I’m back home after a month away with my family! It was a wonderful time with lots of Swedish Fika and non-stop dinners and festivities with friends and family. How do one stay active and “in-shape” while enjoying all the good food, drinks, and lazy days on the beach? Can you?
YES YOU CAN!
I’ve learned throughout the years that there is a way to stay active and fit while enjoying all the good that comes with vacation. It’s all about “moderation”. Here are a few things I incorporate during my vacation.
Bring the workout clothes (and equipment if you can…I’ll post more about my to-go-to in my next blog)
Set your expectations on exercise and food.
Be mindful and set your goals.
Inform your family and friends of what your plans are.
Bring your family and friends along - I’m sure they would benefit too!
Bring the workout clothes and equipment.
I always make sure I have one set of workout clothes. You never know when you’ll get motivated to workout. I’ve also found great workout equipment to bring with me - they fit in my purse so no excuse not to bring it - TRX Suspension Trainer and Resistance Loop Bands? If you don’t know about the TRX - suspension trainer, you’re in luck! It’s a pair of bands (non elastic) that you can put easily hook up on a door and get a great muscle and/or cardio workout with. 20 Minutes and you’ll feel it. So it’s easy to bring and you ONLY need 20 Minutes to do a great workout with it! (If you want to see a sample workout with one of my clients go here!) Resistance Loop Bands are great for glute and lower body workout. I use these to challenge my glutes and get them fired up! Stay tuned for a short video on how I incorporate these into my workout! (to subscribe to my youtube channel - click here!) Set your expectations. You’re on vacation! However, that doesn’t mean that you need to over indulge on the goodies. You can enjoy all the food and drinks but do it in moderation. You will thank yourself for limiting the goodies once you are back from vacation! Yes, I enjoy way too much candy, snack, and good Swedish food while on vacation, but I make sure to be mindful of when I want to splurge and when I can hold back a little.
Be mindful and set your goals. When I say “set your goals”, I don’t mean for you to sit down and hash out a 1 month plan of what you need to get done. I simply mean for you to be mindful ahead of time and set a goal of how much your body can change over vacation. To be honest, we all know your body will change on vacation as you will not be on your daily schedule and your environment is different - but it’s all in your control, even on vacation! Inform your family and friends of your goals - set the expectations. My family and friends know that I want to stay active. By now, they actually expect me to be active and they know I will need their support to make it happen. They offer to babysit, they join me for activities, and are open minded about trying something new. My mom always look forward to doing a gym session with me as her Personal Trainer - Love how we reconnect while being active and we both benefit from it! Bring your family and friends along - I’m sure they would benefit too! I often ask friends of family members to join me for a walks, jogging, biking or other activities. This is an excellent way to chit-chat and reconnect while being active - much better than chit-chatting over lunch - trust me!
A friend of mine actually expect to go for a run when I’m home on vacation - it’s one of the few times in the year that she actually goes for a run. Now she expects it when I’m home = win-win! Maybe you have a favorite activity you like to do/try (paddle boarding, tennis, surfing, skiing, yoga, spinning, bodypump), why not take the opportunity and try it while on vacation and bring your family or friends along. Make it part of your goal! Let me know which one of these strategies resonate with you and which once you might try on your next vacation!
Stay Strong!
Maria