Do you feel like every time you travel you end up taking 10 steps backwards in your health and fitness journey? Many people think exercise and travel don’t go together and struggle to stay active while away.
Introducing Whitney, personal trainer and founder of FittSiss who has practical and realistic tips for staying active while travelling (and not feeling like it is ruining your trip).
From gaining what I like to call a few extra kilograms of ‘Holiday Fluff’, to losing your hard earnt fitness and strength, we usually find holidays throw people’s routines off, making it hard to keep fitness journeys on track. Returning home and heading back to work after holidays usually sees people looking for a way to shed the ‘Holiday Fluff’ or build back up to say running those 10kms again.
Sound familiar?
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I see this never-ending pattern all year round with my clients and trust me I’ve been there myself! These experiences made me think, how can you stay active and motivated during holidays, or frequent business trips, so you don’t fall into this trap, whilst still living in the moment, relaxing, and being out of normal food and exercise routine while on holiday.
I am here to let you know you can stay strong, healthy and fit while travelling, and still enjoy yourself. Here are my tips for travelling so that you can ‘have your cake and eat it too’!
Find your ‘WHY’
Firstly, we need to stop thinking of exercise as punishment or a chore. Reshape the way you think, and ask yourself what’s your ‘WHY’ behind exercise. For example, I exercise because I enjoy feeling strong, powerful and energised, it’s my ‘Me’ time and it helps me feel accomplished and like I’ve achieved something in my day.
These feelings come with me even when I travel, even though the type of exercise I incorporate into my day might be different than what I do when I’m at home. Just 5-10min of exercise before my day starts helps to keep me feeling energised and ready for the day of adventure.
Anytime. Anywhere.
Next, we need to think about exercise itself. Find ways to exercise, or stay physically active, anytime, anywhere!
- You can even start before you leave, walk around the airport while you wait to take off instead of sitting scrolling on your phone (I mean you’re going to be sitting the entire flight so you may as well stretch out those legs while you can)
- Take the stairs instead of the lift.
- Walk instead of catching an Uber or the underground.
- If you’re spending a lot of time sitting, try some seated stretches or ankle, shoulder or neck rolls to help keep the joints juicy and the blood pumping.
K.I.S.S (Keep. It. Simple. Sally)
When you can, incorporate these exercises into your day. It is an easy-to-follow workout that will move your entire body, and the best thing is you can adapt and modify as you need and it can literally be done anywhere – you don’t need a large hotel room or a gym.
Complete 1 exercise then move onto the next exercise with minimal rest, complete x3 rounds if you have time.
- 10-12 Push ups
- 10-12 Body weight Squats
- 10-12 Lunges
- 10-12 Reverse crunches
Finish each round with a suitcase carry (If you don’t have the space to walk, march on the spot 30sec, change sides and 30sec)
*Note: each of these exercises can easily be adapted to suit your fitness level see video below for examples.
Use whatever time you have available to complete this circuit every other day or if your really short for time just complete one exercise at any given time during your day.
Ok let’s be realistic…
The main thing I hear is that exercise is the last thing you want to be thinking about whilst trying to enjoy your holiday (or travel for work), so its important to keep goals realistic and achievable. Every little bit counts towards the bigger picture, so even if it’s 5min of exercise here and there, or a few 15min sessions per week then that’s great!
We don’t need to be all or nothing when traveling, find that sweet spot and be happy knowing that you are still making progress.
Need some help and advice to stay active while you travel? FittSiss offers sessions via Zoom to keep you moving and help you reach whatever your personal exercise and activity goals are. For more information about zoom PTs and guidance on workouts you can do while you travel contact Whitney – FittSiss.PersonalTraining@gmail.com
