Worked hard all year to shred the pounds and tone up? Just booked a holiday and are now terrified you’ll come home back to where you started? Don’t fear, keeping up your health and fitness isn’t impossible whilst travelling!
So, I’ve just booked a month away in Thailand. After days of talking about it constantly and screaming about it in excitement, I began to think about how I could keep up a good diet and squeeze in some exercise, whilst still enjoying every minute. To some people this might sound unnecessary, but when you’re a gym junkie and have spent a long time looking after your fitness and diet, a month is enough to set you back significantly.
There are various things that you can do whilst being away which won’t take up much time at all, and will mean you return home feeling even more renewed and refreshed.
Exercise
You don’t need a gym to get in a beneficial work out. A method of exercise called HIIT can be done without any equipment and in the space of just twenty minutes. HIIT stands for high intensity interval training, and is a great way to burn fat quickly, speeding up your metabolism for the whole day. It involves doing short bursts of exercise with short resting times in between each circuit. For example you could do…
Squats (1 minute)
Rest for 15 seconds
Trice dips (1 minute)
Rest 15 seconds
Jumping lunges (1 minute)
Rest 15 seconds
Press ups (30 seconds)
Rest 10 seconds
Plank (30 seconds)
Rest 15 seconds
Side plank dips (30 seconds, switch sides half way)
Rest 10 seconds
Mountain Climbers (30 seconds)
Rest 1 minute 30 seconds
REPEAT CIRCUIT THREE TIMES!
You can make up any circuit you want, as long as it has periods of resting in between high intensity exercises. Do this early in the morning followed by some stretching, before you’re day has even started, and you’ll have plenty of time to explore and sunbathe. Who needs a gym?
Check out Karena and Katrina’s website for plenty more beach workouts.
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Diet
Now diet is a slightly harder topic when travelling, because you might not be able to get your hands on meals that you are used to. Thai food for example bases itself a lot of the time around noodles and rice. However it also offers great vegetable dishes, soups and seafood. The key is to do your research about the place you’re travelling to. You’ll find there are plenty of other travellers on the Internet who have had the same problem and found the best way to go about it.
Some basic things to do would be:
· Avoid dishes with a lot of creamy sauces and fried meals
· Find fresh fruit markets and local produce shops near to where you are staying
· DRINK WATER! This will keep flushing out any of the bad stuff
· Don’t over eat constantly just because you are on holiday, you’re body isn’t use to it and will not feel good afterwards
· Choose wisely with alcohol- cocktails are full of sugar and pointless calories. Vodka, lime and soda is one of the cleaner, less calorific drinks to go for.
Of course you still need to enjoy yourself and try new things, otherwise what is the point in going? It’s all about moderation and looking after yourself, rather than becoming obsessive and feeling guilty about what you’re eating and drinking.
I cannot wait to see what Thailand is all about. Wherever you’re off to, look after yourself following these few simple things, but more importantly have an incredible time. Plain English food and a good old gym will always be waiting for you on your return!
photo credits: www.pinterest.com