Traveling this Summer? These Tips Will Help you Stay in Shape While On the Go
Working out while traveling can be challenging. You often have less time and without your regular Pilates class or workout crew to keep you motivated and hold you accountable, skipping exercise becomes a whole lot easier. Yet we all know we are at our best while working out. Or like Elle Woods says in Legally Blonde, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands.”
With the added stresses that often come from being on-the-go, it’s even more important to engage in mindful movement so we can better regulate our emotions, respond from a calm, grounded place, and stay present with the people around us.
Even just five minutes of mindful movement can help us eliminate unconscious responses to stress, like snapping at our partners or kids (or flight attendants!) when we’re traveling. So while finding a way to stay active during your vacation may feel like an added step to take before you jet off, doing so will help you show up as a better version of yourself and allow you to enjoy your trip a whole lot more.
Here are some of our best tips to help keep you moving while you're traveling this summer:
Tips To Help you Stay in Shape While Traveling This Summer
Plan Ahead & Keep Your Movement Practice Short and Simple
You likely won’t have the same amount of time to devote to your fitness routine while traveling as you do back home, and that’s okay! The point of taking a trip or vacation somewhere is to take a break from your routines, get outside your comfort level a little bit, and have fun. So instead of putting a lot of pressure on yourself to stick to your regular workouts, commit to keeping your workouts simple while you’re away from home.
We love this 15-minute energizing morning yoga flow by Caley Alyssa and this 5-minute Pilates workout by our founder, Melissa Bentivlogio. Neither workouts require equipment (a must while traveling) and both will give you a full-body burn.
Pro Tip: Before you head off on your trip, actually do the workouts in the videos you’re planning on using a couple of times. That way your brain and body will be familiar with the moves and sequencing when it comes time to get moving while on your trip.
Often the perceived challenge or hassle we feel about what it will take to workout (like having to get dressed, figure out a space in which we can comfortably move if our hotel doesn’t have a gym, the extra brain power required to learn new moves or listen to a new instructor’s voice) is actually what keeps us from working out than the workout itself. When your brain and body are already familiar with the workout, it’s easier for them to dismiss perceived challenges in the moment, making it easier for you to get moving, and less likely to skip working out while you’re away.
Incorporate Physical Activity Into Your Itinerary
A great way to stay in shape while traveling is to plan activities that will get you moving while seeing the sights and taking in the culture. It’s well worth it to do a little extra research before you go to see if any of the places on your destination list offer fun, active excursions. Biking through the rice paddies in Bali or walking through Florence’s historic art and architecture are great examples of ways to incorporate some physical activity into your itinerary. From experience, we’d say these kinds of active experiences make better memories too!
Bring it Back to Breath
It can be easy to overlook how physically strenuous the act of belly or diaphragmatic breathing can be, or just how much of a workout it can give you. This kind of deep belly breathing that engages the deep core muscles and pelvic floor is an especially great way to build core strength and improve core stability. Plus, research has found this kind of deep breathing that relaxes your mind and lowers stress levels, making it a no-brainer to make time to do while you’re traveling!
Simply lie down on your back with your legs bent and your feet flat on the floor. Place both hands on the outside of your ribcage. You want your hands to be about 4 inches below where the bottom of your armpit meets. Breathe in slowly through your nose, feeling your ribcage expand and making sure your shoulders don’t lift up towards your ears (if they do, your breath is too shallow and in your chest). Exhale through your mouth like you’re blowing up a ballroom, placing your focus on your abdominal muscles and noticing how they contract and extend, watching as your belly rises and falls. Complete five to 10 breath cycles like that-–then head off and enjoy the rest of your trip.
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