Qualified Personal Trainer Tom Robinson gives valuable insight into how you can stay fit while travelling.
One of the most common fitness goals we as personal trainers hear is that people wish to lose weight leading up to a holiday. However, after spending months getting into shape, many of us end up undoing this hard work whilst away enjoying ourselves – the average adult can gain up to a shocking 5 pounds of fat whilst travelling.
Here are some tips to ensure you stay fit whilst on holiday:
PLAN FUN BUT PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
You may wish to avoid the gym for a week or two, in order to spend some quality time doing things you really enjoy; this is absolutely fine! There are plenty of things you can do whilst on holiday that are both fun, and keep you fit at the same time. How about going hiking, swimming, rock climbing or surfing?
WAKE UP EARLY
Let’s face it, nobody wants to wake up early when they’re on holiday. However, forcing yourself to get up 30 minutes earlier to do a workout gets it out of the way first thing. It’ll also stop you dreading the thought of doing it at the end of the day when you have no energy.
GO ON YOUR OWN WALKING TOUR
There’s no better way to discover a new city than on foot. Unlike being on a bus, walking allows you to get a real feel of the atmosphere of the city. You can also find hidden gems that you would never know existed, while saving some money at the same time!
TRACK CALORIE CONSUMPTION & EAT LESS
The only way you can guarantee you’re not over indulging when travelling is by tracking your food consumption. To make sure you don’t over eat when away, use My Fitness Pal to track your calories; it’s super easy to use! If you’re eating out and don’t have the exact meal to put into the app, just pick a similar meal from their database as an approximation.
It’s also no surprise that eating less allows us to stay slimmer. However, when travelling this well-known fact seems to get forgotten. Try not to snack between meals, only eat out at a restaurant for one meal, and skip starters and desserts.
PLAN YOUR STAY
When choosing your hotel, aim to find one which has a gym on site or nearby. That way you can wake up in the morning and follow your usual workout routine, without missing any days and hindering progress. If your hotel gym has limited equipment then may you need to get creative with what you have. Make your workouts more challenging by slowing down the lowering potions of your lifts to increase time under tension, also try adding super sets, and drop sets to your exercises to really push your muscles to failure.
PACK SMART
If you don’t have a gym nearby or at your hotel, you could pack some portable fitness equipment to work out with in your room. Our go to piece of portable equipment is the TRX suspension trainer; they are great as they are light weight and will easily fit into your suitcase.
Here is a full body workout that you can perform using a suspension trainer:
ROUND 1
10 x TRX Chest Press (15 sec rest)
10 x TRX Row (15 sec rest)
10 x TRX Squat (15 sec rest)
10 x TRX Push-up (30 sec rest)
ROUND 2
10 x TRX Low Row (15 sec rest)
10 x TRX Atomic Push-up (15 sec rest)
10 x TRX Lunge (15 sec rest)
10 x TRX Bicep Curl (30 sec rest)
30 second rest
ROUND 3
10 x TRX Standing Rollout (15 sec rest)
10 x TRX Mountain Climber (15 sec rest)
10 x TRX Hip Press (15 sec rest)
10 x TRX Power Pull
