Just because you're on holiday you shouldn't forget about fitness
Fitness and strength does start to decrease after about 2 weeks of inactivity, so it is good to stay active, whilst abroad.
Far too many people use traveling as an excuse to not stay in shape, so we've enlisted the help of Jen Solomon, Fitness First London Personal Trainer of the Year to help share her tips and tricks on the perfect vacation workout.
She explains:
Everyone has their own innate activity pattern. We already know physical activity in the daily routine helps in conditioning the body in a natural way, calisthenics help in regaining the natural conditioning of the entire body. They help in toning and strengthening the muscles and also help in improving the overall fitness of the body. Your body can move in anyway that is natural to you.
Staying in shape while traveling is more challenging, but it is certainly possible. If you are determined, the key is planning and preparation. I have taught my clients to treat exercise as a way of life. This way, you are automatically drawn to exercising even during vacation time. I have gotten some of the best workouts of my life while traveling. It is refreshing to train in new environments and surroundings.
When I was training for a marathon, I had a 1 week trip to Italy, so I packed my trainers and had beautiful scenic runs in the hills of Umbria, which was a nice change of scenery from London, and also meant I did a lot of hill training. There is nothing more natural for the human body than running. We’ve been doing it for millions of years!
Use a holiday as an opportunity to add a new dimension to your training. If it’s a beach holiday, running on the sand consumes more energy than on a flat surface, so you’ll burn 1.6 times more calories per mile. Start with short 20 min runs and wear trainers though, as it is a lot more hard work for your ankles, and takes some getting used to.
If you’re training in hot weather, remember to stay hydrated, you’ll need more fluid than usual.
Enjoy doing something different!
Going on holiday is a great opportunity to shake up your usual fitness routine. If you have light pieces of equipment like resistance bands, TRX or a skipping rope, they can be incorporated.
Most people who train regularly forget about calisthenics (good old fashioned body weight training), so it makes a nice supplement to your usual training, you don’t need any equipment at all, and you can forget how hard it actually is. All you need to take with you is a good pair of trainers and some comfortable sports clothing.
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Reps |
Recovery |
Notes |
|
burpees |
4 |
10 |
|
|
|
Speed skater – (alternating side lunges) |
4 |
10 |
|
Get really low to the ground |
|
Wall squat (stress position) |
4 |
1 |
|
Time 1: Time 2: Time 3: Time 4: |
|
Press ups |
4 |
10 |
|
|
|
Cross back leg lunge |
4 |
10 |
|
Cross 1 leg behind the other into a low “curtsey” |
|
Wide leg squat |
4 |
10 |
|
Really hits the glutes |
|
All fours glute extension |
4 |
10 |
|
Keep the leg your raising straight to hit the glute |
|
Dips |
4 |
10 |
|
Off a firm chair |
|
V- sits |
4 |
10 |
|
Arms and legs off the ground |
|
Calf raise |
4 |
10 |
|
|
|
Ab crunches |
4 |
10 |
|
Come only 30’ off the ground |
|
Quadruped |
4 |
10 each side |
|
|
|
Lying back extensions (cobra) |
4 |
10 |
|
|
|
Cool Down Stretch
|
The routine: make it metabolic (fat burning as well as strength conditioning by going from one exercise to the next without stopping) and then have a full 2-3 min rest before repeating.
Femalefirst Taryn Davies
Tagged in Muscles Travel exercise Train Travel Health fitness tips