If you’re not familiar with the western concept of Black Friday in Dubai – let me first explain. It’s the Friday following the American Thanksgiving Day, which is celebrated on the last Thursday of the month. This glorious day is when many stores offer huge promotional sales and discounts that start super early – like midnight! This bottom drop pricing can result in shopping mayhem. If you’re not ready for the craziness of Black Friday sale in Dubai, here’s a workout to get you into the shopping spirit – and take you from pathetic window browser to non-stop shopaholic mall marathoner!
1. Sprint to the Goods
Sprinting is essential when it comes to Black Friday. As soon as the doors open, it’s a dash to the good discounts. The best way to prepare – add a sprinting component to your workout. Use HIIT – high intensity interval training. This is where you alternate between high and low intensity intervals of running. Try sprinting – all out run at a fast pace for 15 to 30 seconds on a treadmill, then lower the speed and perform a light jog for a 60 second recovery period. You don’t need to be a good runner to use a HIIT workout. Adjust the speed according to your level. Complete 5 to 10 intervals. As you improve, you’ll get better at sprinting and will be able to complete more intervals. Incorporate sprinting about 3 times a week into your workout routine.
2. Shop, Squat & Press
If you want to get to the top or bottom of any shopping rack quickly some squat and press will be in order. This exercise can be performed with either a kettlebell or a dumbbell. The idea is to pick the weight up off the floor from a squat position and in one motion quickly press it overhead with a hip thrust. This exercise will make you adaptable at reaching things in all kinds of places – fast! Find a pair of shoes you like on the bottom rack, squat and lift those shoes into your safe grip! Overall the squat and press exercise also known as the thruster is great for increasing quad, shoulder and core strength. Include this exercise in your upper body or lower body workouts.
3. Lateral Hanger Carry
Just how many hangers can you grab and hold onto? Making a grab for multiple hot sale items? Don’t waste your time on going back later; take what you can find with you now. Chances are you might not get a shopping cart to carry those potential purchases. Instead grab all the items you want at once, with a strong set of shoulders you’ll be more than equipped to navigate the store in one swoop before heading to the change rooms. Incorporate lateral raises, completed with dumbbells or cables and front raises with a barbell, dumbbell or a weighted plate. Both of these exercises are useful for strengthening the shoulders. They’re also great for improving how your body looks in clothes! Increasing the width of your shoulders will help increase your v-tapper, improving your shoulder to waist ratio. These exercises can be added to your shoulder workouts. Complete at least 4 sets of each exercise, using 8 to 12 repetitions.
4. Weighted Mall Walk
After you have spent most of the day shopping for deals, you’re probably carrying around more than a few extra heavy bags. No better way to prepare for this extra baggage, then by practicing the weighted ‘farmers walk or farmers carry’. This exercise is performed by either using the barbell specially designed with handles or by using the handles that can strap weighted plates or by just using dumbbells for the beginner. This exercise will work the whole body – the arms – mostly triceps, the traps, the legs and the core! The farmers walk builds core stability giving the rest of our body more power and greater work capacity. Incorporating them into the end of your workouts when you’re fatigued and your balance and coordination are hindered, will prepare you best for long and exhausting shopping days! In no time you’ll be able to carry more bags than ever before!
5. Jump Squats
Trying to reach that pair of jeans on the top shelf and no help insight? Instead of relying on a (probably non-existent) sales clerk, snatch the pants yourself. Ease down to a half squat, and rapidly push yourself up with a jump! Reach out and grab those jeans. Don’t want it after all? Jump again to return it to the shelf. Jump squats give you airtime, especially for those of us who are vertically challenged! Jump squats are great for the booty, quads and the calves. You can perform jump squats on the flat ground, or by jumping onto an elevated platform. This exercise is great for incorporating into a lower body workout or as a cardio conditioning exercise. Perform 10 to 15 jump squats, take a short 30 second to 1 min break and repeat.
6. Explosive Clicker
After you have had enough with Black Friday offers in Dubai, there’s still one more shopping extravaganza day to prepare for – Cyber Monday in Dubai. This is the day where online shopping sales can ‘break the internet’! Improving your reflexes and reaction time is the best way to snatch up those deals before they’re gone. Explosive exercises like jump squats and box squats can make you fast on your feet, while the vertical medicine ball toss up can improve your reaction and reflexes. You can also do the horizontal medicine ball wall toss, to help improve your core strength too; great for keeping those abs strong when you’re sitting and searching the web for those deals! Combine all 4 of these exercises into a conditioning workout. Each exercise can be performed in sets of 4 x 15 reps.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday is coming to Dubai! Be sure to incorporate these five exercises into your workouts for the ultimate shopping experience and coming soon, be sure to check back for Fuel-Up’s very own Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale!
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