Do This Irish Workout First on St. Patrick’s Day

Your fitness plan has plenty of enemies. Alarm clocks that forget to go off, protein shakes that sat in the car too long, and running shoes that have gone missing in your closet.

Enemy #1 for your fitness plan? Holiday celebrations.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Now go get your Irish workout done.

Irish immigrants around the globe, and those of us who have some percentage of Irish heritage, may raise a pint in celebration for St. Patrick’s Day today. I scoured the web for some inspiration to let you know that whatever fitness routine you manage to work into your schedule, it’s better than exercising while drunk.

Inspiration for this post actually started when my husband overhead a conversation at work last week about a “Drunken Ab Workout”. I have to admit, it peaked my interest. If nothing else, it would be a good excuse to look for something potentially useless and distracting online.

Unfortunately there was nothing I could find that resembled a viable workout, so instead I put together your very own Irish workout to knock out before you head out to your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

The Irish Workout for St. Patrick’s Day

The Irish Squeeze
Every one of my fellow Irish friends, no matter what percent their heritage is, are wonderful at giving a great big hug. This exercise in your Irish workout will give you the muscle to squeeze them right back. See below for how to do a chest fly in the bridge position.

The Irish Push
I wouldn’t say stubborn, but strong willed maybe? Get ready for the next time you might need add some convincing to your argument with the Irish workout push up.

 

The Irish Punch
Fighting Irish may be a stereotype in America, but getting a few punches into your Irish workout never hurt anyone. I’m not making any promises for your arms with this weighted uppercut in a squat position.

 

The Irish Laugh
The ability to spin a hilarious tale surround me when I’m with my Irish pals. Strengthen your core with this Irish workout bicycle crunch so you are ready for the uncontrollable laughing fit!

 

Still need a little Irish workout motivation? Try to keep up with the Trinity Irish Dancers while they attempt to teach Conan O’Brien the Irish Jig. I lost it when they duct taped his arms down.

Dance as if no one were watching
– Irish Proverb

You got your Irish workout in? Now grab a beer.

If you want to stay traditional, make it a Guinness.

The hearty stout is known as a meal in a glass, but the calories aren’t as high as you may think. Your pint of Guinness is about 200 calories, not much more than regular beer. It’s also a tiny bit lower in alcohol at 4.2% as compared to the 5% of Heineken or Budweiser.

B-vitamins aren’t the first thing that comes when opening this brew, but the amount found in Guinness almost helps you break even on the B-vitamin that you lose from alcohol consumption. It contains plenty of flavoniods, the antioxidant that gives it the dark color, that help lower LDL – the bad kind – cholesterol levels. All in all if you do have a pint in celebration, Guinness is the way to go.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Here’s hoping you put fitness first, even on a holiday that may not be the most healthy celebrations in the U.S.

What was your workout today? Share in the comments!

Go get your fit on – Heather

Disclaimer: This is not a recommendation to drink and then workout. Go get your fit on… then enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations responsibly. My goal is to share my experience with weight loss and fitness. I am not a professional trainer (yet), nutritionist, or dietitian and all opinions are my own. This worked for me, but may not work for you, so please research what is best for your health and fitness goals.