Spice up your Thanksgiving with the turkey-inspired tempo workout

It’s Thanksgiving weekend, and runners across the country will be lacing up their shoes for their annual Turkey Trot. If you’re not among them this year, you can still get a good workout in and add a bit of festivity to your routine. This Turkey Tempo is an excellent way to take advantage of the extra fuel you’ll be getting at your Thanksgiving feast–after you’ve had your obligatory post-turkey nap, of course.

The purpose of this workout is to learn how to balance speed with endurance and how to increase the intensity on tired legs. The session is divided into three 9-minute sections, during which your goal is to gradually increase the intensity every three minutes.

Think of it as if you were cooking a turkey – the first three minutes, you’re preheating the oven; the second three minutes, you’re cooking your turkey until it’s just right, and the final three minutes, you’re cranking up the temperature (i.e., pace) to add some colour to that bird.

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Give this workout a try and have some fun with it–then enjoy your Thanksgiving feast or refuel with leftovers afterward!

The workout

Warmup: 15-20 minutes easy, followed by 2-3 30-second strides to get your legs up to speed

Workout: 3 x 9 minutes, with 2 minutes rest in between each

Cooldown: 10-15 minutes easy