How to stay active on vacation

Here we are, just about mid-winter, and many clients are friends are heading for the tropics in the coming weeks for some Vitamin Sea and Vitamin D! So I thought I would share some tips on how to stay active on your upcoming vacation. 
​
Typically for my husband and I, most of our vacations revolve around sports - most often we travel to surf, ski, bike or hike, with some R’N’R on the side either in the evenings or as a rest day in between. However, our recent European trip involved a lot of sight seeing, and relaxing on beaches with calm seas. Although we enjoyed our trip, for the most part, it did not revolve around a sport as it usually does - so I had to consciously work activity into my day. Check out some of the photos from our trip - on these days we incorporated beach walks, biking, hiking, and lots of walking into our trip.

When it comes to fitness and leanness, there are a few important components that come into play: your Resting Energy Expenditure (the amount of calories your body burns at rest just to stay alive, also known as REE), the thermic effect of food (certain foods actually burn more calories while consuming them than others), as well as physical activity. All of these components together are referred to as your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. 

In order to keep your TDEE high, it is therefore important to include physical activity in your day, as well as include thermogenic foods in your diet. 

So here are a few things that I tried to incorporate into my days during our holiday to make sure I was still keeping my TDEE up:

• Morning beach runs: On the days that I knew we would be sightseeing, I started my day with a quick 5K run along the beach, and stopped at the end for a short a core workout using just body weight. Extra tip: Jog with your quick dry sports bra and bikini bottoms, and go for a dip in the ocean to cool off afterwards - the feeling is euphoric!
• Resistance band workouts on the beach: Some days I also jogged with a resistance band and stopped to do a short strength workout with it on the beach afterwards. 
• Walk to, and throughout, all your destinations: A quintessential part of any Euro trip usually includes lots and lots of walking to explore charming cobblestone streets and take in the sights. I wore my Garmin Vivo Active HR to track my footsteps. Any days that I thought my steps would be low, I would make sure to go for an extra walk either along the beach, or around the block or the house we rented.
• Beach Walks: When we were relaxing on the beach, and playing in the sand, I would get up and take some time out to go for a long walk along the beach - sometimes getting in just a couple thousand steps, and sometimes as many as 6,000.
• Swim, snorkel and beach play: The Mediterranean is beautiful temperature, so we would undoubtedly go for swims to cool off. I would usually choose a buoy as my destination, and swim to it and back to the beach. Extra tip: Carry snorkel gear with you to check out clear waters and fish at new beaches. We would also break to play in the sand occasionally with baby Syd. 
• Paddleboard: We rented paddleboards to catch a small swell that came in, and we also paddled along the shoreline. Once you become more comfortable paddling, pick up the pace and start using your core and upper back muscles to generate more calorie burn. 
• Incorporate hikes in your trip: We looked up local hikes in new areas we planned to visit. One day we did a short 1.5 hour hike in a gorge that was part of the town of Ronda. Another day we did a full day trip to a town called Antequerra, where we did a 12 km hike up to spectacular, prehistoric rock formations created by the extinct sea of Tethys when it existed 160 million years ago. 
• Rent bikes: We love to bike, and tried to mountain bike for a couple days, but unfortunately the tour operators were fully booked. So instead we found a greenway - once built as a railway bed turned to gravel bike path - and spent a few hours biking 36 kms from point A to point B along the greenway. It was also a spectacular way to see the Andalusian countryside. 
• Eat adequate protein at each meal: Protein is known to be a thermogenic food - meaning you burn calories during the digestive process. Try to include protein at every meal - use your hand to measure the quantity. Ladies - one palm size piece of protein per meal, and guys - up to two palm size pieces. ​

If you like what you have read, and would like to train with a certified fitness professional to reach your goals before or after a vacation, contact me! You can also subscribe to our newsletter.

You can also try subscribing to one of my Beachbody workouts to complete at home anytime, or maybe even on vacation!