How to Stay Fit while Traveling
Summer is upon us, kids about to be on vacation and for a lot of folks summer vacation is finally here. As most of you know my wife and I love to travel and have been doing a fair share of traveling in the last few months. If you want to check out some pictures please follow our Instagram feed.. Yea they are mostly running pictures, but you will get to see some sweet backdrops.
Anyway, back on topic… so I get a few questions from athletes asking me to adjust training and for advice on - How to stay fit while on vacation. Keeping up with your training is particularly important if you are in a key phase of your training cycle. Regardless if you are traveling for business or pleasure the entire process seems to throw your normal routine out of sync.
Most often when traveling you are limited by the equipment in your hotel or if you are renting a house out then the safest routes in a neighborhood. Not to mention that when most people travel, the itinerary is full of things to do, leaving little or no time for a workout, let alone a long quality session to be done. Then you have all the “non-approved” food one must try… for some reason your choices for healthy meals tend to be nonexistent. And let's face it, if you are on vacation it's time to indulge and let loose, right? True.. However, with a little planning and balance one can have a blast, enjoy the local foods and still make time for your workout… even if it's a modified one.
So, this brings me to share a few things I use to help me balance my training and still enjoy all the delicious local fare each country has to offer.
Training on Vacation
The Workout
A little planning goes a long way; a quick internet search will yield information on local run/tri clubs. Reach-out and join them on a workout, this is one of the best ways to meet locals (when in the Riviera Maya join our group -- www.tulumrunning.com).
Another option is to find a park or path to get your millage in. I like to use Google Maps or Map my Run to find routes and modify them on the go. Personally I find that running around a new city is one of the best ways to see a city. If you get lost just ask someone, people are always happy to help. Most important thing is to be safe, go out early morning, take a cell phone (maybe even take some pics of the scenery along the way, more on this below) and some extra cash. If you get too far out find a coffee shop, get a treat and call an Uber.
Strength Training
This is one of the easiest thing to do, you can even do it in the comfort of your room. But who wants to do that? If you can, get outside, find a park, or even hard surfaces around town will serve perfectly for you to do some box jumps, sit-ups, pull-ups and a multitude of high intensity exercises. Get creative and find your “gym without walls”.
The key is to maintain active while traveling, in particular for your metabolic system, this will protect against packing on those vacation pounds from all the delicious food you will be eating. I recommend short, but intense workouts while traveling. Spend no more than 30 minutes, after all you’re on vacation. You’ve got better things to do. If really short on time, just do the strength and conditioning videos I have put out… they will take you less than 10 min and we all have 10 min to spare.
Eating While on Vacation
I have to be honest this is not an easy thing to do. But not impossible. I have found that awareness is really all that is needed. I typically share a plate of food with my wife, I also control my consumption by just having a bite and careful not to overindulge. If you can control yourself with just a bite you will be OK. Yes this takes a lot of self control… but using this method will allow you to enjoy your vacation and not set yourself back in your training.At the end of the day it’s important to maintain focus on what your goals are.
A little planning goes a long way. Talk to your coach to help modify training during your vacations and modify workouts to fit your constraints. Remember it's not the end of the world to miss a few workouts what is important is for your to come back from your trip recharged and focused on the task at hand. If you have an upcoming trip and need some help, please reach out.
Also, please follow our Instagram account @pranaendurance if you have not done so already (I’ve been posting fun running pics from our travels) and tag your pictures using the hashtag #pranaendurace. As always, if you like this blog, please share with your friends, using the icons below.