Stay in Shape When You're Travelling

No Gym? No Problem – Here's How to Stay in Shape When You're Travelling

Travelling can be a fine way to stay active and fit, especially if you’re into the sort of travel that involves plenty of outdoor activities. But all too often it ends up being a great excuse to fall out of good habits. After all, holidays are supposed to be break from the grinding routine of ordinary life.
 
Travel offers a chance to indulge yourself and live in the moment, it’s all too easy to forget about your workout regime in favour of another cocktail by the pool. And let’s not forget that, for many of us, travel is, in part, about gastronomic discovery, so it’s easy to end up eating more than usual.
 
But holidays and good health don’t have to be mutually exclusive, in fact time away from work and other everyday commitments can present a rare opportunity to prioritise your health and fitness. Who’s to say you can’t return from your travels feeling fitter than ever?
 
Even if you don’t fancy focusing too heavily on fitness, it’s perfectly possible to maintain some semblance of your regular routine.  A little discipline goes a long way and let’s face it, returning from a holiday is miserable enough without realising you’ve put on half a stone. No one wants to accompany the crushing return to reality with a crash diet.
 
It’s also worth thinking about the positive impact keeping fit can have on your well-being while you’re travelling. Consider how much more fulfilling your adventures are likely to be if you’re feeling fit and energetic. 
 

Working Out – Think Quality, Not Quantity

It’s unlikely you want to spend ages working out when there’s fun to be had, so it makes sense to prioritise quick effective work outs.
 
High intensity work outs that get your heart rate up are extra effective because it can take your body as long as 48 hours to return to a normal state, meaning your workout has an afterlife – in theory your body will still be burning calories hours later when you’re winding down by the pool!
 
High Intensity Interval Training can be a great way get great results when you’re short on time and access to a gym. You can easily do an effective workout in your hotel or dorm room.
 
The key to High Intensity Interval Training is in the name – you need to intersperse really intense heart-racing exercise with brief recovery periods. Try performing burpees, push ups, squats or sprints in intense 30 second bursts - followed by 30 seconds of recovery – and repeat 20 times.
 
 

No Workout Necessary

Of course, unless you have a strict workout regime to maintain, you can always substitute rigorous keep-fit sessions for fun activities that happen to double up as relatively serious exercise.
 
Obviously, the activities available to you will depend on where you are but there are some near-universal options you can typically depend on. Getting on a bike is usually a good bet.
 
The beauty of biking is that it’s a great way to get around and see the sights. If you’re in a city you shouldn’t have to look far to find a bike hire depot. In fact, some of our Generator destinations (Madrid, Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Miami and Stockholm) boast their very own bike hire facilities.
 
If you’re anywhere near the great outdoors exercise can take care of itself courtesy of some rigorous hiking. The more mountainous the better – think of those quads!  
 
Again, depending on your location the options are endless and usually great fun – surfing, swimming, rock climbing, kayaking, yoga… We could go on. Whatever you’re doing, the main thing is to push yourself a bit, so if you’re cycling make sure you take on some steep gradients and get that heart rate up.
 
 

Everything in Moderation

 Everyone’s different but most people’s idea of a good time on holiday doesn’t involve a strict regime of self-denial. Whether you have a weakness for the local cuisine or the you’re partial to the odd heavy night, travel tends to entail a bit of over-indulgence. The key is to counterbalance your excesses, so you aren’t constantly overdoing it. Sadly, staying in shape does require a bit of dietary discipline.
 
Consider enjoying some downtime away from the bars and street food. You don’t have to gorge every night, in fact, you may actually have a better experience if you take some time out in between partying.
 
Our everyday dietary habits often go out of the window when we’re travelling but you don’t have to abandon them completely. If you‘re staying in a Generator property why not take advantage of the kitchen and prepare something healthy and nutritious for yourself – it’s a great way to offset your indulgences and save a bit of money into the bargain.