Many people worry about gaining weight from overindulging during a Thanksgiving feast. And while a turkey drumstick smothered in gravy alongside piles of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and sweet potatoes might not exactly scream “diet food,” the reality is that most people won’t gain a significant amount of body fat from one celebratory meal.
That said, Thanksgiving can easily become a day of higher-than-usual intake — especially when alcohol and a generous slice of pumpkin pie enter the picture — which may leave you feeling bloated and holding onto a bit of extra water for a few days.
While approaching the holiday with a mindset of balance and moderation is always a healthy approach, one great way to feel more energized and grounded is to move your body beforehand. A Thanksgiving Day workout can help you feel strong, boost your mood, and prepare your body to better utilize the nutrients from your meal.
Thanksgiving workouts aren’t about “earning” your food — they’re about starting the day feeling good, getting your blood flowing, and celebrating the holiday with movement.
Below, we’ve put together a simple Thanksgiving Day workout to help you kick off the festivities feeling your best.
Our Thanksgiving Day Workout
If you’re a regular gym goer, you’re probably not looking for a Thanksgiving workout as a means to help you compensate for overeating. Instead, you’ve likely come to rely on your workout for your daily dose of endorphins to get you through the day, so this isn’t a pinch-hitter workout for you.
However, because most gyms are closed on Thanksgiving, you may need a workout you can do at home without equipment. Therefore, we’ve created a fun, challenging turkey burn workout that requires no equipment and minimal space.
The best part is that you can tailor this workout to your fitness level by increasing the pace and duration if you’re a more advanced athlete, modifying the exercises where necessary, or pacing yourself appropriately if you’re just getting started on your fitness journey.
Regardless of your current fitness level, the basic premise of the turkey burn workout is the same: complete as many rounds of the ten exercises as you can for your chosen workout duration while maintaining proper form throughout.
We recommend setting a timer for 30-60 minutes, depending on your fitness level and goals.
Try to move as quickly from one exercise to the next without resting in between moves.
Grab a towel and water bottle, gear up your favorite playlist, and get ready to push yourself through this at-home Thanksgiving Day metabolic circuit workout.
You will certainly stoke your metabolism before you indulge in a holiday feast, and you will feel great about getting in a tough workout even on a holiday.
#1: Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks are pretty straightforward and may seem basic, but they’ll get your heart pumping. Move as fast as you can while still completing the full range of motion.
Complete 50 reps if you’re an advanced athlete and 25 reps if you’re a beginner.
#2: Jump Squats
Jump squats strengthen the major leg muscles,1Sugisaki, N., Kurokawa, S., Okada, J., & Kanehisa, H. (2014). Difference in the Recruitment of Hip and Knee Muscles between Back Squat and Plyometric Squat Jump. PLoS ONE, 9(6), e101203. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101203 such as the glutes, quads, and hamstrings, while also working your back and arms. Remember to brace your core and keep your glutes engaged.
1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, and back straight.
2. Drop down into a squat by bending your knees and sitting your hips back, as if reaching your butt back to sit in a chair.
3. Swing your arms to help drive your body upward as you jump straight up as high into the air as you can. You should be reaching your hands up toward the ceiling.
4. Bend your knees as you land to absorb the impact, transitioning immediately down into a full squat again.
5. Press through your heels to press up into your upright vertical jump again in one fluid motion.
6. Continue jumping as high and fast as you can and squatting back down until your knees are bent to at least 90 degrees (half squats don’t count!).
7. Advanced athletes should do 20 reps, and beginners should do 10 reps.
#3: Push-Ups
You might as well bang out a bunch of push-ups during your Thanksgiving workout. It’s a great move for strengthening your chest, triceps, shoulders, traps, and core.
Be sure to keep your hips in line with the rest of your body, your spine neutral, and your glutes and core engaged.
Your body should be in a straight line from your head to your feet.
Complete 20 reps using good form.
#4: High Knees
This is a good exercise for our Thanksgiving workout because it boosts your metabolism, elevates your heart rate, and leaves you breathless if you’re pushing yourself.
1. Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart with your core engaged.
2. Sprint in place, driving your knees up towards your chest and pumping your arms vigorously.
3. Run as hard as you can, counting your steps until you hit 40 footfalls if you’re a beginner and 80 if you’re advanced.
#5: Alternating Forward Lunges
This exercise will allow your heart rate to come back down a bit, yet you’ll still be strengthening your quads, hips, glutes, hamstrings, and core. Make sure you are dropping down fully into each lunge, bending your knees to 90°.
1. Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips.
2. Step your right foot forward and drop down into a lunge, bending each knee to a 90°-angle. Your front thigh should hover just above the ground without touching it.
3. Press through your feet to stand back up into an upright position and then switch legs.
4. Continue alternating legs, completing 20 reps per side or 40 overall.
#6: Up-Down Planks
Beginners can perform a basic forearm plank instead of this difficult plank progression, but if you’ve mastered the standard plank, challenge yourself with this dynamic plank.
The up-down plank works the core and strengthens the shoulders, chest, triceps, rhomboids, and traps.
1. Start in a plank position with your elbows and forearms on the floor.
2. Shift your weight off of one of your forearms so that you can lift that arm off the ground and place your palm flat on the floor instead.
3. Press through that hand to straighten your elbow and then repeat on the other side so that you are now up in a push-up position. Your hands should be positioned directly underneath your shoulders.
4. Lower your body back down onto your elbows with control, one side at a time.
5. Keep repeating this pattern, switching the arm that is pushing up to the top position first every time, keeping your hips as stable as possible, and minimizing side-to-side motion by engaging your core and glutes.
6. Complete 30 reps in total by leading with each side 15 times.
#7: Crossover Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are great for getting a quick cardio boost while simultaneously working your abs, glutes, legs, and shoulders.
This modification further engages your obliques. Make sure you maintain good form with your hips in line with your body rather than sagging down or sticking up in the air.
1. Get into a push-up position with your core and glutes engaged.
2. Press your weight into your hands, bend your right knee, drive the leg up under your chest towards your left shoulder, and then return it to the starting position.
3. Alternate legs, driving the left knee towards the right shoulder next.
4. Move as fast and hard as you can for a total of 50 reps (25 per side).
#8: Tricep Dips
Dips strengthen the chest, back, triceps, shoulders, and core. Proper form is important to prevent shoulder irritation.
To reduce the intensity of the exercise, beginners can bend their knees and place their feet flat on the floor.
1. Sit on the edge of a chair, couch, or bed with your hands cupping the edge on either side of your hips.
2. Straighten your legs out in front of you so that the back of your heels is resting on the ground, and lift your butt off the chair, shifting your weight fully into your palms and heels.
3. Bend your elbows to lower your hips so that they are just above the floor but not touching it. Your hands should be behind you on the chair.
4. Using your triceps and chest, press through your palms to lift your body up.
5. Complete 20 reps.
#9: Burpees
You can’t have a metabolic2Ratamess, N. A., Rosenberg, J. G., Klei, S., Dougherty, B. M., Kang, J., Smith, C. R., Ross, R. E., & Faigenbaum, A. D. (2015). Comparison of the Acute Metabolic Responses to Traditional Resistance, Body-Weight, and Battling Rope Exercises. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 29(1), 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000000584 turkey burn workout without this killer move!
Burpees can be thought of as a full push-up followed by a jump squat blended continuously together in one motion.
Complete 10 reps if you’re a beginner and 20 reps if you’ve been working out consistently.
#10: V-Ups
The last exercise in our Thanksgiving workout lineup is all about the core, giving you a welcome break to let your heart rate come down after skyrocketing with burpees.
1. Lie on your back with your legs extended straight out in front of you, and your arms extended straight back above your head.
2. Engage your glutes to lift your entire lower body in a straight line simultaneously and your whole upper body to meet upright in a folded “V” position. Your knees should be straight, and your arms should remain straight above your head.
3. Slowly lower your body back down, and control the speed of the descent by engaging your abs.
4. Do not allow your feet or upper body to come to a complete rest on the floor; instead, hover just above the floor in the extended position and then sit back up into a “V.”
5. Complete 10 reps if you are a beginner and 15 reps if you’re advanced.
After you’ve completed all the exercises, cycle back to the beginning with jumping jacks for round two.
Do as many rounds of this Thanksgiving workout as you’re up for. Depending on your goals, aim for a 30-60-minute workout.
Happy Turkey Day!
Looking for other workouts to do at home? Here we have a complete bodyweight workout just for you:
