I get it, working out on vacation doesn’t always sound appealing. I mean, it’s vacation. It’s a time to rest, recover, and cast the responsibilities of life aside for a couple of precious days. However, working out on vacation can have a ton of benefits and add to the benefits of unplugging for a few days.
Let’s talk about it.
Working Out on Vacation: The Why
Working out on vacation might sound like a drag but, actually, getting in a sweat session can make your vacation even better.
How?
Because exercise has been clinically proven to boost your mood and mental state! I don’t know about you, but when I’m on vacation I already have a little mood boost. Add to that the natural high of an efficient workout and I am flying HIGH!
Working out on vacation can also keep your digestion moving despite any tough travel days or new foods. Exercise is an excellent way to promote healthy digestion. Getting in some movement on vacay keeps that travel bloat or constipation at bay leaving you with a happy gut ready to eat all the vacation treats you’ve been dreaming of.
You never have to earn a treat or meal.
But, when on vacation, odds are you’re eating out a lot more than usual. This uptick in calories can cause a bit of bloating and even slight weight gain if you’re traveling for a long time. This is nothing to worry about and nothing that a couple of days back in “ordinary life” won’t reverse. However, working out on vacation gives you a little bit more wiggle room, calorically, if this is something you’re concerned about.
On top of all of this, exercising on vacation keeps you from losing all semblance of a routine. If you’re used to moving your body every day or exercising three days a week, chances are, moving during vacation is going to feel good.
Besides, even if you only exercise once during vacation, returning to your workout routine when you get home will be easier than if you haven’t.
How Do I Workout On Vacation?
Here’s the thing, working out on vacation doesn’t have to look like a 45-minute lifting session in the gym.
This study showed that people saw health improvements from workouts like golfing, Nordic walking, and E-biking. These aren’t what people usually think of when they picture “working out on vacation” but these activities raised the participants’ heart rates and promoted muscle growth.
Something as simple as participating in that beach volleyball game, going for a swim, taking the hotel yoga class, or hitting your steps goal (or beyond) is enough to keep your body feeling strong.
This is why, when people go to Europe and spend all day walking, clocking 20k + steps a day, they come home feeling extra lean.
Now, if you know you won’t be walking a lot and you’re not on the kind of vacay that lends itself to a bike ride, or a swim, or otherwise, a more traditional workout might be your best bet.
We love to have some bands and other travel equipment in our bag to make a hotel workout session easy and efficient.
We also like to remember that working out on vacation doesn’t have to be long or complicated to be impactful. Keeping things simple makes holiday workouts easy to squeeze in between activities or before you kick off your adventures for the day.
So, how do you work out on vacation?
- Plan an activity appropriate to your vacay that will get your heart rate up and your body moving.
- Put yourself through a quick circuit in your hotel or wherever you’re staying. Keep it simple, squats, push-ups, dead bugs, and cycle through it however many times you feel.
The main thing is to move!
As someone who used to never work out on vacation and who now does, I can tell you that it makes a huge difference in how I feel.
But I don’t get crazy about it. Not getting my workout in does not ruin my day or make me anxious about enjoy food.
Rather, I focus on getting movement in when I can, and when I can’t, I enjoy the rest knowing that rest is equally productive for my body.
So what do you think? On your next trip, will you try working out on vacation? Maybe just start by packing the appropriate clothes and see what happens. And if you do end up working out on vacation, tell us about it!
We’d love to hear if you felt like it made a difference in your trip!
Did you enjoy reading this? Here are a couple more blogs we think you’d love: The 15-Minute Workout, 10 Tips For Eating Healthy At A Restaurant, Let’s Talk About Stress, Ba-by! Stress Management For Dancers
