Working Out While on Vacation

My wife and I are on a vacation for a week in New York City, and while we’re here she’s  in a taper for the triathlon on Sunday, meaning yesterday she biked around Central Park and is currently doing a short run there today. Tomorrow she’ll be off all formal training and will just be doing some walking and trying to save her feet from getting too many blisters.

As for me, being on vacation tends to mean working out is drastically altered. Yesterday I hit up the hotel’s Fitness Facility, which is usually hit or miss depending on the hotel. However, this one is quite nice, complete with a dual cable station, dumbbells up to 50 lbs, kettlebells up to 45 lbs (incredibly rare in a hotel gym), and a bunch of cardio machines. I did a light “move around” workout yesterday to get in some total body sweat and make sure I could shake of the staleness of the 4 hour flight the day before.

Aside from that, the only other workouts I have planned are potentially one at Mark Fisher Fitness next Tuesday so I can check out the Ninja Clubhouse, a trip to Equinox at some time, and a lot of walking. My wife likes to power shop, so I have to pull in the reins every now and then and try to keep up with her.

Aside from that, I don’t like to try to structure workouts during vacation, and recommend to most of my clients to not try to either. Most of the time during vacation, motivation to workout would be somewhat low, and there’s always more fun and exciting things to do that are still active, but aren’t necessarily “workouts.” For instance, about 8 years ago we went to Cancun, but instead of just sitting by the pool, we would walk through the resort area, put in some “move around” workouts in their fitness facility on occasion, and also arranged a jungle tour and trip to Cobha, one of the ancient Mayan cities and pyramids. The hike was awesome with some significant changes in elevation, and the pyramid climb was epic. After the climb, we ran the 4km from the pyramid back to the entrance where the vans were, so it was some good cardio to challenge us, especially with the heat and humidity. I know, running and teh gainz. Funny enough, I was the smallest I’ve been in my adult life at that point at only 216 pounds, and had way less muscle definition than I do now at 240. Cutting doesn’t always work.

Last year we went to London for Lindsay to do the World Triathlon Championships, which involved some training during her taper, and me acting like her professional water boy/masseuse/sport psychologist/financier. From there we went to Paris, which involved a ton of walking around, Lindsay doing a couple of runs by the river, and me doing a few in-room workouts with a TRX and Travel Roller.

I love using a TRX when I travel because it’s incredibly compact, TSA friendly even in a carry-on bag, and can hook on to any hotel door to get in a workout without a lot of space or other equipment. It gives a lot of creative leeway to making exercises, and doesn’t need to take an hour. The Travel Roller is awesome because it’s a hollow tube that you can still put stuff in like socks or underwear, and is simple to pack, break out in a hotel room while watching re-runs of Jerry Springer in foreign languages, and helps to recover after walking all over on pavement all day.

For vacations, structured workouts tend to feel like a chore, and during a short break from reality chores are the last thing you should be thinking about. Try to work in more active excursions or activities that still resemble exercise but are not the usual things you’re used to doing. Hiking through the mountains, walking, taking a class you would normally not do, or planning some type of an adventure for the experience.

For instance, later today I’m planning on walking down to the Tracy Anderson Studio. I’m not planning to take a class or anything, but I just want to photobomb the place like crazy.

Trainer who shall not be named

For work trips, workouts have a little bit of a different requirement. A workout helps keep you mentally sharp and also moving better than if it wasn’t there, plus the opportunity to do active excursions may not be there as your schedule may be somewhat packed. As a result, you’re most likely to be reduced to doing hotel gym workouts, or relying on the TRX and Travel Roller workouts. If you have the ability to get to a commercial gym, all the better, but again your workouts may be somewhat limited by the equipment they have available. Say you’re looking to do some olympic lifting but the place only has iron plates, like my gym? You’ve never seen a Rogue Dogsled like we have but want to push it around for a while? Be ready to not walk for a couple of days afterwards.

So in conclusion, while on vacation I hate the idea of trying to keep up with structured exercise programs as it defeats the purpose of the vacation in the first place. Have fun, try some new things, do activities that are active but provide you with a new experience, and enjoy sleeping in and eating all the calories. All of them. The gym will be there when you get back, and it will only take one or two workouts to get your groove back. Much like the first day or two of work after a great vacation feel completely useless, allow the re-acclimation period and then get after it again. Who knows, the rest and recovery may lead to better workouts after your vacation than trying to push hard and having no real break.