Welcome to day nine of the 12 Days of Fitmas. On our last blog post, we brought you the latest completed mini-routine: today, we start again from scratch, with our toughest challenge so far.
We have moved onto our last batch of recipes – drinks and desserts – so be sure to scroll right down to find out the latest tasty festive treat!
If you’ve been doing the other exercises, you should be able to manage this – but if you are just joining us, head to Day 1 and start from there. While these exercise have a Christmas theme, they can, of course, be done at any time of year!
Beginners should check out our ‘how to’ guide.
Exercise
Typically, the art – and beauty – of a good plank lies in the fact that it contains no movement. This version, however, adds movement, and weights if you want, to increase the difficulty level by several factors.
Day Nine Routine: Core III, Raised side plank
- 30 seconds each side, with variations as required
By slowly moving your limbs as part of a standard side plank, you incrementally unbalance your body, meaning your core has to work harder to keep you balanced. If you add weights, the effect is increased even further still.
Start by adopting the side plank, then slowly lift which ever leg is on top. Hold it for as long as you can, then return it to the start position.
Once you find that easy, lift both your leg and your arm, so your body forms something like a star shape. Then, try it with a small weight in your hand.
This is definitely one to experiment with. See what you find challenging, then do it until you have it perfected. The whole time, your core strength will be increasing.
Recipe
Clementine and Prosecco Jellies
Ingredients:
7 leaves gelatine
600ml clementine juice (from about 14 clementines)
300ml Prosecco
1 sheet edible gold leaf (available from squires-shop.com)
Method:
Put the gelatine sheets into a bowl of cold water to soften for a few mins. Put 100ml clementine juice into a small pan and gently heat. When the gelatine feels soft and the juice is just simmering, remove the juice from the heat and squeeze out any excess water from the gelatine sheets. Drop the sheets into the hot juice and swirl to melt. Make sure there are no visible lumps of gelatine before you move onto the next stage.
Stir the hot juice into the rest of the juice with the prosecco, then transfer to a jug. Pour between 6 small glasses. Sit the jellies in a small tray or dish, cover with a sheet of cling film and chill for at least 4 hrs (or up to 48 hrs) until set.
Recipe courtesy of BBC Good Food.
When you’re ready to move on you can find Day 10 here.
