” Live with no excuses, travel with no regrets” ~Oscar Wilde
I am the furthest thing from a fitness buff, but I do thrive on remaining active even on the road.
Whether we are on a road trip, on a cruise, or just at a resort, we always make the effort to maintain (at least to some degree) our fitness each day. Here are our commonplace practices that help us maintain our fitness on the road:
#1 Count your steps
So cliche, but IT WORKS!! If you have an iPhone you can track your steps through the health app. If not, there are plenty of economical watches (fitbit, garmin etc) to add to your travel wardrobe. Whether you are walking to the beach, the grocery store or the pub it all counts! Our last trip to Maui, over 10 days I walked (and ran) 190,936 steps! I came back (even after our quest to find the best Mai Tai on the island), feeling healthy and vibrant. We enjoyed every step of the way.
#2 Take the stairs
This is a biggy for us on cruises. We never take the elevator. If you think about it, over your cruise you spend a lot of time going between your room and the 16+ levels of the ship. This adds up over the duration of your cruise in a positive way! My butt usually hurts somethin’ fierce after a cruise…(but on both cruises we have been on we have done we didn’t gain a pound (even with the unlimited drink package!).
#3 Beach Body on Demand
This website has opened up so many opportunities to throw in a quick workout if you only have a short amount of time. They do have longer workouts also and workouts you can do from anywhere! I bought these:
on Amazon for $20USD and take them with me on my travels. Start with the “21-day fix” then onto “80 Day Obsession”. They are both awesome and effective workouts you can do anywhere! There are a ton of other ones to chose from also… check it out!
#4 Dance
Hey! It is a great workout. We have been known to start up dance parties in random spots. If that is not your thing, there are actually dance workouts on Beach Body on Demand (Cize is fun and you get to learn some groovy moves while you are at it)!
#5 Do a local spin class or online spin class!
Find a local gym and join in on spin class. They are usually a very quick and effective workout. Peloton digital is the latest and greatest online spinning craze. They offer hundreds of workouts to chose from (and they have running, yoga, strength, stretching classes too). You do not need to buy the $3000 bike to be a part of an awesome workout. Just jump on a bike at the gym (be sure to preload the workout if you have poor streaming or weak wifi). My personal favourite is Matt Wilpers Power Zone cycling classes – he is the jolliest instructor I have ever come across.
#6 Map my Run
If you are visiting somewhere and are unfamiliar with walking or running routes, you can search for good local routes, and it is FREE!
#7 Find local hikes
We almost never go on a vacation without finding at least one hike. This website, Alltrails, requires that you sign up with your email but it is FREE and has amazing reviews, directions and downloadable maps. Essentially everything you need. We just came back from Maui and used Alltrails to decide our hike of choice – Waihee Ridge Trail on Maui. AMAZING!!
#8 Do yoga online
There are a lot of great websites with online classes also, some of which you can download beforehand. My two favorite are:
- Gaia yoga, (Clara Roberts-Oss is my absolute favorite Vinyasa teacher if you are already familiar with yoga, if not they do have beginner classes in there also!)
- Do yoga with me, also has some really good instructors and a wide variety of classes.
#9 Bring your goggles/swim cap
What is to say you cannot throw a few lengths of the ocean bay before putting your feet up with a margarita?! You may just run into a school of fish, stingrays or a turtle while you are at it!
#10 Choose your hotel/vacation rental that has facilities/amenities
When selecting our hotel, we always try to choose one with a fitness center. My husband is a big weight lifter (me not so much), but I always like to check out pictures on Oyster.com of the fitness centers to make sure it has the equipment he needs. I just for a run and/or do yoga or a workout on Beach Body on Demand. Also, when we rent VRBO’s we lean towards ones that offer bikes as an option for transport.
