Hello Everyone!
Today is the first day of summer! And since it’s summertime and almost everyone has at least one trip planned, I thought I would write a little bit about how you can exercise while you’re on vacation. Even if it is the last thing you might want to do while you’re supposed to be relaxing and having fun, but I know that I at least want to be a little proactive with my fitness goals, even on vacation. So, I thought about it, and these are some of the things that I have done in the past to keep myself on track, without a gym nearby to count on.
Research ahead of time.
A week or two before you go on vacation, do a little bit of research. If you’re going to a hotel, does it have a gym or a pool you can swim laps in? Are the roads near where you’re staying safe for running? Also, maybe look on YouTube and find some hotel-friendly workout videos! I highly suggest Ballet Beautiful and Blogilates, they’re both Pilates based mat workouts that don’t need equipment and don’t take up an awful lot of space.
Combine site-seeing with your workouts.
This kind of goes hand-in-hand with doing your research. See if there are some hiking trails with beautiful views you could go see. If you’re going to the beach, go for a run on the beach! Rent a bike and ride it around the town where you’re staying. It’s also fun (and usually surprisingly inexpensive) to rent a canoe on a lake, too!
Come prepared.
Whenever I travel, I usually pack an exercise band or a resistance band in my suitcase, because working out with those in a hotel or a house can be pretty challenging! Also (and stick with me on this one), gliding disks don’t take up a lot of space in your suitcase, and those workouts are always plenty challenging for me. If you don’t have disks, use paper plates, plastic baggies that you can tie around your feet, or even those dumb bra inserts that they always put in swimsuits that I usually just pull out and throw away (and they work surprisingly well, under the circumstances). Bring along small things like this and stick to them if you don’t want to run or bike, but don’t have a hotel gym. They do the trick for short periods of time, like a week long vacation!
Work with what you’ve got.
Even if you forget (which has happened to me plenty of times), there’s still lots you can do with a beach/bath towel (as a makeshift yoga mat) and a smartphone. YouTube has been a lifesaver many many times! Just look up “hotel workout” or “apartment workout” and plenty of options will appear.
Be realistic.
Let’s be real for a minute. We all have the best intentions to keep up with our workouts, but sometimes it just doesn’t pan out the way we thought. And that’s okay! Don’t beat yourself up about it, especially if you’re on a trip to a place like Disney or Orlando where you’re already doing a lot of walking. HAVE FUN!! It’s your vacation! If you want to work out that’s one thing. However, if it’s making you miserable to keep up with your workouts and you feel like you’re missing out on experiences that you paid to be on vacation to experience, just don’t do it! You can always get back on track once you get home, but that’s a whole other blog post 🙂
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I hope this helps! If you have any tricks or tips for keeping track on vacation, please feel free to share them in the comments. I would love to see! And to help you guys out, here are some YoutTube videos that I’ve used in the past, and recommend for you guys… Not just for vacay use, but any time!
Tone It Up Love Your Body HIIT
Rebecca Louise “How To Get A Summer Body”
I use each of these workouts and channels often, and love all of them! I hope you like them, too!
XOXO
The Ginger Introvert 
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