You may know The 12 Days of Christmas as the well-known Christmas carol or as Twelvetide in Christianity. Essentially, it refers to the 12 days after Christmas day, starting on the 25th of December and ending at midnight on the 5th of January.
What if you turned the 12 days of Christmas into a fitness challenge where you had to do a workout every day? After all, the last few days of the holiday season are a fantastic time to kickstart your workout routine.
1. Pamela Reif's 10-Minute Christmas Dance Workout
For the first day, it's best to begin with something quick, sweaty, and fun. Pamela's Christmas 10-minute dance workout is just that. Plus, you can jam out while you work out to some classic Christmas songs like Holly Jolly Christmas and Under The Mistletoe.
Visit Pamela Reif's YouTube channel to find a variety of other Christmas-themed workouts you can try. Each workout is no longer than 10 minutes and includes several of the best Christmas songs.
2. Caroline Girvan's 20-Minute Christmas Strength and Cardio Workout
This workout is led by Caroline Girvan, a certified personal trainer. It is a lot tougher than the previous day's workout, but it's perfect if you want to take it up a notch and challenge yourself.
Caroline offers a full-body workout that combines cardio and weightlifting to boost your muscle gains. Staggered squats, lunges, and Romanian deadlifts are a couple of exercises included in the session. So grab a pair of dumbbells, and your exercise mat, move your Christmas tree aside, and you're good to go!
3. Growwithgo's 14-Minute Christmas Dance Party
Don't underestimate the power of growwithjo's Christmas dance party workout. Sure, it may only be a 14-minute fun-filled dance session, but it's guaranteed that you'll end up sweating and your muscles burning.
This beginner-friendly, non-stop cardio workout includes classic holiday hits like Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You and Oh Santa!. Moreover, the moves are effortless to follow along with, which makes it a great exercise class to do with the whole family.
4. Sacred Lotus Yoga's Flow Into Christmas
Why not use day four to de-stress and bring some calm to the festive season? Flow Into Christmas is a 15-minute yoga class taught by Sara Treanor. The soothing voice of Sara guides you through each yoga pose, making sure you get each one correct.
This yoga practice is the first of a two-part Christmas yoga special. Part two is a 25-Minute Festive Feel Good Yoga session if you'd like to try it after the first one.
5. MadFit's 15-Minute Christmas Dance Party Workout
Return to the dance party workouts on day five to move, groove, and sweat. MadFit's workout class is ideal for beginners as it includes effortless choreography and is an awesome way to burn some serious calories while still enjoying yourself.
The dance session includes five Christmas songs to get you into the holiday spirit, like Jingle Bell Rock and Last Christmas. Alternatively, you can try some of MadFit's other Christmas-themed dance classes, such as the 10-Minute Christmas Dance Workout from 2021.
6. Growingannanas' 30-Minute Sweaty Christmas Cardio HIIT
This festive exercise session from growingannanas is a full-body workout that requires no equipment, but it may kill you physically. Most of Anna's workouts are generally high-intensity and oftentimes tough, and this one is no different.
The workout begins with a short warm-up and then moves on to the main HIIT workout of 50 seconds on and only 10 seconds of recovery. If that's not enough to leave you drowning in sweat, there is an intense finisher section, too.
7. Zumba Sulu's 30-Minute Christmas Dance Workout
To celebrate that you're over the halfway mark, put on your dancing shoes and boogie to this feel-good dance workout. If you love Zumba, you certainly won't be disappointed with this dance class led by Zumba Sulu—an international Zumba instructor.
The dance class includes joyful, lively, yet easy choreography that is sure to burn off those extra holiday calories. Furthermore, you can enjoy some additional Christmas-themed dance workouts and Halloween dance workouts from Zumba Sulu's YouTube channel.
8. The Studio's Not Yo Momma's Christmas Music Workout
This memorable holiday Christmas workout is from The Studio. The Studio YouTube channel focuses on energetic workouts combined with fun background music, which is exactly what this HIIT dance workout is all about.
The class is a blend of cardio dance and toning accompanied by some of the very best Christmas songs. During the workout, you have the option to use a resistance band in some sections, but it's not mandatory. However, it does offer a unique way to get the most out of your resistance band.
9. Kyra Pro's Christmas Walking Workout
Day nine is the time to walk it out and get your steps in. Kyra Pro's Christmas walking workout is the perfect way to get in your daily exercise when you have little time or energy.
And even though the workout is only 10 minutes in length, Kyra promises you can reach about 1,600 steps in total without even leaving the house. Take a look at the other classes on Kyra's YouTube channel if you'd like to add a quick warm-up before the class and a quick cool-down afterward.
10. Blogilates' Christmas Cardio Workout
Blogilates is a widely known fitness platform that offers free at-home workouts with Cassey Ho. This particular Christmas cardio workout features energetic but uncomplicated exercises like curtsy lunges, squats, mountain climbers, and so much more.
For those who are feeling lazy or unmotivated, don't stress. Cassey's energy is contagious enough to help you to the finish line. Like the other channels, the Blogilates YouTube channel is full of other workout classes, live sessions, challenges, and so much more.
11. Eleni Fit's 30-Minute Christmas Cardio Pilates
You're almost there! So on the 11th day of Christmas, it's time to give it your all and get your body in shape with a fat-burning, muscle-toning Pilates session. Your coach, Eleni Demos, takes you through a sweaty 30-minute cardio Pilates workout, including various moves like snow angel squats and Warrior I pulses.
The workout begins with a quick warm-up and ends with a well-deserved cool-down. The main Pilates workout is 40 seconds of active exercise and 10 seconds of recovery. In addition, there are no repeated exercises, so you won't get bored.
12. GET KIDS MOVING The Grinch Christmas Workout
For the last day of the 12 days of Christmas, why not do a fun, family-friendly workout session that everyone can enjoy? The Grinch Christmas workout from GET KIDS MOVING is a fantastic fitness class that can motivate your kids to exercise.
Fortunately, it's a short workout that keeps their attention while following along with the Grinch doing exercises like squats, lunges, hops, and jacks. For more fun workouts where the little ones can exercise alongside their favorite characters, take a look at the GET KIDS MOVING YouTube channel.
It's Time to Sleigh 12 Days of Christmas Workouts
Trying to stick to your regular eating and exercise routine is tough during Christmastime. But what if you could fit in a few simple, easy, sweaty, and jolly workouts? You certainly can! All you have to do is try these 12 days of Christmas workouts to get through the last few days of the festive season with a bang.