What to do while on vacation to keep the “Gains” I’ve made on my regular training schedule?
One of the benefits of getting into great shape is looking good while on vacation, especially if you vacation entails a trip to the beach. It’s also unfortunately true that the more fit you become, the harder it is to maintain – it’ not fair! Here are a few tips and tricks you can use to help stay in shape during your vacation.
Try and maintain a healthy diet, but allow for special occasions. You may be tempted to binge on all the delicious food you’ve been avoiding while working towards your fitness goals – hey, it’s a vacation, right? Focus on eating healthy foods as much as possible, look for quality dishes with lots of vegetables and fresh fish or other foods that are low in carbohydrates. If you’re going to go for that yummy dessert, consider splitting it with one or more friends, if that’s an option.
Staying active while on vacation will help you maintain your cardio levels – in fact, your more likely to lose aerobic power before you lose any muscle gains. Taking a week off will have little to no effect on muscular strength, but could result in the loss of up to 5% of your aerobic power. Plan for your vacation to involve some physical activity. It doesn’t have to be a full-on workout schedule, there are plenty of things that will help keep your cardio levels up. Walking on the beach is a great example – you can burn up to twice as many calories walking on soft sand as you do walking on hard surfaces. Depending on the nature of your vacation, you may have access to biking, hiking, swimming, or other sports activities like golf or tennis. Even shopping trips can help you maintain cardio levels if you walk fast and take the stairs.
While finding fun activities to maintain cardio levels is fairly easy while on vacation, lifting weights is more of a challenge. Thankfully, muscle gains decay slowly over short periods of time. Even so, if your hotel has a gym or workout center, lifting free weights for 10 minutes a day a few times a week can go a long way to retain muscle tone. If you don’t have access to equipment, you can still give yourself a decent quick workout. Spend a few minutes in the morning doing 3 sets each of push-ups, crunches, and squats, with 12 repetitions per set. Just a small amount of exercise will help you maintain your strength and tone until you can get back to your regular workout routine.
And lastly, stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water while on vacation, especially if you are out in the sun all day. Water is key to several vital functions of the human body. It transports nutrients and oxygen into cells, helps with metabolism, regulates body temperature, detoxifies, protects and moisturizes joints, and hydrates your skin. Muscles need to have water to make them look full, as they consist of about 75% water. You’ll look and feel much better if you stay properly hydrated on your vacation, and it’s easy!