Whether it’s a week away with your partner or a short work trip, it is important to stick to some sort of exercise routine in order to maintain your fitness. Don’t allow work trips or holidays to get in the way of your fitness; make them part of the solution.
Why should you exercise while travelling? Exercising relaxes body and mind, and distracts from any stresses you might be experiencing when traveling. Exercising can also be a fun way to see a place. Not taking a break from gym routines also maintains and improves your fitness.
How do you stay active while travelling? Here are some travel workout hacks
When visiting a city, consider walking more than taking tour buses or public transport. Not only do you get a better feel for a place, you can easily clock up tens of thousands of steps on a city tour. Schedule plenty of hydration stops, though, so do sit down and relax in the odd café or museum.
Schedule workouts for your trip.
This is especially useful when travelling for work. Aim to get up a little earlier to go for a run, use the hotel leisure centre, or do this after work. Maybe you can even schedule your appointments to free you up more so you can explore around you while going for a run. Make it work for yourself. You will be more focused and relaxed in the appointments if you know you have something to look forward to.
Use handy Apps to guide you.
Strava is one of those handy Apps that will map out a good running route in any place in the world. You will be able to keep up with your usual running routine, and you even get to see more of a place than if you exercised indoors.
Look up bike-share programmes in the city you are going to.
Most large cities these days have bike rental programmes. Make sure to check them out and sign up before you leave so you can hop on and enjoy when you get there.
If you can’t really run outdoors where you are going or don’t have a leisure centre at your disposal, consider asking your personal trainer at GymPlus to put together a workout programme you can do in your hotel room. A couple of physio bands, some 2l water bottles as weights, and chairs are all useful tools when working out in a hotel room. Get creative!
Whatever way you choose to exercise when travelling, the most important thing to remember is that you can schedule your workouts into your days, whether you’re at home or away. But don’t stress about it too much. If you have booked a reasonably active holiday that will have you walking around exploring and jumping into the swimming pool a couple of times a day, you are probably doing pretty well already.
One final note: always consider everything you put in your mouth. Even when away, aim to eat 3 healthy meals, choose fresh fruit and vegetables as snacks and make them a big part of your meals. Keep hydrated by drinking lots of water and alternating an alcoholic drink with a non-alcoholic drink at night. Safe travels!
