I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m in the minority when I say this (at least among healthy living bloggers and HLB-readers) but…when I travel, I don’t work out.
At least not intentionally.
For me, travel is about relaxing, sight-seeing, and taking a break from my “normal life.”
It means eating foods I don’t eat regularly, sleeping late or getting up extra early to “play tourist,” and just not caring about a perfectly-balanced routine.
Take for instance my recent vacation to the beach. Due to the salty air, I ate constantly! I ate a lot of junk food (hello, kryptonite sour cream & onion potato chips) although I did partake in plenty of fresh fruit and sunbutter-topped brown rice cakes for snacks.
Oh, and I didn’t exercise at all.
Had we stayed in the cabin much longer, I’m sure I would’ve felt a little stir-crazy and antsy for a workout, but for the few days we spent there, I carried on just fine.
I know many of you make a point to try out new boutique fitness studios when you travel or begin your days with a hotel room circuit or on an early morning run, but when I travel, that just seems like more of a burden than an escape.
However, that mindset doesn’t mean I spend my vacations completely sedentary. Oh no—in fact, I probably move my body more while vacationing than I do on the days back home when I work out in the gym.
At the beach, I walked the dogs. I splashed around in the Gulf and took some meditative walks along the shore (Gulf Coast sand is not firm at all!) which, believe it or not, helped me work up a little sweat.
And what about when Mark and I traveled to Las Vegas for our honeymoon in 2008 or as part of our West Coast vacation in 2012? Or Disney World/Universal Studios in 2013?
Walking around Seattle in September 2012
We walked! Constantly. We walked so much that my feet hurt. So while no planned workouts happened, we moved our bodies all day, everyday—much more than we do on a regular basis during the work week (I wish I’d had a pedometer that second Vegas trip!).
Back when I studied abroad in London (soooo long ago!) I walked so much that my jeans were falling off of me when I returned (though that may have been due in part to the infrequent washing that occurred since laundry was pricey).
When my parents and I traveled to NYC after my college graduation, we severely misjudged the map and walked through countless neighborhoods before arriving at the 2 square feet (slight exaggeration!) that comprise Little Italy.
I think my lack of planned exercise may be due to the fact that most of our vacations have been city-based. If were to vacation to, say, the Grand Canyon or Lake Tahoe, we’d probably do a lot of hiking or skiing, which would require planning.
Or if we went to the Caribbean or somewhere in the Atlantic, we’d probably spend some time snorkeling and exploring the islands on foot or bike.
Las Vegas Honeymoon 2008 – the Hoover Dam was the only car trip we took
Hopefully my blog conveys this, but I’ll mention it here and now: I’m a big proponent of the “to each her own” or “you do you” mentality.
If you can’t imagine vacationing without fitting in your workouts? More power to you. I’d advise you to schedule your workouts early or lace up your running shoes before others wake up so you’re not stressing the day away.
But if you’re like me—and struggle to fit in working out on a good day—then you don’t need to carry all that pressure in your luggage! Most likely, you’ll be walking a good deal through the airport, sightseeing tours, etc., and if not, well, you’re on vacation!
Enjoy a cocktail on your balcony and remember that your gym bag will be waiting for you when you return.
- Do you work out on vacation?
- If so, what is your favorite way to work up a sweat in a new place? I think running would be the ultimate way to “get to know” a new city or location.
Las Vegas is a definite workout of constant walking. But, there are beautiful things to look at during the adventure.
Oh, yes, you ladies know all too well how much walking is done in Vegas. I still don’t understand how Mark and I did what we did back in 2012. We were up at like 4 AM our time and didn’t stop until well after midnight Vegas time that first day. And we were on our feet for most of that! I guess we were young then, haha. 🙂
I guess you could say this is ‘Ouch’ in a good way, because I’m going on a vacation in 2 weeks. I’m hoping to just hike around and walk a lot with my sisters, but I don’t want to focus on getting in a work out. I really want to rest and just thank God for a period of rest.
That sounds like so much fun, Emily! I think it’s great you have likeminded sisters to help fill your vacation with activity. I feel like I should have clarified what I meant by workout in my post. I guess I mean “formal workout” not activity in general. If I just sat around on a beach chair all day every day, I’d go nuts.
I hope you have an awesome time!
I also rarely work out on vacation. That’s totally my time to just not think about fitness in any form and eat whatever I want! I tried to workout both on a cruise and at a resort in the Dominican Republic, but I ended up drinking so much that I was too hung over to continue working out the rest of the trip… Good intentions! But I’d rather have a cocktail 😉
Now that I just got Hawaii and this feels like vacation, I am trying my hardest to remind myself that it’s not and I need to get with it! I took a few weeks off mostly for the move and all that went with that. But I just started Insanity today in my hotel room and hope to go on some runs down the main street/beach here while we’re staying in Waikiki. I am so looking forward to a more regular workout routine once we are not in this weird transition mode though.
Haha, that’s probably what I would do at a resort or on a cruise, too.
I think you should treat Hawaii like a vacation for a week or two and THEN get back to a routine. But that’s just me. On second thought, if I had beaches and scenery like that, I’d probably go for a run/walk every single day.
Great post! I can’t totally relate! I never work out while on vacation and am always amazed by people who continue to work out regularly while traveling. I have no idea how they do it. This could be excuse I’m just not disciplined enough and working out in my regular life is hard enough lol. Even when we go to Florida to visit my inlaws I always say I’m going to work out, and don’t. I go to the off senior fitness class with my MIL, but that’s it. And they even have a gym! Also…humidity and I do not agree so that’s part of the problem. My first time visiting them there I went for a 2km run and it took me all day to recover from the heat lol!
I think that’s probably part of it for me, too…I’m actually quite lazy and not disciplined enough, at least at times.
When we first planned the trip, I almost packed running shoes and my yoga mat because I thought “I’m going to take a beach run” and “I’m going to practice yoga on our porch while the sun rises.” Um, no. Even if I hadn’t changed my mind and brought those along, it just wouldn’t have happened.
Oh, and I feel you on humidity. I’m in Alabama not far from FL, so I can see why you’d avoid running outside and working out when you visit them! 🙂
I don’t stress working out. If I have time, I’ll fit in a quick workout, but if not no big deal. I love exploring on foot for sure. Definitely the best vacation workout!
Yay for exploring on foot! That’s great you don’t stress it.
I don’t tend to workout when on vacation as I usually don’t have access to anything. Instead we do a LOT of walking as I like to get out and explore!
Love this and this message… vacations for me are meant for relaxation and new adventures- not stressing over when to squeeze in a workout! If you can do it, great! If not, who cares! Great post! <3
Thanks, Lyss. Yep, they’re all about new adventures not rigid schedules!