Thanksgiving Week Golf: How to Stay Loose During the Holiday (And Impress Your Family)
Happy Thanksgiving week!
Look, I get it. You're reading this between basting the turkey, helping set up for family, or maybe hiding in the garage for five minutes of peace before the relatives arrive. The golf clubs are sitting in the corner, and you're thinking, "When am I going to play next?"
Here's the thing: Thanksgiving week is actually the perfect time to work on your golf fitness. Not in some intense, gym-rat way—but in a smart, efficient way that keeps you loose, prevents that post-feast stiffness, and has you ready to crush it when you get back on the course next week.
Plus, imagine being the family member who can still touch their toes after three plates of turkey and stuffing. That's a flex in itself.
Why Thanksgiving Week Matters for Your Golf Game
You're About to Eat Your Body Weight in Carbs
Let's be real: tomorrow you're going to eat more in one sitting than most days combined. Mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, rolls, pie, MORE pie. Your body is going to feel... heavy.
But here's what most golfers don't realize: that sluggish, food-coma feeling? It translates directly to your golf swing if you let it compound over a few days. You sit around Thursday, Friday you're in leftovers mode, Saturday you're still recovering, and by the time you get to the course the following week, you feel like you're swinging through molasses.
Family Time = Sitting Time
Thanksgiving means sitting. Sitting at the dinner table. Sitting on the couch watching football. Sitting at the kids' table helping your nephew build a Lego set. All that sitting tightens your hips, lower back, and shoulders—exactly the areas your golf swing needs to be mobile and free.
The Weather is Getting Cold
If you're anywhere outside of Florida or Arizona, it's getting chilly. Cold weather naturally makes your muscles tighter and less flexible. Combine that with holiday eating and sitting, and you've got a recipe for feeling 10 years older when you step up to the first tee.
But Here's The Good News...
Five minutes. That's all you need. Five minutes of the right movements, done consistently through the holiday week, will keep you loose, feeling good, and ready to play your best golf when the dust settles.
And the best part? You can do it anywhere. In the kitchen while the turkey roasts. In the living room during a commercial break. In the driveway before everyone wakes up. Even in the bathroom if you need an escape from Uncle Frank's political opinions.
Your Thanksgiving Week Golf Maintenance Plan
Thursday (Thanksgiving Day): The Morning 5-Minute Reset
Before the chaos begins, before anyone else is awake, give yourself five minutes. Not for meditation or gratitude journaling (though those are great too). For your body.
Why Morning Matters: Your body is going to be under siege today. You're going to eat, drink, sit, and probably stress a little about whether the turkey is done. Starting the day with some movement sets you up to handle it all better.
What To Do:
1. Hip Circles (1 minute) Stand next to the kitchen counter for balance. Lift one knee to hip height and make big circles—5 in each direction. Switch legs. Your hips are about to sit in a chair for hours. Wake them up now.
2. Thoracic Rotations (1.5 minutes) Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hands behind your head. Rotate your upper body left and right, keeping your hips still. This is your golf swing motion. Do 10-12 slow, controlled rotations each direction.
3. Shoulder Rolls and Arm Circles (1 minute) Roll your shoulders backward 10 times, then forward 10 times. Then do arm circles—10 forward, 10 backward. This primes your shoulders for... well, for reaching across the table for more rolls, but also for your next golf swing.
4. Cat-Cow Stretches (1.5 minutes) You can do this standing. Place your hands on your knees, arch your back (look up), then round your back (tuck your chin). Do 8-10 cycles. This mobilizes your entire spine and wakes up your core.
Done. Five minutes. You're now the most prepared person in your household for the day ahead.
Friday (Black Friday): The Recovery Routine
You survived Thanksgiving. Your body feels... different. Maybe you played touch football in the yard and tweaked something. Maybe you just ate your weight in pie and feel like a stuffed sausage.
Skip the Black Friday Shopping Madness, Do This Instead:
Morning: Light Movement (5-7 minutes)
Gentle walking around the block (10 minutes)
Then hit your 5-minute routine focusing on hip openers and lower back stretches
Your goal: work out the stiffness from yesterday's food coma
Afternoon: The "Commercial Break" Challenge
Every commercial break during whatever football game is on, do one golf-specific movement:
Commercial 1: 10 slow torso rotations each side
Commercial 2: 30-second side plank each side
Commercial 3: 10 hip circles each leg
Commercial 4: 20 Russian twists
You'll barely notice you're doing it, and by the end of the game, you've moved more than 90% of Americans today.
Saturday: The "Get Back on Track" Session
By Saturday, the holiday haze is real. You need to reclaim your body.
The Saturday Strategy: 10 Minutes of Focused Work
This is the day to do a slightly longer session. Not a full workout—just 10 minutes of purposeful movement that reminds your body it's capable of playing golf.
The Routine:
3 minutes: Dynamic warm-up (arm circles, leg swings, torso rotations)
4 minutes: Core work (planks, bird dogs, dead bugs—pick any two exercises)
3 minutes: Golf-specific movements (practice your backswing motion slowly, work on your hip rotation, do some balance work on one leg)
Pro Tip: If you have access to a driving range, just go hit a bucket. Not to practice—just to move. Half-swing wedges. Easy 7-irons. Let your body remember what it's supposed to do.
Sunday: Active Recovery + Planning
Sunday is about setting yourself up for success next week.
Morning Routine (5 minutes): Back to basics. Run through the full 5-minute routine you did Thursday morning. By now, these movements should feel natural.
Afternoon Activity: Go for a walk. 20-30 minutes. Nothing intense. Just movement. Bring your spouse, your kids, your dog—whoever will actually get you out the door.
Evening: The Mental Game
Spend 5 minutes visualizing your next round. Not in a woo-woo way—just think about your pre-round routine. Remind yourself that when you get to the course next time, you're going to take five minutes before the first tee to prepare your body properly.
The Real Secret: Making Your Family Think You're Helpful (While Actually Helping Yourself)
Here's a move that works every time:
"Hey, I'm going to go grab something from the car real quick."
Take your 5 minutes in the driveway. Run through your routine. Come back in refreshed. Nobody questions it, and you just took care of yourself.
Or:
"Let me take the dog for a walk."
Even if you don't have a dog. Borrow someone else's. Walk for 15 minutes, do your hip circles and torso rotations in the park when no one's looking. Come back the hero who helped out.
Or my personal favorite:
"I'm going to clean up the garage."
The garage is the perfect place. Close the door, run through your full routine, maybe even grab a club and do some slow-motion swings. Take 15 minutes. Come back in with one box moved. Everyone thinks you're productive.
What Not to Do This Week
Don't Skip Everything and Plan to "Get Back to It Later"
This is the trap. You tell yourself, "It's the holidays, I'll get serious again in January." Then January comes, you're stiff as a board, and you're giving away strokes left and right for the first month.
Five minutes a day through the holidays means you start December ready to roll, not starting from zero.
Don't Go Hard at the Gym
This isn't the week to PR your deadlift or run a marathon. Your body is processing more food than normal. Your sleep is probably off. Your stress is higher. Just maintain. Movement without intensity.
Don't Feel Guilty
If you miss a day, whatever. If you eat an entire pie by yourself (no judgment), fine. This isn't about perfection. It's about doing something rather than nothing.
The Post-Thanksgiving Payoff
Here's what happens if you follow this plan:
When You Get Back to the Course:
You'll step up to the first tee and feel... normal. Not stiff. Not rusty. Not like you took a week off. You'll complete your 5-minute pre-round routine, and your body will respond like it's been doing this consistently—because it has.
Your Playing Partners Will Notice:
They'll show up stiff, complaining about the holidays, struggling through the first few holes. You'll be striping it from hole one. They'll ask what you did differently. You'll smile and say, "Just stayed loose."
You'll Actually Enjoy the Holidays More:
When you take care of your body, you feel better. When you feel better, you're more patient with family, you enjoy the food more, and you don't feel guilty about relaxing.
Five minutes a day is your insurance policy against feeling like crap and playing like crap after the holidays.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my family thinks I'm weird doing exercises during Thanksgiving?
Own it. "Yeah, I'm keeping loose for golf" is a perfectly reasonable answer. Or do it before everyone wakes up. Or in the garage. Or tell them you're stretching to make room for more pie—they'll respect that.
Can I just do the 5MTTT routine every day this week?
Absolutely. That's literally what it's designed for. Five minutes, full-body preparation, golf-specific. Do it Thursday morning before the meal. Do it Friday during commercials. Do it Saturday and Sunday. Boom, you've maintained your golf fitness through the holidays.
What if I don't have access to any equipment?
You don't need any. Everything in this article is bodyweight-based. The only equipment you need is maybe a wall or counter for balance during hip circles. That's it.
Should I try to play golf this weekend?
If you can, great. If not, don't stress. Movement is more important than actual golf right now. Keep your body mobile and prepared, and when you do play next, you'll be ready.
What about Friday leftovers?
Eat them. Enjoy them. Just make sure you're moving between plates. Do your five-minute routine in the morning, stay active throughout the day, and you'll process all that food way better than if you're sedentary.
Your Thanksgiving Week Challenge
Here's my challenge to you:
Five minutes. Every day. Thursday through Sunday.
Just five minutes of purposeful movement. Hip circles, torso rotations, shoulder mobility, core activation. The full 5MTTT routine if you have it. Something rather than nothing if you don't.
Text yourself a reminder right now. Set an alarm. Whatever it takes.
Because here's the truth: the golfers who play their best aren't the ones who work the hardest when it's convenient. They're the ones who stay consistent when it's inconvenient. Thanksgiving week is inconvenient. Do it anyway.
You've got five minutes.
You've got relatives who will talk your ear off for way longer than that. You've got football games with endless commercials. You've got time between cooking and eating. You've got five minutes.
Use them wisely. Your December golf game will thank you.
The 5MTTT Advantage This Holiday Season
Look, you know where this is going. Everything I've described in this article—the five-minute routine, the golf-specific movements, the efficient preparation—that's literally what the 5 Minutes to Tee Time program was built for.
It's designed for real golfers with real lives. Golfers who have Thanksgiving dinner to host. Black Friday shopping to avoid. Family obligations to juggle. Golfers who don't have time for hour-long gym sessions but still want to play their best golf.
The 5MTTT program gives you a systematic, proven routine that:
Takes exactly five minutes
Requires zero equipment
Works anywhere (living room, garage, parking lot, first tee)
Prepares your entire body for golf
Keeps you loose during holidays, travel, busy weeks
It's the routine that ensures you never show up to the course unprepared, no matter what life throws at you.
This Thanksgiving week, give yourself the gift of consistency. Five minutes a day. That's the commitment. That's what separates the golfers who stay sharp from the golfers who start over every time life gets busy.
[Get Instant Access to 5 Minutes to Tee Time →]
Happy Thanksgiving from the 5MTTT team!
Now go enjoy your turkey, spend time with family, and take five minutes for yourself. You've earned it. And your golf game will be better for it.
P.S. - If Uncle Frank starts talking politics, just excuse yourself for a "bathroom break" and do your five-minute routine in there. Problem solved. 😂
5 Minutes to Tee Time: The golf-specific warm-up routine that fits your real life. No gym required, no excuses needed—just five minutes to better golf.
