JOE’s pre-workout tips: A circuit to keep you in shape over Christmas

With the gyms closed over Christmas, you might need to go *shudder* outside

No need to worry though, JOE is here with a simple 100 rep circuit that you can do on it's own or in the middle of a run (our personal favourite) to make sure that despite all that turkey and stuffing and all those sweets, you can still look after your fitness a little bit. Still, it's Baltic out there so wrap up warm if you're headed out. While there aren't too many outdoor facilities around, things have been improving on that front in Dublin and around Ireland, and the only thing you'll really need for this circuit is somewhere to do pullups. If there's a kids playground nearby you can use the monkey bars, if you know of a good solid tree that's knocking around near you, or buy a pull up bar for your doorway, which is a great investment. We're sure you folks are resourceful enough to figure it out. For the following exercises, you need to get through 25 reps of each. How you do that is up to you, but starting out we recommend going for 10 of each exercise as one leg of the circuit, start again and do 10 more, and then start again but this time just do five. Not only does that break it up for you, but it's a bit easier to get to the last set when you know there are only five reps of each exercise. Don't worry too much about timing it unless you want to have some way of charting your progress. Pullups We've seen a few techniques on how to improve your numbers on this exercise before, and doing this circuit is also another brilliant way. Make sure that you control the downwards movement too as best you can, and don't just drop down. Squat jumps Starting in a squat position, making sure your knees don't go over your toes, squat down to the bottom of your range of motion, and explode back up driving through your heels and jumping off the ground. As a target, try and touch the pull up bar with your hand at the top of your jump. Try to make the motion flow as much as possible so that when you land, you transition in to the squat and launch back up again. Pushups There's nothing too tricky here, just be conscious that your hips should not dip down as you get tired, if you feel your form going, then take a few seconds. The important thing here is getting through the reps, not how long it takes. Burpees As the kids on the internet would say, hitman monkey finds no joy in burpees. That said, they are a brilliant exercise, and they're unpleasant because they work. The bad news is that you have to do 25 of them. Similarly to the pushup try to make sure that you don't let your hips dip as you tire, and keep the other movements as explosive as possible (moving your legs to your chest from the pushup position, and the jump at the end). You can jump with your hands by your side if you find that easier, but for balance and an extra challenge, put your hands above your head as you jump. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Dq_NCzj8M Nutrition is always key to any workout, and for something great with a high protein content that’s also delicious, try Mooju chocolate milk. With over 10g of protein in a 250ml container, as well as carbohydrate. Mooju is a great choice for your workout. Enjoy Mooju as part of a healthy balanced diet and active lifestyle. Hat-tip to Men's Health for the picture.