We all love packing or suitcases and heading off for a well deserved holiday – sun, sea, sand and culture – what’s not to love, right? Well, holiday weight gain and dwindling fitness levels due to too much time spent by the pool and too little time walking around seeing the sights!
If you’re one of the unlucky ones who always comes home from holiday less fitter than you were when you stepped on the plane, here are some tips to help you stay in shape on your next great escape:
Book an Active Holiday
The easiest way to ensure that you not only stay in shape, but actually come back in better shape than you were before, is to book an active holiday – walking the Great Wall of China, ‘doing Wild’ or even better taking on one of the many Global Adventure Challenges Charity Fundraising Events – for example. If you book an active holiday, then you have no choice but to stay active and you will see more of the place you’re visiting than you probably would otherwise.
Use the Pool
Instead of simply lounging beside the pool sipping cocktails or lying on a hammock, again sipping cocktails, actually make use of that pool and do a few laps every morning and afternoon. Sure, it might annoy some of the other pool loungers who’d never think of actually using the pool for swimming, but it will keep you in shape, which is what matters the most!
Book a Hotel with a Gym
Booking a hotel that has a gym is very easy to do, but actually using the gym once you’re there is a bit harder. However, if you can find a hotel within your budget and any other specifications you may have, it’s worth choosing it over the rest because if the gym is there, there’s more chance you’ll use it.
Draw Up an Itinerary of Interesting Attractions
Whether you’re visiting Paris or Pasadena, there are going to be countless museums, art galleries, restaurants and other cultural attractions that you’ll be interested in. Before you head off, make a list of them and draw up an itinerary that keeps you moving, thus keeping you fit. Try to walk between as many of the attractions as you can, but don’t worry if you can’t because you’ll burn plenty of calories walking around admiring the art or marvelling at the wonders of science anyway. Obviously, you don’t need every second of your holiday to be like this, but don’t spend too much time lazing on the beach either.
Don’t Go All-Inclusive
Okay, so it can be cheaper, but when you go all-inclusive what happens? You eat and drink to excess and a lot of the time you don’t even realize you’re doing it, So, if you value your waistline more than your bank balance – and actually eating out abroad can be cheaper than all-inclusive if you’re savvy – give all-inclusive the swerve.
By making just a few changes to the way you holiday and by actually thinking about your activity levels, it really isn’t difficult to stay fit on holiday and come home as slim as you were before you left, it really isn’t!
How do you stay in shape while traveling?
Tell us in the comments!
This is a collaborative post.
