The 10-minute fitness routine to help keep you ticking over during Christmas

You’ll need to work off all that food over the next few days.

NOT HAVING THE time to train is no longer a valid excuse, given the repercussions of a sedentary lifestyle.

Though a 10-minute daily blast isn’t going to shred your core or allow you lift personal bests in the gym, it’ll still burn upwards of 200 calories – and make space for chocolate this Christmas.

This routine we’ve devised is a bit of a brute and is to be done without a break.

10 exercises, 10 minutes. 1 minute each. Simple

1. High knees

As fast as you can, jump off the ground and bring your knees up as high as you can for 60 seconds.

2. Squat jump with a push-up

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and your arms by your sides. Squat down, bringing your hands to the floor outside your feet.

Now jump back into a plank pose and do one push-up. Leap forward until your feet are inside your hands.

Finally, jump up and reach your fingertips towards the ceiling. Out of breath yet?

3. Reverse crunch

This one really isolates the core muscles.

Lying flat on the floor with your arms extended and your hands by your sides, bring your feet up perpendicular with the floor.

Now, move your legs towards the torso as you roll your pelvis backwards and raise your hips off the floor.

At the end of this movement your knees will be touching your chest.

Hold the contraction for a second and move your legs back to the starting position while exhaling. Continue for a minute.

4. Alternative lunges

Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart bring one leg ahead of the other. Now, drop the knee of the trailing leg and squeeze your glutes. Next, in one movement, jump up and switch legs, bringing your hind leg forward and forward leg back.

5. Pistol squats

Balance on one foot and squat down, bending at the knee and pushing your hips back as much as possible. Do 30 seconds on each leg.

6. Ab walkout

Start on all fours, your arms extended and your palms pressed into the floor.

Now, move up onto your toes and walk forward, one hand at a time until you can go no further. Hold here for three seconds and slowly walk back to the starting position.

7. Burpees

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and squat down. The next move will require your palms on the floor, but try not to reach for the floor. Keep your back straight and get your knees to lower you down.

8. Mountain climbers

Get into the press-up position so your hands are directly under your chest at shoulder-width apart with straight arms.

Maintain a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Now, lift your right foot off the floor and slowly raise your knee as close to your chest as you can.

Return to the starting position and repeat with your left leg. Do this as quickly and correctly as you can for a minute.

9. Push-ups

Do we need to explain? What’s important here is correct form. To make the exercise harder bring your hands closer together and if you really want to punish yourself add a ‘clap’ after each push-up.

10. Side plank with a dip

Lie on your side with your legs stacked on top of one another and prop your body up on the hand or elbow while keeping your feet stacked.

Alter the position by raising the opposing arm or leg in the air to make the plank more difficult, or make the move easier by crossing the upper leg in front of the body.

Was that 10 minutes already? Time for a shower. And a mince pie…