December may not be known as the most fitness-friendly month of the year, but maintaining an exercise routine and getting into the festive spirit don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Alongside visiting your local Christmas market and spending time with friends and family, a festive workout or two is the perfect way to embrace everything this season has to offer while enjoying all the benefits of staying active.

So, whether you’re looking for a festive yoga flow, Christmassy spin session or a Mariah Carey-inspired dance session, we’ve put together this list of all the festive workouts out there to get you started.  

This festive workout from Frame may be (partially) named after Tchaikovsky’s ballet, but you won’t find any jetés or pirouettes here. This barre workout is focused on the glutes, involving a combination of squats, clams and leg lifts, while the Christmassy spirit comes from the classical tunes that play in the background. 

You can attend an in-person class at Frame’s sites in Angel or Victoria or join a live-streamed class at home. 

You don’t need to go all out to enjoy a Christmas-themed workout – a walking workout is a brilliant, low-impact way to get moving, and you don’t even need to leave the house to get started. 

If you’ve never come across one of these workouts before, let us give you a quick introduction: designed to help you up your step count, a walking workout sees you follow the instructor in a series of step-filled moves so that you cover a certain distance during the video.  

Christmas-themed spinning is a thing, and Psycle has got plenty of festive sessions on offer between now and 25 December. Rides take place across the brand’s various London sites and combine a mix of pop Christmas classics. Expect tunes from Mariah Carey, Spice Girls, NSYNC and more.

Boom Cycle also has some festive offerings, with Battersea-based instructor Ashley Newburn teaching a Christmas Pop Girlies class that sounds right up our street. And if you’ve got a Peloton, you can get involved with the Christmas spin action from the comfort of your own home.

If the chaos of December has left you in need of a moment’s peace, then a yoga flow could be just the thing you’re looking for. You don’t even need to leave the house to enjoy the calming, Christmassy vibes – simply log onto YouTube, where there are plenty of different sessions to choose from.

Sara Treanor over at Sacred Lotus Yoga has a series of two festive yoga flows which are perfect for this time of year. The twinkling piano that plays in the background as the class progresses makes the whole thing extra cosy. 

It might not be the first thing you think of when you think of exercise, but ice skating is a fun (and seasonal) way to get moving and spend time with friends and family. At this time of year, there are plenty of outdoor ice skating rinks across the capital, most of which still have availability for sessions between now and Christmas.

Skate at Somerset House, Glide at Battersea Power Station and Queen’s House ice rink in Greenwich are all great options. Make sure you grab a hot chocolate and sweet snack afterwards to complete the experience. 

Christmas is the perfect time of year to break out some moves, and YouTube is full-to-bursting with fun, festive dance workouts to keep you moving all December long. They usually last around 10 to 20 minutes and are full of repetitive movements that are easy to master, so it won’t take you too long to pick things up.

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