In the last vacation survival post (find it here), we talked about the best nutritional tips to survive your vacation without too much damage to your waistline. Now let’s talk about vacation fitness tips. Here are my favorite tricks for staying fit and active while on vacation!

1. Assess Your Vacation

Not all vacations are created equal. There’s vacations where you will lay out in the sun all day. My cruise was one of those sedentary vacations filled with free time and way too much food. If your vacation looks anything like mine, make time for at least 30 minutes of physical activity. You will feel so much better after squeezing a little workout in. There’s also vacations were you will be exploring new places non-stop. If you are walking, hiking, biking, and exploring, you might be ok skipping your workout all together. Assess the level of activity planned for the day and determine whether a workout is necessary. 

2. The 30 Minute Rule

This is my favorite trick to gather the willpower to work out. I will commit to working out as intensely as I can for only 30 minutes. Sprints and kettlebell intervals are some of my favorites. The goal is to get moving and back to enjoying my vacation as fast as I can. Thirty minutes is more than enough time to burn some serious calories and get those precious endorphins flowing!

3. Do The Best You Can With What You’ve Got

We need to make peace with the fact that vacation workouts are never as good as the workouts we have back home. The secret is not to dwell on the differences. Just get in, and get it done. Any workout, even if it’s not as intense or comprehensive as your typical workouts, will help keep your fitness level up. 

4. No Gym? No Problem!

Your body is all you need! If you don't have any weights, use speed and number of reps to get those muscles burning and hearts pumping. Bodyweight exercises like pushups, squats, lunges, and planks can be done anywhere! Throw in some jumping jacks, skaters, shuffles, jump squats, running, or power walking to get your heart rate up. Set your timer for 30 minutes, and get going!

5. Walk It Out!

Walking is one of my favorite exercises of all time! If you are on vacation, go for a long walk. Explore a new part of town. Go to the museum. Walk around a park. Believe it or not, being a tourist is a great workout! Walk around and explore. Remember, not all workouts need to leave you drenched in sweat and exhausted! Walking around town will burn some serious calories. It will also serve as recovery from all the hard workouts you’ve been doing at home!

6. Don't Do It

You heard me right! If you are tired and unmotivated, skip that workout! Rest is essential for recovery and fitness. Everyone could benefit from a week off from working out. Use your vacation time to recharge your batteries. A little mental and physical rest will do wonders for your body and mind! You will be ready to crush the gym when you get back home!

Do you have any vacation fitness tips of your own? Share them with us in the comments section!