Oh the Places We Will Go...Fitness and Travel

Fitting Fitness into your Travel and Vacation Plans

Photo by Vicko Mozara on Unsplash

It’s that time of year where it seems like everyone is headed somewhere be it to the cabin, the lake, a road trip or a destination vacation. How fun! We can’t wait to hear about all of your adventures. Every year, we get questions about how to keep fitness in your vacation and travel plans. 

In a perfect world, travel and vacation plans are perfectly timed with our training plans and goal events. However, In reality, when we take into account vacation time, kids schedules, family requests and availability, it seems that more often than not travel and vacation plans intersect in perfectly horrible timing for training and goal events. 

So, what to do? Give up on a goal? Not schedule an event? Not really what we have in mind! Instead we’d like you to approach the challenge of sensibly adding training to your travel  routine. This means finding the balance of time to train and time spent seeing the sights or playing with the kids. It means being creative and re-framing what “training” looks like and it means including the challenge of eating and drinking in a way that will support your training goals. 

And yes, it is a challenge!

YOUR CHOICE

There are several ways to approach travel and vacation. Some is based on personal preference and some based on what your body and mind need. This time can be used either to give you a recovery week (i.e. you have built training in the weeks before and need a planned rest break) or just a maintenance week.

A good place to start is to look at how close a goal event is and based on that decide what do you need? If it is a big family vacation you are planning, you could intentionally building your training with the vacation as a recovery week. Taking a week off of focused training is a great chance to recover physically and mentally and take out any stress of feeling obligated to hit miles for the week. 

On the other hand, vacationing in a new location can be a great motivator to exercise. Think about all there is to explore by hiking, swimming, running, cycling etc. These are all great ways to boost fitness and even have friends or family join you with the idea that a maintenance week will let your fitness build. Remember, consistent training is key to progressing. 

Fitness on vacation all depends on what options you have available, the type of trip you are on and the expectations from family and friends. Some activities you might want to do may not be feasible depending on temperature, location or if they take a lot of time away from family and friends. Often the goal on vacation is to get away and relax or spend quality time with family so we don’t want working out to become stressful. If trying to fit in your “normal” workouts is too stressful, try to change your expectations and plan for shorter workouts when you can. Look at this as a chance to explore your fitness options in a new location and have fun fitting in whatever workouts you can. Change of activity is often good for our bodies.

For business travel, we have found it can either be easier to fit in some shorter workouts or it can be super challenging to fit in any at all. Sometimes without the usual tasks of day to day (walking the dog, driving to work, making lunches, etc) people find there is more time to go for a short run or hit the hotel gym. Other times, the schedule is so packed with meetings and all day activities as well as happy hours and dinners that finding a moment to yourself is almost impossible. Remember that taking even a few minutes for yourself (even if you are mentally tired) to do some kind of movement/workout can help you maintain fitness while giving you a mental break.  

If you are very close to an event, try maintaining a similar training routine just cutting back training time however much you need. If you have 30 minutes, use that 30 minutes! If it’s 15 minutes, use it! Be careful not to hammer out short workouts because you can. Keep the intensity of your workouts appropriate. Make sure you talk to your coach about the best approach to making it all work. 

EYES ON THE PRIZE

What is the background conversation in your head about your upcoming travel? Approaching travel and vacation with the idea that it can either enhance or maintain your fitness (and sanity) can save you, IF you create a plan to make it work. This mindset is crucial! 

Outline what type of workouts you think you will be able to accomplish and where they might fit in. Then once on your trip, work towards fulfilling your plan. Keep in mind you will need to be flexible! Sometimes fitting in workouts isn’t the biggest challenge. Fitting in quality sleep and quality food can be the bigger challenge.  

We know it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking I am on vacation and can eat/drink anything and everything. Yes, enjoy yourself!  But, remind yourself about when you feel your best - sensible eating and getting in consistent workouts. 

Planning on a short workout in the morning? What eating and drinking is appropriate the day and evening before so you are able to have a satisfying workout? You can still enjoy yourself but moderate your intake. Keeping some consistency with your routine at home can help you sleep better, feel better and maybe even make you more enjoyable to travel with. 

YOU HAVE OPTIONS

Sadly, it is ridiculously difficult to bring along the equipment you might be used to at home. Wetsuits take up a lot of room, we can’t carry dumbbells in our suitcases and It is really hard to bring a bike along for casual travel. Airlines are getting better about not charging for sporting equipment as often but it is still a lot of work to pack up a bike and bring it along not to mention dealing with the (possibly) disbelieving stare of a spouse. Renting one isn’t nearly as satisfying as pounding out a wonderful road course on a rental that doesn’t fit you well (not to mention packing bike shoes etc). So, before you go, research what local gyms are available, what equipment they have or classes they offer. A cycle studio or class can provide a great cycle specific workout should that be your preference or maybe there is a local pool to at least do a few laps. No, it’s not the same but that is okay!

Running is usually easier. Not every place is conducive to a long run or a particular workout so instead use running as a way to explore a new city. Take your time, take some selfies and enjoy the new scenery. It is amazing what you can see and learn when out exploring by foot. Early in the AM you can often see a city while it is still sleeping before the bustle of the day. Maybe you see the fishermen bringing in the daily catch or run by the doors of the bakery starting to bake the bread for the day. If you have time, see if you can research a local running club or 5k, park run or fun run. Most clubs and events welcome out-of-towners! Make sure to do your homework if you plan on joining a group run so you know where you are going and can get yourself where you need to be for any reason. 

Another idea is that there are a host of YouTube, Prime and other videos available that can be done anywhere. Want to get in a short strength workout that requires no gear? We have two full body strength routines available on our YouTube channel that require no gear. So no excuses! Try them out! 

If traveling for business, try and take a walk for a break (planning for appropriate shoes and freshening wipes if necessary). Explore the area around your hotel on foot. Find stairs. Use the local gyms. If you have to, use a treadmill but plan for shorter workouts if you are not used to running on a treadmill.

PLAN IT OUT

Are you someone who gets stuck in that trap of if you don’t have time for a full workout you bag it all? Remember, something is better than nothing! Get in what you can. 
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The best tip we can give you is to do something in the morning! It can be much easier to get something in before the crazy of the day begins. Those morning workouts will also help you make better choices during the day about what you eat and how much you move. They can also help make up for a little over indulgence the night before.

Breaking up your normal workout routine can sometimes enhance your fitness. The body responds to different stimulus. Who knows? Maybe this break and new type of exercise is just what you need to help you reach that next goal. Try exploring by hiking or finding as many flights of stairs as you can. Try a rowing workout instead of a treadmill if you are stuck inside. Drop into a yoga or pilates class. Research your options for where you are staying and what is nearby. Get out of your own box and try something new and fun!

Recently client Leslie E was vacationing and deliberately planned a rest day near a particular lake. This lake had a path and trails around it conducive to getting in runs. Way to go, Leslie! 
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Along with exercise make sure you plan to fuel your workouts and find those fruits and vegetables that are sometimes hard to find when traveling, drink water and take movement breaks whenever you can. 

We hope this gives you a few things to think about and will help you learn how to keep fitness a part of your routine even when you are away from home or the things you are used to.  

Get creative, play, and have fun!