Getting fit before a vacation when you have a demanding job, busy family, and tons of stress is tough. If you're tired, stressed, overweight, and not working out consistently, making the choice to change that while you're away can inspire you and help you make it a way of life when you get back. There are plenty of people who pay big money to do this at Canyon Ranch, Miraval, or Red Mountain but you can do it yourself for less. Just follow the 3 easy steps below and your vacation can help you lose weight, get fit, feel fabulous, and stick to it when you get back.
1. Set two goals that fit with what you want to do when you get back: ie. hike more often, do yoga more consistently, learn how to use the outdoors to relax and destress, get back into a sport, strength train at home more often, make healthier food choices. Your fitness goals should be realistic and fit with your lifestyle so that when you seek out these activities on vacation they should feel enjoyable and doable long term. What will happen when you do this? When you sit down and think about your goals and what you want to accomplish with your fitness program you realize that it isn't just about the workout and how you're going to look, it's all about feeling great and being fit enough to do things that you enjoy.
2. Buy a guide and plan your activities according to your goals: ie. When my clients and I planned a fitness getaway to Oahu we bought several travel books, researched the internet in order to devise a plan that would motivate us to be more active outdoors. Our trip was 5 days long and included hiking Maunawilli Falls and Kuliouou Ridge trails, kayaking on Kailua beach, snorkeling Hanauma bay and turtle bay plus lots of walking on Waikiki beach. We stayed super active the entire time and packed coolers with fruit, yogurt, protein bars, and nuts to avoid the junk food and keep our sugar level balanced and our energy levels high. We brought a lot of our snacks from home and also did some grocery shopping on the island. We had a few meals out but because we were taking care of our metabolism needs throughout the day the choices were much healthier (sushi, veggie wraps, salads). What will happen when you do this? When you plan ahead on vacation you realize how being prepared can affect your food choices and activity level positively.
3. Devise alternative options and embrace a flexible attitude in case something goes wrong: i.e. We had planned to surf and kayak but getting lost on the H3 and an already overbooked schedule made that impossible. Our kayaking trip on Kailua beach turned into a relaxing yoga session instead and our surfing lesson on Sunset beach turned into a slow paced run instead. It was a bit disappointing not to be able to do what we had planned but our alternative activities burned calories and provided some much needed stretching and destressing. What will happen when you do this? When you're prepared to change gears and you're willing to try something other than what you had planned you realize that addapting to change can actually work to your advantage.
Bonus tip: You probably won't find everything you want to do in one place so choose a location that is central to all the activities that you want to do that way you can rent a car and drive there. Great inexpensive places to set up base camp for a fitness vacation:
- Sedona, AZ
- Oahu, HI
- South Beach, Florida
- Portland, ME
- Seattle, Washington
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