Keeping fit whilst on holiday

May 13, 2018
4 min read

Getting back into what? Your car, your bed, your LBD?

I'm sure many people have heard the phrase 'getting back into it', most often that not I am guessing the people that use this are referring to some sort of a routine, a habit or a choice they consciously made.

I even use this phrase and it most commonly follows after a indulgent holiday- when I feel I have somewhat neglected my healthy ways and fitness routine.

When I go on holiday I must admit I don't completely neglect my fitness routine- even if I do a quick 20 minute HIIT workout in a hotel room or head to the gym early in the morning- I will still make sure I work my body on days where I know I won't be very active.

I recently went back home for a couple of weeks and the first week was great, I went to the gym most days and made a conscious effort not to eat everything and anything in sight- it started off well. On days where I didn't hit the gym I was very active running around with my nephew, or taking a country walk with my mum.

Then when my fiancé and I were reunited I let things slip a bit, we ate three pub lunches three days consecutively, one of the toughest decisions all holiday was working out what next pub meal I was going to try! Hard life eh. We drank just a wee bit too much on the weekend and again filled our tummies with lots of what Gav would like to call white food- aka mainly carbs. Did I feel guilty? Nope not at all, I eat well in general I workout HARD and I make sure to always eat home cooked non processed foods. So when the opportunity comes to enjoy whatever I like on holiday then I do not feel one ounce of guilt.

So if you want my tips on how to keep fit whilst on holiday my first one is just relax, if you make it to the gym- good for you, if you go on a family walk- good for you, if you eat that chocolate bar whilst watching a film with your family- good for you and if you drink all the prosecco and wake up hungover AF (oops)- also good for you.

If you approach a holiday panicking and thinking you have to get your workout in it will totally defeat the idea of a holiday, but if you are a little more flexible about how, when and where you'll do it then chances are you will. Often some people won't need to exercise because their holiday may involve being active anyway!

One useful tip is- definitely try and get it done early in the morning on days where you have nothing planned at that time- Gavin and I are lucky that we are early birds and so when most people are still sleeping or have work in the morning we are up and ready to get our workout in. I think we did three workouts together back at home and it was a great way for us to start the day, we then felt a little less bad about eating a full English with a bucks fizz for brekkie!

In terms of style of training when I am pushed for time I always try and do a High Intensity Interval style workout. For example Tabata training where you work really hard for 20 seconds and have a 10 second rest doing this for 8 rounds, totalling 4 minutes. I trained with my mum one day and we did 5 of these Tabata's using a mix of bodyweight, resistance and cardio exercises- BOOM before you know it 20 minutes has gone and you have worked yourself into a nice sweat.

On one of the days my dad had planned to go to the gym anyway and so I saw it as an opportunity to get the whole gang together, Gav, Mum, Dad and myself. It was great to push each other and we had a laugh in the process.

Then there were days where I just didn't have time to go to the gym and other things were more of a priority to me and that's A-Okay. I didn't stress I didn't then starve myself for the rest of the day- I just enjoyed my day and knew that I wasn't going to lose my fitness or ruin any of my hard work.

A holiday is a holiday for a reason, I googled the word and one definition came up as this -'a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation.'

I often push my body so hard that I think I really needed a week off 'it' to just forget about exercise and what I was eating. In the last five days of the holiday I don't think I made it to the gym, I didn't run and I didn't do any home workout but it was great to think of that hour I usually spend working out was replaced by spending time with loved ones.

So if you're nearing a holiday and panicking about losing those gym gains do not let yourself get stressed or down about it. So what if you put on a bit of holiday weight, holiday's sadly don't last forever and when you get back into 'it' you will be fine and wishing you were still eating 3 pub lunches in a row! Cut yourself some slack and enjoy your break, remember it's a break taken to REST so bloody well do so and eat that slice of cake If you want to.

Keep an eye on my blog as I will shed a light on how best to get back into 'it'.

LoVe RoSIe - ps remember when people used to write like ThIs On THeIr MsN NaMe HAahahA

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