One of the
greatest gifts of traveling is the ability to leave our every day stresses
miles away and for a short time enter a land of make-believe. For many of us,
our vacation truly ends and reality sets in the moment we jump on the scale
back home. Yikes! Suddenly, our happy vacation memories are replaced with
guilt, and all that we can remember in the moment is how much we ate, and how
little we exercised.
The fact is it can be very difficult to stick to
our fitness regimen while we travel. We have an entirely new schedule, our
sleeping patterns change, and we’re busy having fun and eating everything in
sight. And the real challenge is who wants to travel to the world’s most
beautiful places, only to spend hours of your day in the gym?
We travel to sultry cities like Rio, immersing
ourselves in foreign delicacies (especially food) promising that we’ll work out
when we get home. However, this is flawed logic. While it is good to take “time
off” from our workouts, we still need to burn the calories we consume, or our
bodies store it as fat, fooled into thinking that we’re eating in preparation
for a long winter. And remember, fat comes on a lot easier than it comes off!
Traveling Realities
We eat and drink more when we travel, and we do
not only eat more, we eat the wrong kinds of things. We crowd into the best
restaurants, inhaling things we normally wouldn’t —desserts at every meal,
copious amounts of alcohol, and meals consumed late at night. What this means
is that you need a little exercise more than ever. But be realistic, and don’t
expect to “enjoy” the same level of intensity in your workouts as you do back
home.
Push ups and crunches are your friends.
These two “stand bys” can provide instant fitness
gratification by allowing you to tone muscles and burn calories in a safe and
easy way. You don’t need any equipment, but you will need motivation, and
that’s the hard part. The trick is to make it as fun and interesting as
possible, and hit the floor the second you get inspired so that you don’t talk
yourself out of it. If you are in your hotel room, put on some music. Many
hotels around the world offer the Fashion TV channel, which always plays great,
sexy background music. Besides, watching skinny little things working the
runway may be just the inspiration you need. If the weather is nice and you are
in a beautiful setting, take it outside! Find a quiet spot on the beach with a
gentle breeze, and knock out as many pushups as you can. There is a reason that
the military swears by push-ups, and talk about party pumps; there’s nothing
better!
Make it part of the vacation experience.
Many of the world’s hottest destinations,
including major cities have outdoor fitness areas where you can have a great
workout, perhaps better than you might have in a gym. So many times I hear
people say, “Oh, I can only work out in a gym.” Really? Who made that rule?
If your vacation takes you to a tropical beach,
it may be hard to fit exercise into a busy sun-bathing schedule, but it will be
well worth it. And, one of the best workouts you can have is right there at
your feet. Jogging on the beach is much better on your knees than even your
fitness center treadmills, and it works your calf muscles in different ways than
what you may be used to. Plus, the sand serves as an excellent exfoliate– you
emerge from your jog with toned legs, a healthier heart, and sexy toes. Who
doesn’t want that?
One of the best and easiest ways that one can
take in a bit of exercise while traveling is to do yoga. It can be done
virtually anywhere, from a hotel room to a sandy beach, or if you’re into
exhibitionist yoga—from the middle of Red Square in Moscow. One can easily
perform an hour of yoga positions by following the simple directions from one
of the many yoga books out there, such as Rodney Yee’s, “Yoga: The Poetry of
the Body.” You will be amazed at how great you will feel afterwards, and you
will have increased energy and stamina to enjoy your vacation.
Changing your fitness patterns for a short time
is one of the best things you can do to overcome plateaus and actually spice up
your workouts back home. When you travel, you are often forced to pursue other
forms of exercise than what you are used to, and this may actually shock your
muscles into growth. It also forces you to be a bit creative, and you may bring
back home an innovative new workout in addition to an awesome tan.
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Bryan Herb is a former personal trainer and is co-owner of Zoom Vacations®, a US company that creates stylish international private events and gay group vacations to the world’s hottest destinations. Learn more about them at www.zoomvacations.com or call 773.772.9666.