A vacation is when you hit pause on your daily routine and just let go. You let go of work, duties, responsibilities, and last but not least, your fitness regime and diet. Apart from lazing around, de-stressing, shopping and exploring new places, trying out new cuisines is a major aspect of every holiday which you just cannot afford to miss.

Unfortunately, as they say – anything enjoyable is either illegal or fattening. All that holiday cheer can wreak havoc with your diet and fitness routine and if you are like me, once you fall off the waggon, it can take a really long time to get back on it. And before you know it, all your hard work has gone down the drain and the weight is back on.

It can be really difficult to maintain your exercise routine as well. There may not be a gym available or your routine may be so packed that you have no time for a workout. Additionally, you don’t want to get your clothes all sweaty and smelly when laundry costs a bomb. Plus, you won’t have any time to do it anyway.

But fear not – for every difficulty there is a solution. Let me give you a few quick tips to maintain your fitness routine on vacation.

Exercises:

Cardio

You don’t need a gym to work out. You can do your cardio using nothing but the road by going for a morning jog or walk. If you don’t want to go out, then you can pack a jump rope and do some skipping in your room. If you don’t have your rope, then you can do some ‘Good mornings’ or ‘jumping jacks’ and ‘Burpees’. (Look them up – they need no equipment and can be very punishing indeed).

cardio

Resistance

You don’t need a gym to build or maintain muscle. You can get a great resistance workout by doing freehand exercises like pushups, pull-ups, squats, box jumps and a range of sit ups. I also carry resistance bands – which are essentially large rubber bands – that I can use for chest and bicep/triceps workouts. They also help in adding tension to squats. You can even use your luggage as weights and use them while doing squats or lifts.

Yoga

Surya Namaskar is the ultimate yoga workout. All you need is a little floor space and 10-15 minutes of time. Once you do 12 repetitions of Surya Namaskar, you have completed most of the required asanas which

Surya Namaskar is the ultimate yoga workout. All you need is a little floor space and 10-15 minutes of time. Once you do 12 repetitions of Surya Namaskar, you have completed most of the required asanas which are equivalent to a total yoga session. It will make your back and joints supple and the stretching of the muscles ensures ample blood flow and energises you for the whole day. If you have some more time, then do Chakrasan, Dhanurasana, Sarvangasana, Halasana and, if you can manage it, Shirsasana. That will take another 15 minutes and will be a complete workout.

yoga

Activities

The simplest way to maintain fitness while travelling is to incorporate a lot of physical activities in your holiday schedule. Plan a lot of walking around,

The simplest way to maintain fitness while travelling is to incorporate a lot of physical activities in your holiday schedule. Plan a lot of walking around, enrol yourself in a walking tour, do some trekking, cycling or other adventure activities as part of your holiday. This removes the monotony of a fixed exercise routine and makes working out fun. The whole point of exercise is to be fit enough to enjoy life – so if enjoying life makes you fit then it’s a win-win and starts off a virtuous cycle. You enjoy being fit and do activities that make you even fitter.

Diet

The ultimate exercise to maintain fitness is to shake your head from side to side when someone offers you food! It can be a terrible thing to look at amazing food and say no – so make a system out of it. Have one blow-out meal in the day and keep the other meals simple. Try eating more protein and fewer carbs. Have dessert only once a week. And keep a count of your calories. Once you have an idea of the calorie count of each item, then you can plan your day to cover your 1500 – 2000 calories intake. When you find out that one piece of Apple pie is 800 calories, the temptation will drop sharply!

salad

And that’s it! That’s all there is to fitness – calories in and calories out. Maintain a healthy ratio of in and burn it out with an added bonus of muscle building. Head out to Sterling Holidays and treat yourself to a spectacular vacation.