Tips For Working Out On Holiday
So, you’ve spent months getting in shape, possibly in preparation for an upcoming holiday, but with all the excitement of a trip abroad comes the prospect of time off from your training regime. When you’ve been keeping to a controlled workout plan it can be pretty daunting taking time away from the gym, especially as this seems much more of a likely possibility with lockdown restrictions easing. Understandably you don’t want to undo all of your hard work, but just as your gains didn’t appear overnight, they won’t disappear within a week or two either. However, if we’ve learnt anything from lockdown it’s that you don’t actually need a gym to work out. Here are our tips for working out while away.
Bodyweight training can be an effective type of strength training, it’s also a great skill to master your own bodyweight. A common misconception is that bodyweight training isn’t as effective as free weight training, however, gymnasts for example are among some of the strongest athletes, and the basis of their training involves bodyweight. Moreover, bodyweight exercises engage your whole body. Most bodyweight exercises are classified as closed kinetic chain exercises (CKC), where your hand or foot is fixed to a surface, like the floor. Movement at any point in the kinetic chain requires you to move other joints in the chain, creating resistance in multiple areas, hence you are not just working one part of your body.
Depending on the type of bodyweight exercise, these could even be done inside a hotel room. A great way to formulate a bodyweight training plan is to select a few exercises and create a circuit. If you want to up the intensity you can perform these as a HIIT circuit, check out our post on HIIT training to learn more on this.
Here’s an example of a bodyweight circuit:
- 20 squats
- 30 lunges (15 each leg)
- 30 crunches
- 20 jump squats
- 10 push ups
This would be one complete circuit which can then be repeated four to five times. There are so many different bodyweight exercises focusing on different areas of the body. You can use the chart below to formulate your own bodyweight circuit.
For a simpler approach, just moving your body each day can be a great way to stay in shape while on vacation. The plus side of an early morning run is that it allows you explore your surroundings without so many tourists around. Though if running isn’t your thing try swimming, hiking or cycling; and if you’re really yearning for your gym fix you may even be able to find a pay per day gym local to where you’re staying. The main thing to focus on is actually enjoying your holiday, you’ve earned it! And if you can get in a few workouts while enjoying your holiday that’s an added bonus.
Next up, find out how to optimise you diet here.