Staying on top of your strength training when you’re on holiday is always a challenge. You’re away from your normal gym set up and out of your routine so we’ve compiled a few hints and tips to help you stay fit when travelling and not lose any of those important gains you've been working so hard for.
Having time to exercise when on holiday
You’ll be out of your routine when on holiday so it’s important to make time for yourself in your schedule. Some of us have a strict itinerary to stick to full of excursions and what not so if that’s the case, it is important to allocate a set time for your workout so you’re prepared and don’t let it slide.
Assuming you have a routine when at home, it’s good to develop one even for a week when you’re on your holiday to stay fit. So maybe you stick to that time or try to find some quiet time where it makes sense for you to workout. It is often best to plan a time earlier in the morning as more unexpected things happen on holidays that will cut into your day.
Have the right equipment to exercise when on holiday
Hotel gyms can be a bit crap. We’ve all experienced this, the hotel naively ticking the ‘gym’ in trip advisor before realising you have a cross trainer and a bench with a couple of dumbbells. Yet you’ll find yourself scratching your head as to how to actually get a full workout in a hotel gym. So as the phrase goes “those who plan do better than those who do not plan, even should they rarely stick to their plan.” A bit of a mouthful but the point here is before you go on holiday have an idea of how you can still work your muscles you want but with limited equipment and get creative. Not got time to think? How about that wait at the airport gate when everyone decides to queue way too early. The real due diligent planners out there will be so thoughtful to email ahead of time to get a list of equipment to know this, but we aren’t all that organised.
One of the key areas to combat hotel gyms is to bring your own home gym equipment. It is a bit annoying if they have the thing you brought so see the point above. Let’s think about this for a second… we need equipment that is diverse, doesn’t explode (sorry 2016 Samsung phones), lightweight, and can fit in your suitcase. So we’re now into the realms of portable gym equipment… let’s have a look
The best ways to stay fit when travelling
Resistance bands: light, small, some diversity, so all seems good right? Well kind of. We’ve all got quite accustomed to the pros and cons of resistance bands for a while now. They can be good but the resistance curve means you never really know how much resistance you have at any point and they start stacking up with different bands. Let’s leave out the fact they tear and you play a game of chicken to see how long they’ll last before snapping or before you buy a new paid.
So some ideas on how to stay fit when travelling. On a complete curveball, take a rest? Sometimes a week off the gym is no bad thing and allows your muscles to recover. Or come out of your current programme and do active recovery to keep your muscles moving but having less stress on them to recover, so select a lower resistance on the Unitree PUMP and higher reps. After all, you do pay to go on travelling to enjoy yourself. Yes working out is enjoyable (it definitely should be), but that’s not to say you can prioritise enjoying your holiday and reducing your time sculpting your body.
Staying fit when travelling can mean different things to different people. Plan it into your schedule and have the right equipment that is for you. The Unitree PUMP is diverse enough and portable enough to help you stay consistent on your training when on holiday and you’ll be surprised at finding new ways of using it in new environments.