Everyone likes traveling, you get to see new sights, experience new things, and eat new food. It’s great for the mind as well, easing you of your worries, allowing you to escape from the monotony of your everyday life and simply be in the moment and have fun. Often, however, traveling also has that post-travel disappointment of finding out that you’re a couple of pounds heavier, or that your strength gains went down again.
Seeing such a change is inevitable, traveling often jolts us out of our regular routine- fitness and diet routine included. You might be traveling to get your well-deserved vacation after a tough project, or you’re planning to pop a white gold wedding ring or band to propose to your partner while on holiday- regardless, it’s best to stay in shape even while out and about. And that’s what we’re going to talk about. Below are some fitness and health tips to make sure you’re still in shape even while traveling.
Calisthenics Can Be Done Anywhere
We’re used to modern conveniences, even in fitness and exercises. We have gyms that have the full set of equipment to make training ergonomic and efficient that we sometimes forget that we can exercise without them. After all, we have age-old fitness exercises within everyone’s disposable: calisthenic exercises. Don’t forget that even traditional bodyweight exercises such as squats and push-ups are still very much effective. They can be done almost anywhere too, making them the perfect travel exercise.
Eat According to Plan
While it’s good to satisfy your palate every now and then, it’s better to stay within your macros as much as possible. This doesn’t mean you have to limit the type of food and delicacy you eat when you’re traveling, it simply means to eat within your limits. Avoid stuffing yourself with that delicious ramen or goulash, you can eat but only within your macronutrient limit of the day. This allows you to enjoy a wide variety of tastes, while still being healthy. While you’re at it, sample their vegetarian dishes too, they’re always a good place to eat healthily.
Pack Your Fitness Tracker
Don’t fall into the assumption that because it’s a holiday, you need to drop everything fitness and health-related. This is can be a habit that eventually ruins your journey to good health. To keep yourself from doing this, always bring your fitness tracker with you. It will help you keep track of the calories you burn and consume, and keep you on top of your fitness metrics.
Bring Resistance Bands With You
There are some muscle groups that are difficult to hit with calisthenic exercises alone. Especially if you’re predominantly training using free weights, calisthenics can be something of a difficulty. This is where resistance bands can help you. Resistance bands are great fitness equipment: they’re lightweight, can be packed in your carry-on, and don’t ring any airport alarms. Keep one with you at all times and you can exercise even in your own hotel room with very little worry. Don’t forget to include the accessories such as the door anchor, handles, and ankle straps.
Go On Foot Instead
London has bus tours, Japan has rickshaw tours- but why not enjoy the sights on your own two feet instead? This allows you to soak in the sights as much as you can while getting your exercise in at the same time. You can also wander and enjoy the scenery better, as you’re not constrained by the limits of a vehicle. Touring on foot is a great way to spend the day when traveling, so much so that there are walking tours available in most major tourist destinations. If you find that you’re not particularly good with directions, a walking tour just might be the one for you.
Try Local Physical Activities
Many cultures have popular physical activities that you can partake in. Brazil has samba and capoeira, Thailand has Muay Thai, China has Tai Chi, and Denmark has bikes. Whenever we travel, part of the fun is experiencing the culture of the place we’re visiting. And joining the locals in cultural activities such as these make for a great experience and exercise. Not only are they a good memory, but they might also be a new fitness activity for you.
Stay Hydrated
When enjoying a long walk in the streets of a foreign country, the last thing you want is to get dehydrated. Obviously, you need to pack water with you and drink consistently. But through all the fun and excitement of traveling, we often forget to drink water. You can help remind yourself to drink water by using self-reminding apps such as IFTTT to help you stay hydrated.
