Fit Mommy: Fitness fruitcake?

Reuse a fruitcake in a fun new way!

Photo by flickr user babe_kl.jpg

Aunt Erma gave you a holiday fruitcake: Now what? Well, don’t even try to eat it, and don’t give it to someone else. Both options are horrible (and unusually cruel).

Since fruitcake is heavy (average weight, according to TLC Cooking is two pounds), I think this fruitcake could be used as a perfect holiday fitness medicine ball! Take the cake and wrap it in foil or put it in a large baggie. Now, you have a perfect accessory for some fitness moves.

Here are four fun ways to use that fruitcake to tone up your trouble zones. If you are fortunate enough to not have a fruitcake, just use a two- to three-pound barbell.

1) Abs toner: Get into a “sit up” position on the floor, only now, bring both legs up while you balance in a V. Now, take your two-pound fruitcake and weave it around your legs in a figure 8. Keep weaving for a while, holding your back straight and pulling in those abs. It is a very effective ab move to tone up that midsection.

3) Lower body: Go to your nearest open wall space and do a wall sit. Now, take your fruitcake and start to perform chest squeezes ( push the fruitcake out and pull it back in) while you sit. Try to sit for 30 seconds to a minute. This is a great lower body toner, and the fruitcake reps will also make it a bit more intense. You could also do some shoulder presses with the cake as well.

3) Shoulders toner: Lay on your side and use this fruitcake to do some side lateral shoulder raises. You have to balance on your side and bring your top arm up so that it is perpendicular to your body. Now, slowly raise your arm straight up and down. You may think that two pounds is not very much weight for this, but this move is suprisingly intense! Try to complete 12-15 reps.

4) Lower back strengthener: If you lay on your stomach and put all your arms and feet in the air, holding onto the fruitcake straight out in front of you, this will really strengthen those lower back muscles. Hold this “superman” pose for as long as you can, working up to 30 seconds.

Once you have tried all of these moves, I have no idea what to do with your leftover fruitcake. I hope that maybe you will destroy it “accidentally” while you burn calories. If not, at least it was used for something body-beneficial, right? Or, are you just thinking that perhaps I am a fruitcake?

Eva Johnson is an ACE (American Council on Exercise) certified personal trainer, who has not recieved any fruitcakes yet (thank goodness)… She lives in chaos with her husband and two boys. To see her complete blog about her journey to stay sane and in shape, visit www.fitnessbyeva.com.