Americans typically gain close to a pound between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and many then scramble the day after big meals to try and burn extra calories.

Peter Jones says the traditional form of Tae Kwon Do he teaches can help shed pounds.

"It's one of the most aerobic forms of martial arts that there is, and of course it offers all of the internal growth as well. Plus, you get all of the kicks and the self defense and the strikes out of it," says Jones.

On Saturday, he's offering free trial classes.

"Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, everyone eats and what better to do than, on a Saturday morning or afternoon, come by and experience Tae Kwon Do, and learn just about how you can burn off those calories," says Jones.

Josh Spaid, a trainer and manager at this Gold's Gym in Harrisonburg, says the day after Thanksgiving is usually when the gym sees more people looking to burn extra calories with cardio workouts.

"Generally, you burn the larger amount of calories in a given period of time with cardio than the weights, so people do come in a little bit more and focus on the cardiovascular training," says Spaid.

He encourage people to try to gradually loose the extra pounds over a few weeks.

"If you over do it the day after, you're either going to be sore or worn out for the next couple of days, and then that's going to lead to it staying of even longer," says Spaid.