You don't need a gym to stay fit on vacation. With a few short bursts of exercise, you can maintain your fitness and energy levels so you don't start from scratch again in September. In this blog, Nigel Groeneveld, club manager at Happy Bodies Overveen, shows just how easy that is.
Your body certainly won't forget everything in two weeks, but it does get used to sitting still quickly. A little movement keeps the engine warm. The beauty of it is that the bar is set lower than you think: ten to fifteen minutes already counts. You don't have to choose between a full training schedule or doing nothing at all. Anything in between works.
To maintain your baseline, twenty to thirty minutes of exercise a day is more than enough. Feel free to break that up. A morning walk, a swim, a short stroll around the block in the evening: added together, you’ll reach that in no time. If you really want to feel something in a short time, take a look at the blog about effective 20-minute workouts.
You can do this anywhere, without weights or equipment. Do two rounds and you're done.
Squats: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and lower yourself as if you were going to sit on a chair. Ten to fifteen times.
Escape passesStep forward and bend your knee, alternate. Ten per leg.
Print: on the floor, or against the edge of the bed or a table if that is more comfortable. As much as you can comfortably manage.
Plank: rest on your forearms and toes and keep your body straight. Twenty to thirty seconds.
Little bridge: Lie on your back, feet flat, and push your hips up. Fifteen times.
Calves: rise up on your toes and sink back down slowly. Twenty times.
You don't even have to do exercises for it. Walk to the bakery instead of driving. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go swimming in the sea or the pool. Take the bike for short rides. Walking is perhaps the easiest of them all, and surprisingly effective.
At the campsite, you start the day with a walk and dive into the lake or pool during the day. In a hotel, you consistently take the stairs and do your morning exercises in your room. At the beach, you walk through the sand, which is harder and therefore more rewarding, and swim a bit in the sea. There is something to be found everywhere.
By staying active along the way, you maintain your foundation. Your first training session after the holidays will then feel like continuing, not starting over. That saves you exactly the hurdle where so many people stumble. Have a great holiday, and keep moving!.