The Perfect Pre-Thanksgiving Workout: 4 Weeks To Get Fit For The Feast

As we begin the start of November, it’s time to prepare for one of the biggest events of the year. Halloween has passed and Thanksgiving is now on the horizon. Get your friends and family together because it’s time to celebrate the blessings of the past year.

For most Americans, Thanksgiving is the most important holiday of the season. It represents a time when families reunite and catch up on the past year. It’s also a time to eat traditional foods and enjoy a drink or two.

Traditional foods such as turkey, stuffing, cornbread, and cranberry sauce tend to replace the traditional gym diet. Time is taken off the gym to enjoy the festivities before life returns to normal again.

While it’s definitely good to enjoy yourself, it’s important to stay on track in the days leading up. To help you out, we’ve put together the best pre-thanksgiving workout to get you fit for the feast!

The Ultimate Pre-Thanksgiving Workout Routine

Our ultimate pre-thanksgiving workout routine is designed to cover the fundamental training basics while burning the most calories. Three of the days are dedicated strength training sessions that focus on the main three movements or areas. These are divided into push, pull, and legs. The fourth session is a cardio-based workout designed to burn a good amount of calories to get you into shape.

At the start of each session, we focused on the multi-joint compound movements. These are designed to improve your muscular strength and burn more calories. 

Towards the middle and end of the sessions, we’ve included some higher volume hypertrophy work. The repetitions are higher because of the lower intensity but we’ve used shorter rest periods. 

For the cardio session, we’ve chosen high-intensity interval training, or HIIT as a great way to burn calories and get your heart rate up. The cardio exercise mode can be swapped around as long as you stick to the same workout principles. 

Here’s a breakdown of our suggested weekly schedule:

• Monday — Push Day. 
• Tuesday — Pull Day.
• Wednesday — Rest.
• Thursday — Leg Day.
• Friday — Rest.
• Saturday — Cardio Day.
• Sunday — Rest.

The workout and rest days can be swapped around as needed. Just ensure that you get at least 48 hours of rest between sessions that work the same muscle groups.

Workout 1: Push

Workout one is a dedicated push day. The main goal of this session is to work on the main push muscles which include the chest, shoulders, and triceps. 

The start of the session involves a basic warm-up, starting with the static bike at a moderate intensity. Following this, we’ve added three dynamic upper-body stretches that focus on the main muscle groups used. This is done to increase body temperature, lubricate joints, and increase your heart rate.

The first two exercises are compound, multi-joint movements. The incline bench press focuses on the upper chest with some middle chest activation. The push press is a dynamic pressing variation that focuses on the front deltoids with some side deltoid activation. 

Both exercises use strength-building repetition ranges with larger rest periods. 

Following this, we’ve programmed two high-volume supersets that use the muscle-building repetition ranges. These single-joint exercises focus on specific parts of the chest and shoulders while burning more calories. 

At the end of the session, we’ve included some sled pushes for a dynamic push finisher. This is more of a hybrid strength-cardio exercise that builds conditioning and burns calories.

Workout 2: Pull

Workout two is a dedicated pull session. The aim of this session is to work the main pull muscles which are the back muscles and biceps brachii. These include the trapezius, rhomboids, and latissimus dorsi muscle groups.

Again, we start this session with a basic warm-up. This consists of five minutes of aerobic exercise and some dynamic stretches that focus on the main muscle groups. 

Our first compound movement is the barbell deadlift. As one of the big three, this is widely regarded as one of the best muscle and strength-building movements. It works the whole body and helps to build functional movement patterns. 

The next strength-based exercise is the barbell bent-over row. This is another compound exercise that works the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, posterior deltoids, and bicep brachii muscles. 

Following this, we’ve included two supersets focusing on higher-volume hypertrophy work. The first superset uses the wide grip pulldown and close grip row to isolate the lats. 

The second superset uses two bicep brachii isolation exercises. The neutral hammer grip focuses on the biceps long heads, brachialis, and brachioradialis. The EZ bar preacher curls focus on the biceps’ short heads. 

The end of the session includes some dynamic sled pulls for a cardio-strength-based finisher exercise.

Exercise	Sets x Reps	Duration	Rest (between sets)
Rower (Moderate Intensity)		5 minutes	None
Arm Swings	2 sets	30 seconds	None
Dynamic Lat Stretch	2 sets	30 seconds	None
Active Hang	2 sets	10–20 seconds	None
Barbell Deadlifts	3–5 sets x 4–6 reps		1–2 minutes
Barbell Bent-Over Rows	3–5 sets x 4–6 reps		1–2 minutes
Superset 1: Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns + Close Grip Cable Rows	3–4 sets x 8–12 reps For Both Exercises		45–60 seconds Between Supersets
Superset 2: Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls + EZ Bar Preacher Curls	3–4 sets x 8–12 reps For Both Exercises		45–60 seconds Between Supersets
Sled Pulls	3 sets x 10-15 reps		45–60 seconds

Day 3: Legs 1

Day three is a dedicated leg day that focuses on the main leg muscles. These include the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. The main goals of this session are to build leg strength, size, and full-body conditioning. 

The start of the session uses a warm-up consisting of aerobic exercise and dynamic leg stretches. These focus on the same large muscle groups used in the main exercises. 

The first two exercises are multi-joint compound movements. Both of these have been programmed using strength-building repetition ranges performed at a higher intensity.

The barbell squat uses the glutes and quadriceps as the primary movers. Secondary movers include the hamstrings and core. Performing regular squats can also help to improve functional movement patterns and mobility. 

Next, we’ve included barbell walking lunges as a dynamic leg-building exercise. This focuses on the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves while burning more calories than normal resistance training.

Following this, we’ve included two supersets that specifically focus on the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. Each of these exercises uses higher volume repetition ranges with smaller rest periods. 

At the end of the session, the combination of bear crawls and wall sits offers a full-body conditioning challenge. It works the legs and core while challenging your cardiovascular system. It’s also an enjoyable challenge to end this functional leg session.

Exercise	Sets x Reps	Duration	Rest (between sets)
Treadmill (Moderate Intensity)		5 minutes	None
Leg Swings	2 sets	30 seconds	None
Hip Circles	2 sets	30 seconds	None
Lateral Lunges	2 sets	30 seconds	None
Barbell Squats	3–5 sets x 4–6 reps		1–2 minutes
Barbell Walking Lunges	3–5 sets x 4–6 reps		1–2 minutes
Superset 1: Bulgarian Split Squats + Leg Extensions	3–4 sets x 8–12 reps For Both Exercises		45–60 seconds Between Supersets
Superset 2: Lying Leg Curls + Seated Calf Raises	3–4 sets x 8–12 reps For Both Exercises		45–60 seconds Between Supersets
Superset 3: Bear Crawls + Wall Sits	3 sets For Both Exercises	30 Seconds For Both Exercises	45–60 seconds Between Supersets

Workout 4: Cardio

At the end of the week, day four is a dedicated cardio and conditioning session. The main aim of this workout is to build full-body conditioning and burn calories using cardio-based, full-body movements. 

At the start of the session, we programmed foam rolling for some myofascial release. This helps to improve recovery and reduce the chance of delayed onset muscle soreness. The rest of the warm-up consists of three cardio-based movements to increase your heart rate. 

The main part of the session uses a form of high-intensity interval training known as Tabata. Each exercise is performed eight times for 20 seconds at a maximum intensity with 10 seconds of rest in between. This helps to improve fitness, boost your metabolism, and save time.

We’ve programmed three full-body cardio exercises for our Tabata session. Each of these is suitable for all ability levels and develops functional movement patterns. At the end of the session, we programmed the high plank to develop core strength and stability.

Exercise	Sets x Reps	Duration	Rest (between rounds)
Foam Rolling		5 minutes	None
High Knees	2 sets	30 seconds	None
Butt Kickers	2 sets	30 seconds	None
Jump Rope	2 sets	30 seconds	None
Tabata Exercise 1: Jumping Squats	8 rounds	20 seconds	10 seconds
Tabata Exercise 2: Dynamic Lunges	8 rounds	20 seconds	10 seconds
Tabata Exercise 3: Burpees	8 rounds	20 seconds	10 seconds
High Plank	3 sets	30 seconds	60 seconds

Training Tips To Maximize Results Before Thanksgiving

Performing the exercises above is one part of the puzzle. Implementing these training tips allows you to maximize your workout results. Consider each of these main tips and implement them throughout the four weeks.  

Incorporate Active Recovery Days

Active recovery days involve taking breaks from your usual training routine while focusing on lower-intensity movements. This may involve activities such as walking the dog, cycling in the park, and swimming. Other active recovery methods may include massage therapy, cold water immersion, and active stretching.

The idea of these days is to allow your body to recover while staying active and using methods to facilitate recovery. Keeping active and moving more also helps to burn more calories throughout the week. This can help with body composition and weight loss when correctly implemented. 

In our four-week plan, we’ve included three dedicated rest days. These can be used as active recovery days when needed. 

Hydrate Consistently

Water is an essential nutrient that we need to survive and function. Almost 60% of the human body is made of it. Water performs several vital functions which include temperature regulation, cell function, and joint lubrication.

Keeping hydrated (taking in enough water for proper functioning) is important for many factors involved in weight loss and general health. This includes muscle function and digestion.

Water helps to suppress your appetite, which can help when trying to lose weight. It also contains no calories which makes it a good weight loss aid. 

Water also has a small effect on calorie burning. While we should look at the bigger health picture, implementing these small changes can help over a longer term period.

The main effect of water on weight loss and health may come from a lower intake of sugar-sweetened beverages. Alongside this, water helps remove waste, allowing toxins to be filtered by the kidneys while essential nutrients are retained.

These are just some of the reasons why keeping hydrated is important. Ensure that you listen to your thirst cues, hydrating as needed depending on your activity level and the environment around you. 

U.S. guidelines state that men should aim to drink 3.7 liters of water a day while women should aim for 2.7 liters.

Nutrition Is Key

Exercise is only part of the picture when resistance training or performing different sports. The food and drink we consume provide the fuel for our muscles, joints, and bones to function as needed. Without proper nutrition, our bodies can’t function correctly.

More than 650 million people suffer from obesity worldwide. Energy balance is one of the most important factors for weight loss and weight maintenance. This refers to the balance between the energy you take in and the energy you give out. 

Start by establishing the energy balance needed for your goals. Work out your maintenance calories and set a manageable deficit of around 500 calories. This allows you to lose approximately one pound per week while limiting muscle loss. 

Keep your protein intake high at a minimum daily intake of 0.7–1 grams per pound of body weight. This ensures efficient muscle building, satiety (feeling of fullness), and general health.

Change your carbohydrate intake according to your energy needs. Ensure a minimum healthy fat intake of approximately 20% of your total daily intake.

Get Quality Sleep

Sleep is a vital period that allows us to rest and recover. Sleep is needed for mood, cognitive function, mental health, and physical health. 

During this time, our bodies repair and replenish their glycogen stores for the next activity. Our muscle starts to repair and rebuild stronger than before. Mentally, our brain and mind have a chance to rest and recover.

Sleep is a key component of weight loss and overall health. It can influence hunger, satiety, energy levels, and motivation. Adequate sleep allows us to maintain good health. 

The right amount of sleep depends on the individual. Aim for a minimum of around seven hours per night. Some people may be okay with less but this is the generally suggested minimum amount.

Conclusion

Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy yourself with your close family, friends, and significant others. Use it to look back on the previous year and appreciate the good times together. Reflect on the year ahead and enjoy forming deeper bonds with those around you.

While it’s important to enjoy yourself, keeping on track in the weeks before the big day helps you to maintain focus. Using our workout above helps to reduce the potential excess energy intake from the feast and keep in shape.