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Tricks to Staying in Shape While Travelling
Sticking to a fitness routine when you’re always travelling can be daunting. You can’t develop a consistent routine, you’re not near your regular resources (i.e. gym, workout partners, etc.), and going from one time zone to the next can really throw a wrench in things. Not to mention, the temptation to indulge in delicious and exotic foods and simply slack off from your day-to-day grind is a lot harder to ward off. Though it can seem like a lot to deal with, the reality is you can be staying in shape while travelling.
Just consider these tricks listed below:
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Sign Up for a Gym with Multiple Locations
Going to the gym is a great way to ensure staying in shape while travelling keeps you active. It provides you with all the resources and equipment necessary to get the body you want. Instead of looking into a small gym for a membership, opt for a larger gym brand that has multiple locations across the continent.
If there is a chain of gyms you like that has outlets across the country, you can then go to the gym in Denver, San Bernardino, or other major cities in the USA, and you can keep your fitness routine the same. This way you can visit the gym as an ‘out-of-towner’ but still feel like it’s your local gym.
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Use the Hotel Gym
Although a lot smaller with fewer resources than a traditional gym, if you want to stay in shape while travelling, you can always check out the hotel gymnasium or wellness centre.
Many major hotel chains offer their guests an opportunity to get in a quick workout while vacationing or on business. The cost is typically included in your hotel stay, which makes it convenient and affordable.
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Take Advantage of Other Amenities
Depending on where you’ve booked your stay there are other amenities that you can take advantage of to help you stay in shape. Some hotels and tourist parks have basketball and tennis courts that guests can use for their entertainment. You can get in a few games with other guests, friends, family, or colleagues, and burn quite a few calories.
There’s also the option to use the swimming pool when it is available. Swimming, whether you know it or not, is a very great form of exercise.
Even if you are confined to an exclusive resort far away from civilisation, you will often find the happy and motivated staff will incorporate water aerobics, volleyball and other communal fitness activities.
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Bring a Workout Video (Playlist)
Your hotel room, holiday home or vacation rental is just a good a place as any to workout and to help you with your goal of staying in shape. So, why not download a workout video or two and bring it with you during your travels?
You can start your day with a quick 30-minute video and have the rest of your day to do as you please.
An added bonus is if you stay in a hotel that has a focus on health and well being.
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Enlist an Accountability Partner
Sticking to a fitness routine is mentally challenging but important when committed to staying in shape. It is even harder when you’re away from home and in a destination, you just want to explore and indulge in.
So, enlist an accountability partner to help keep you mentally strong. This can be someone you’re travelling with, someone back home, or even a personal trainer.
Each day they can encourage you to stick to your routine with phone calls, calendar reminders, text messages, nice notes & cards to inspire you daily, and even video chats.
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Get Active and go Exploring
Yes, it can be really tempting to lay in bed all day, order room service, and watch television. It can also be tempting to smell the aromas of so many delicious foods there are available during your travels, and even more challenging not to try it all. While it is fine to do these types of activities during your travel, you have to remember your goal to stay in shape. One way to balance out your vacation or business trip is to get active and go exploring.
Get out and see the sights if you have a chance and try and incorporate some exercise into the day when you do so.
There are lots of ways you can explore a destination that is fun but also physically stimulating. Go for a walk through a state or national park, learn how to ski, go for a swim at the shore or in a lake, participate in water sports like surfing or paddleboarding, or attend a community festival and dance to the festive music.
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Don’t Forget to Rest
Though you want to stay in the best shape while travelling, don’t overdo it. Working out excessively can actually be bad for you mentally and physically. So, take it easy. Make sure that you’re getting enough sleep each night and choose a day or two out of the week where you don’t focus on fitness at all. This gives your mind and body a chance to rest, replenish, and grow.
When you travel a lot (for business or pleasure) it can weigh on your health. Sticking to your health and fitness routines becomes increasingly challenging with the many obstacles and temptations. Some hotels will have exercise equipment in your suite, so you can exercise at your own schedule.
Although exercise is a challenge, if you’re going to continue doing what you love, you have to find ways to prioritize your fitness needs.
Hopefully, the suggestions provided above will help you to find suitable solutions that keep you on track and in the best shape of your life – no matter where you are.
Questions?
What your favourite way to stay in shape when you are travelling?
Do you find it easier to focus on staying in shape, or more difficult when you are away?
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Great tips and good reminder to keep active while travelling. With the change of routine or no routine at times it’s not always easy to keep focused. I always pack a skipping rope when I travel, takes up no room and good exercise, even if it’s just for a few minutes.
Routine is definitely a challenge at times.
Thanks for a post, it’s really helpful! I managed to lose 20 lbs while travelling full-time. I reckon it’s due to the newly-gained active lifestyle as I switched from a desk job to walking 25,000 steps every day. And I also love gyms in different hotels. The best ones are always with the city view and you can dip in a pool after 🙂
Well done on losing 20 lbs. That’s hard enough at home let alone with all the travel temptations.
My favourite way to stay in shape is downloading a playlist and having a dance workout, since I love dancing. I also love using whatever I find in the hotel, like doing push-ups using the walls or beds, or simple workouts in the hotel room, if it doesn’t, have a gym.
It’s more difficult to stay in shape when travelling especially since you are on a different routine, plus travelling exhausts so you need to rest too.
Sharon, that sounds like a great idea! Happy travels
These are great tips, thank you! I love to go yoga while I’m travelling, as I find it helps me stay in strong to carry my backpack around, and stay zen when any challenges come my way!
I admire you carrying a backpack. You must indeed stay strong
Staying in shape while traveling is hard because we tend to indulge in tasting new foods. Especially in countries like Italy, when everything is so delicious but super high in calories!
I always workout at home, no matter I’m traveling or not, so it’s a bit easier to stick to my routine on a trip. My main concern was finding a good durable light-weight yoga mat for my trainings, but I finally found it after the third try 🙂 Sometimes I get to wake up too early and go exploring, so I don’t have time to workout in the morning, but that’s ok, because usually it means that I’ll have enough movement on that day, one way or another.
Thanks for the tips!
Keeping fit is so important
Since I generally favor city vacations, I tend to walk and walk days on end. There is just so much to see when traveling to a new place! But, I have to admit, when I go to a family beach type vacation once in a blue moon I tend to just vegg and overeat 😆. I’ll keep your tips in mind for next time I’m in that situation. Great tips all around. These days -with the lockdown – there is also so much stuff online, yoga and Pilates for sure.
Two of my passions in life are travel and fitness. In fact I do both as part of my living! I agree with each of your suggestions here, I’ve done them all at one point or another. For the most part I’m very good at staying active when I travel, but every once in a while I find myself needing some lazy days. Since the lazy days are less than the active ones, I guess it’s okay! My favorite things are either working out with my own specifically brought equipment, swimming pools, or hiking and exploring in nature. 🙂
Fabulous list with great inspirational tips. It’s so easy to get waayy to comfy on holidays sometimes, especially when you are tired from sightseeing. I got into using a workout app called Freeletics. It’s high intensity interval training and within 20 min I am done. I personally wouldn’t be able to spend more time than that on holidays for sports. All the best
Great advice. Even though, the temptation to indulge in delicious and exotic foods and simply slack off from your day-to-day grind is a lot harder to ward off you can also play beach volleyball, walk or run on the beat and the resistance of the sand may help in the excercises. Expecially if you are travelling in Mozambique where we have a vast area of beached along the indian ocean. here you will not need a gym a bet
Thanks for some great tips and reminders. When we get back to travelling I’ll definitely start paying heed to all of them. I do find that when we travel the more routine forms of exercise are hard to stick to – unless we are in a lovely hotel with a nice gym and a swimming pool – then we’ll get up early and exercise before breakfast. Always first thing in the morning because when it’s done it’s done and then we can do what we like! In fact a gym session or swimming are probably my fave ways of keeping fit when travelling – bar lots of walking and sightseeing by foot of course.
Staying fit while travelling, my wife and I tend to walk around a lot, especially a few minutes after eating so we can ‘burn’ some calories while exploring the area.
Although most of the time, this quarantine period, I am resorting to doing some bodyweight exercises so that we don’t overstuff ourselves while at home. lol
Great Tips. Hotel gyms are convenient, though. It is still best to bring a workout video or at least a routine you can do inside the room.
The only positive things of this pandemic we are living is that there many more online good resources also to excecrise! Let’s try to stick to the good habits
Oh, it’s so difficult to keep any type of routine while traveling.
I’m a runner and one of my favorite things to do is combine a run with a city tour. You can hit 10 times more sites when compared to walking, and you get to experience the whole city.
very nice! I like to use fitness apps when I workout since some only require minimal space! Nike fitness club has some great workouts to choose from!
Nice tips! We find gyms in countries such as South East Asia so cheap as well, so there’s no excuse!
We would also recommend a morning/stretch yoga routine to start the day off right 🙂
Staying in shape while traveling is a bit challenging for me, especially when going into long two or three-months trips. I am a freelancer, so these long travels are possible, but then again. It still means working Mon through Fri, while at the same time finding time for sightseeing, resting, eating, cleaning up. So, I usually opt-in for workout videos. And sometimes, in places like Bali, this means being able to stay in plank pose while a big spider just happens to run by or across the hands ))) Really puts a commitment to working out to a test)
this is such an important topic, and I was happy to read it.
I have been exercising as a routine only in the last couple of years, and I am really trying to keep the routine when I travel. Not always successfully, but now I have more tips to help me 🙂
Wow! Such a lovely article and an important one. I find myself hogging and putting myself in an absolute ‘travel mode’ when I am travelling but to see you and so many others in the comments section here losing weight despite their travel schedules is so inspiring!
I will definiitely try to implement the tips in here when we start travelling again.
Yes, It can be a challenge – travel may be limited right now but it will return. Enjoy every day
I love all the tips on how to stay fit while traveling. I always walk places if I have a choice when traveling instead of a cab or bus. Not only does it burn a few extra calories, it allows me to eat whatever I want! Plus I always find an undiscovered gem on the way to get their which is why I travel in the first place.
So agree Jess, Keeping fit is really important. I hope we can all return to our lives of travel soon.
There are some great ideas on keeping for while travelling, and actually quite a few I’ve been doing during lockdown. Walking has become one of my favourite passtimes since the gym is shut, I’ve really enjoyed it, so I’ll certainly be doing that more when I next travel. It’s would be a great way to explore a new country.
Thanks, Becki – Its a challenging time so hope you get back to the gym soon but, meanwhile, enjoy the outdoors.
Trying out all the different adventures and outdoors based exercise is the best way to enjoy your holiday without feeling as though you have to keep heading to the gym. It’s a great chance to break the routine and try something new or different. Stand up paddleboarding the Croatian Islands – the best.
I love stand up paddleboarding!
It’s very funny but I think I actually move more when I’m on holidays compared to when I’m at home. Travelling for me usually means exploring as much as possible, which can leave me running through a city from early morning until late evening. Then, I’ll fall into bed exhausted.
I think being active while exploring is a great way of staying in shape. I especially like water sports, but I think for exploring, bikes can also be great. They offer the opportunity to see the country while at the same time getting a workout done.
My biggest challenge of staying in shape is when doing business trips, as I can’t spend my days exploring and being active. Therefore, I quite like your advice above. I should take some workout clothes on my next trip (when travel becomes possible again) and hit the gym. I’ve always avoided that so far, but I think it would help me feel much better.
Thank you for the inspiration!
I always struggle to work out while traveling – I am always in the ” I am on vacation” kind of mood and i tell myself thats it’s ok not to work out, you’ll catch up when you get back home.
But this list proves that it doesnt have to be an intense work out, even simple exercises are much better than nothing.
Oh these are some great tips! I also do use video gyms to stay fit while on the road.
Amazing tips! I found the tip of using the hotel gym great. As a fitness fanatic, I make sure to follow my yoga routine no matter where I go 🙂 Also, I try to walk a lot during sightseeing that makes up for the gym routine while traveling.
I love your get active and go exploring tip. When we travel as a family, it’s hard to get exercise other than constantly keeping track of the kids. I love to plan a hike, or a place for them to run where we can also explore, every day on a vacation.
Thaks Lauren, It is important to stay active
Thanks for sharing these tips. Usually, my number one trick is to walk as much as possible during my travels. But after so much time staying at home I need to do a bit more :))