Fit for Christmas

The hover (also known as ‘the plank’, this works the tummy)
Lying face down, rest on your forearms and lift your body off the floor so that you are only balancing on your forearms and tiptoes. If this is too difficult, rest your knees on the floor too. Keep your body straight, so that your head, neck, back, bottom and hips are in a straight line. Suck in your tummy muscles and hold for as long as possible. Aim to hold this for one minute. Once you can do that, increase by five seconds each time.

Reverse curl (works the tummy)
Lie on your back, with your arms by your sides. Raise your legs in the air and cross your ankles. Keep your head on the floor and inhale. As you exhale, raise your hips slightly off floor and, using your abdominal muscles, curl your knees to you chest. Hold for a second. Inhale as you slowly lower. Repeat 10 to 15 times.

4. Cool-down

Repeat the stretches you did at the beginning of this workout, holding them for slightly longer.

Finally, remember that over the holiday period your normal schedule will be thrown out. Visiting relatives and excited children will all bring a certain amount of stress and chaos. Don’t panic, if you happen to gain a pound or two – you can lose it next month. So get mentally prepared to go with the flow, armed with the knowledge that life will go back to normal in the New Year.

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