make eye contact and remember their faces. These small gestures can make a world of difference.
07.
Plan Ahead
Even your hosts want to enjoy the gathering of their friends and family. You can help make sure that no one is left in the kitchen while everyone else enjoys the festivities by offering your help at least once or twice.
If you are the host, try setting the table the night before. Lay out the plates, cups, napkins, and silverware, and any other items that don’t need to be refrigerated. This can help make your event day run more smoothly and with less last-minute scrambling.
08.
Agree to Leave Debatable Topics at the Door
Some gatherings are particularly difficult because of discussions that become debates and debates that become arguments.
Agree with your guests, prior to your event, that debatable topics should be set aside for the duration of your gathering.
09.
Start a New Tradition
There are tons of simple but memorable things you can do to start a new tradition. It can be something like watching a certain movie, playing a game everyone loves, or creating a handmade addition for your cornucopia and adding a new one each year. This one is especially fun for new families or couples who want to commemorate each year of holidays in a special way.
If you want to go a little further, try signing up for a Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Trot! You can find events in your area, here.
10.
Get Creative with Your Leftovers
In the United States, Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday, November 28th. Canada celebrates early in comparison, and observed this holiday on Monday, October 14th. In either case, leftovers are a certainty with any feast.
Whether you’ve frozen your leftovers from the 14th or are expecting more than you can manage tomorrow evening, you can get creative with your leftovers and enjoy them in inventive ways. Check out these turkey ideas to put a fun and flavorful twist on your post-event meals.
For some delicious salad dressing recipes from our registered dietitian, read her post on Homemade Salad Dressings 101. Or, listen to our podcast to hear about how to navigate the path between Fitness and Food This Holiday Season. To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter today!
Starting your fitness journey at the gym can be both exciting and overwhelming. As a first-time gym user, it’s important to approach your workouts with a plan that is tailored to you. LA Fitness welcomes first-time gym-goers with beginner workouts designed to build confidence and establish a strong fitness foundation.
Before you hit the weights or jump on the treadmill, it’s crucial to understand the basics of gym etiquette and the equipment available to you. LA Fitness offers a variety of machines and free weights that can cater to all of your workout needs. Begin by familiarizing yourself with the gym layout and the functions of different equipment. Don’t hesitate to ask the staff for a tour or explanations on how to use the machines.
Your initial workouts should be about learning proper form and building a foundation of strength and endurance. Start with a simple routine that includes a mix of cardiovascular exercises and strength training. Here’s a sample workout plan for your first week:
Day 1: Full Body Circuit
Day 2: Rest or Light Activity
Take a day off from the gym to allow your muscles to recover. Engage in light activities like walking or stretching if you feel up to it.
Day 3: Cardio and Core
As you become more comfortable with the exercises and your fitness level improves, gradually increase the intensity and complexity of your workouts. Add more weight, reps, or sets to your strength exercises and challenge yourself with higher intensity or longer durations on the cardio machines.
Remember, exercise is just one part of the equation. Proper nutrition and staying hydrated are key to supporting your new workout routine. Drink plenty of water and fuel your body with balanced meals that include a mix of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
Starting at the gym can be a transformative experience. With the right approach, you can build a solid foundation for a healthier lifestyle. Remember to listen to your body, progress at your own pace, and most importantly, enjoy the journey to fitness at LA Fitness.
Note: This blog post is a general guide and should not replace professional advice. Always consult with a fitness professional or personal trainer at LA Fitness for personalized guidance and support. This blog post should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor.
For more articles like this one, and to keep up to date on our fitness, nutrition, and wellness articles, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, today!
We’re “Trimming the Fat and Keeping the Muscle” on today’s episode of the Living Healthy Podcast!
On this episode of the Living Healthy Podcast, just in time for Thanksgiving, we learn about trimming or “cutting” the fat after you finish the bulking phase. This is the second part of our “Bulking Up and Trimming Down” series where we talk with Master Trainer Jordan Jones about how to shed the fat but keep the muscle. Have a listen and then subscribe to the show so you can get our new episodes delivered right to your phone when they release.
How Are We Doing?
This podcast should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor.
We're "Trimming the Fat and Keeping the Muscle" on today's episode of the Living Healthy Podcast! On this episode of the Living Healthy Podcast, just in time for Thanksgiving, we learn about trimming or "cutting" the fat after you finish the bulking phase. This is...
On today’s episode, you’ll hear from one of our own Master Trainers about what you should be eating and how you should be exercising during your bulking phase.
We don’t just talk about living an active lifestyle, we do our best to live it! Today we’re giving you a peek into corporate life with LA Fitness.
For a solid high-energy workout, you’ve got to put in the work! Even if you’re not keeping up with the class or if you’re running a slow mile compared to someone else, putting in the best that you can do means you’re getting an amazing workout.
Your body is always competing with its own personal best. If you are challenging yourself in a way you haven’t been challenged before, then you’re doing things right! This can mean that you’re doing one more pushup when you thought you were ready to quit or running your mile a couple seconds faster than you did the last time. Strive to outdo yourself in bits and pieces and you’re bound to get more out of your workout!
That being said, we know it’s easier to give that little bit extra when you have a game plan. Here are some options to help keep you moving until the last second of your workout!
Circuit Training tasks your body to perform a series of exercises back to back before a brief period of rest. This workout model is intense, not only because it works multiple muscle groups over the course of the workout, but because it requires you to keeping moving all the way through. If you’re really feeling ambitious you can even throw in some cardio before you start your circuit.
A sample workout could look like this: Complete 8 to 15 reps performing the Leg Press, then the Chest Fly, then the Glute Kickback, and end with Bicep Curls. Rest for 90 seconds and repeat the circuit 2 to 3 times.
View this circuit, and additional samples of this training model, here.
Plyometric exercises can be upper body or lower body focused. It’s all about building up your movement from slow and controlled to explosive and powerful. Plyometrics are great for generating speed, but to accomplish this, your body will need to expend a lot of energy to move the way you’re asking it to.
Lower-Body Plyometrics – These are exercises like box jumps, jump squats, and switch jumps. The sudden explosion of energy required to jump is what makes these exercises plyometric movements. You can even add a medicine ball to increase the intensity. Click to view some medicine ball plyometrics.
Upper-Body Plyometrics – These focus less on jumping and more on generating power from your upper body. An example of this would be a clap push-up or a medicine ball wall throw and catch. You can view these and more upper body plyometric workouts here.
A drop set is several repetitions of the same exercise that you perform until failure. You are essentially pushing a single muscle group as far as it can go. To help pull you through this kind of workout, drop sets are designed to allow you to drop the intensity of your movement with each set. For example, once you’ve done as many as you can do at a certain level of resistance, you allow yourself to continue by decreasing the resistance and performing another set.
The best way to perform these is on machines because you can more easily manipulate how much weight you’re carrying, and you’ll have a safe way to release the weight when your muscles finish their last possible rep.
View some sample drop set workouts here.
For more articles like this one, and to keep up to date on our fitness, nutrition, and wellness articles, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, today!
Welcome to the 40th episode of the Living Healthy Podcast, presented by LA Fitness.
Master Trainer, Jordan Jones, sits down with us today to share his expert knowledge on bulking. Bulking is a phase of your nutrition and workout regimen where the goal is to build as much muscle as possible while gaining as little fat as possible. Our next episode on cutting will address how you can get rid of excess fat you put on during this phase.
If you’re ready to put on muscle and all you need is that extra bit of guidance, tune in now to hear what Jordan has to say about the right way to make gains.
How Are We Doing?
This podcast should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor.
Intro
0:01
Introduction of Today’s Guest: Master Trainer Jordan Jones
1:18
What Got You into Weightlifting?
1:30
How Many Meals Do You Eat a Day While Bulking?
3:44
What are You Eating During Those Meals?
6:03
Do You Take Any Supplements While Bulking?
7:15
How Do You Know if You’re Behind on Your Protein?
8:00
Is There a Risk of Overdoing Your Protein Intake?
9:14
What Would Your Weekly Workout Consist Of?
10:13
Is Bulking for the Average Person? Why Bulk?
11:45
What Do You Do to Keep Hydrated? Are Electrolytes Important?
12:51
Is There Anything You Do to Prepare for Competitions?
15:03
How Do You Know if You’re Making Progress? When Do You Stop?
18:13
Is There an Ideal Ratio in Terms of Weight Gained and How Much is Fat?
19:06
What is the Biggest Obstacle While Bulking?
20:33
What Do You Really Need to Be Doing in the Gym to Bulk?
22:54
Actionable Advice
25:58
Outro
27:22
We're "Trimming the Fat and Keeping the Muscle" on today's episode of the Living Healthy Podcast! On this episode of the Living Healthy Podcast, just in time for Thanksgiving, we learn about trimming or "cutting" the fat after you finish the bulking phase. This is...
On today’s episode, you’ll hear from one of our own Master Trainers about what you should be eating and how you should be exercising during your bulking phase.
We don’t just talk about living an active lifestyle, we do our best to live it! Today we’re giving you a peek into corporate life with LA Fitness.