Travelling and staying in shape don’t normally go hand in hand. We all know a vacation is the time for over-indulging, treating yourself, and then coming home feeling about 5kgs heavier! However, I personally think time out of your routine is a great opportunity to prioritize your health.

It’s pretty obvious that no one really wants to spend hours on end exercising while they’re travelling the world, so the approach should always be about maximizing output while minimizing input. Full body resistant workouts focusing on major multi-joint weighted exercises (think squats, dead lifts, lunges, bench press) are travel go-to because they do exactly this. Working multiple muscle groups in one go means you can burn more calories in a shorter amount of time and get more bang for your buck so to speak. Easy like a Sunday morning!

This approach also means you can get away with training less often than if you choose to train specific muscle groups individually, therefore creating more time for enjoying yourself – which is for sure the main reason you are travelling in the first place! This type of workout tends to require access to a gym/equipment, but the good news is that most gyms offer day or week passes, which is perfect for the travelers who only tend to be in a place for a short amount of time.

Staying active while travelling
If your idea of a holiday doesn’t involve working out, there are still plenty of other ways to stay fit. Just focus on moving more and being active. It sounds simple, and well, that’s because it is! However, we all know how easy it is to let the day pass us by, lazing around, with the only movement being rotating on the sun lounger every half an hour to make sure we develop an all over tan… But being in a new place is the perfect opportunity for being active – go on a walk to explore hidden backstreets, take a stroll along the beach, opt for the hostel stairs instead of the elevator (especially with your backpack on), or hike up a hill to get a better view. There are usually plenty of activities to throw yourself into – surfing, yoga, beach volleyball, swimming, rock climbing, tennis – just to name a few. Even if it’s for just half an hour a day, it will help to get your endorphins flowing and your heart pumping, which in turn can help to boost your mood, increase your energy levels, and keep you in shape. Swimming is a great full body workout

Diet and nutrition while travelling
Diet and nutrition also play a key role in staying fit and healthy, but for many people food is a massive part of travel. Tasting all the local cuisines, sampling every type of street food, and indulging yourself with that extra cocktail is all part of the fun, so it’s important to find a way to balance both the treat yourself urges and the healthy regime. Here are my tips for how to find that delicious balance…

Water is your friend
Stay hydrated… with water! It is recommended that we consume 3-4 liters of water every day, and this is even more important when you are out and about in hot climates. Not only does this help control appetite and prevent overeating because often dehydration is mistaken for hunger, but it helps reduce excessive water retention and bloating. Carry a big water bottle with you and refill it so you know exactly how much you’ve drunk throughout the day.

Chill out
Finally, don’t stress yourself out! The main thing is that you enjoy yourself and make the most of your time travelling. It doesn’t really matter if you treat yourself a few too many times or don’t exercise as much as you’d planned – this trip is once in a lifetime so have fun and then have some more fun!

Tips for Staying Fit While Traveling
I think a major misconception people get about staying fit while traveling is that it counts as “cheat days” for eating and not exercising, since your typical diet and workout routine may not be available. But that’s totally false, and you’re just convincing yourself that it’s Ok to “let yourself go”, when in reality it’s extremely easy to keep eating healthy and stay active no matter what country you go to!

1. Always Start With a Big Healthy Breakfast
Sounds like your mother talking, but a big healthy breakfast is what fuels your energy for the rest of the day and gets your metabolism pumping. Plus, a lot of times hotels include breakfast, so if you’re a budget traveler, you’ll want to stock up on it anyway.

2. Have At Least One Yogurt per Day
Yogurt is what helps “keep your tummy happy”, it regulates your digestive system and keeps you from having diarrhea or bloating.

It also can help regulate pH which keeps you healthy and fresh.

3. Drink Tons of Water to Stay Fit While Traveling
Everyone knows drinking a lot of water is healthy for you, so make sure you keep that up while you’re traveling. It’ll keep you full, hydrated, and away from drinking bad things like soda. Most places have bottled water easily accessible, but if not, consider investing in a quality self-filtering water bottle.

4. Take The Stairs And Work Those Gluts!
Everyone knows that taking the stairs is a good workout, and that it’s better than taking the elevator yadda yadda. But it’s the actual doing it part that most people fail at because let’s be serious…who wants to take the hard way? Take the hard way. It’s the way to success.

5. Make Tea Your New Favorite Drink
Tea is a magical drink. It gives you energy to do fun activities, antioxidants to protect against damage from pollution, and for some reason, it also makes you poop. All of those things equate to ways that tea helps keep you fit while traveling, so drink up.

6. Have a Granola or Protein Bar between Meals
Keep your hungry monster at bay and your metabolism pumping by having a granola bar or protein bar in the morning and in between meals. You can bring them in bulk from home, but you can also typically buy them abroad at any convenience store.

7. Buy Groceries Instead Of Always Eating Out
Buy groceries when you’re traveling instead of always eating out at restaurants. Not only will it save you money, but it will save you from over-eating, and help keep your healthy diet on schedule. You can buy oatmeal, soup, tea, popcorn, and eggs, and use a tea kettle or coffee maker to make them.

8. Walk Instead of Ride to Stay Fit While Traveling
Do you really need to take an Uber somewhere five blocks away? No. You don’t. Walk and burn some calories, and while you’re at it, stop and smell some roses. Unless you’re on a time crunch, it’s late at night, you have an impending physical condition, or you’re in an unsafe neighborhood, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to just walk instead of always taking a vehicle.

9. SUPER TIP: Flex When You Walk!
Have you ever heard of the little fitness trick to flex while you walk or run on a treadmill? Same thing applies to when you’re walking in real life. So flex that abs, gluts, and whatever else you can squeeze while you’re walking.

10. Exercise to stay in shape while travelling
Finding the right time and physical space to exercise can seem more challenging than ever when you’re on-the-go. If you don’t have access to any weights or cardio equipment, there are plenty of bodyweight exercises that you can do in the comfort of your own hotel room. All you need is yourself and a resistance band that easily fits inside your suitcase to work out while traveling.

Learn how to keep up with your fitness regime while on-the-go with these full-body exercises!

4 Upper Body Exercises
4 Lower Body Exercises

4. Upper Body Exercises
These upper body exercises strengthen the muscles in the arms but also work the core, shoulders, and back muscles. Do 10 reps of each exercise, repeat for 3 sets. To better challenge you during the first two arm workouts, try using a resistance band loop wrapped around the feet.

1. Plank Shoulder Taps

• Start in a high plank position, placing your hands under your shoulders closer together
• Keep the feet and knees wider apart to provide a more stable base
• Engage your abs and gluts so that your body is in a straight line, lift one hand up off the ground and move it slowly to touch the opposite shoulder
• Keep the hips square and do not rotate as you lift your hand to touch your shoulder
• Lift the other hand and tap your other shoulder to complete one rep

2. Triceps Dips

• Using a stable chair or bench, sit on the edge and grip the edge next to your hips
• Extend the legs and position your feet hip width apart with the heels touching the ground
• Press into the palms to lift your body and slide forward just far enough that your behind clears the edge of the seat
• Lower yourself until your elbows are bent between 45 to 90 degrees
• Push yourself back up to the starting position with controlled movement

3. Resisted Push-Ups

• Using a resistance band, place one hand in an easy-grip loop and wrap the band around yonder back, placing the other hand in the desired loop

• Kneel down and adjust the resistance band flat across your upper back in line with your scapulae

• Place your hands on the ground to assume a plank position

• Slowly lower your torso until your elbows are bent just above 90-degrees and rise back to plank position to complete one push-up

4. Bilateral Arm Raises

• Using a CLX band, begin by placing your hands inside the end loops
• With a staggered stance, place one foot in the center of the band
• With a closed hand grip and thumbs pointed upward, begin raising your arms to shoulder level, maintaining a 30-degree angle in front of your body
• Make sure to not shrug your shoulders and keep your back straight while performing this exercise

4 Lower Body Exercises
These lower body exercises challenge the legs, working the hamstrings, calves, quadriceps, and inner thighs. Do 30 seconds on each side, repeat for 3 sets. To increase difficulty during this leg workout, try using a resistance band loop that can also help improve flexibility.

1. Lunges

• Begin exercise by standing tall with feet hip width apart
• Engaging the core, take a big step forward with the right leg. Shift your weight forward so the heel hits the floor first
• Keeping your back straight, lower your body until the right thigh is parallel to the floor and the right shin is vertical
• If mobility allows, lightly tap the floor with your left knee keeping weight in the right heel
• Press into the right heel to push the body back up to the starting position
• Repeat for 30 seconds, then switch to the other side to complete one rep

2. Front Squat

• Begin by placing each foot into the end loop of a band
• Feed each arm through the two center easy-grip loops with one seal between them
• Fold and raise the arms to shoulder height and place the feet hip-width apart
• Maintain your arms with elbows bent and hands crossed at shoulder level as you slowly squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor
• Without leaning forward, slowly return to a standing position maintaining a neutral back and neck alignment to complete one rep

3. Leg Extensions

• Place each foot into a desired loop of the resistance band with one seal between them
• With your feet hip-width apart, center your balance onto the right leg
• Keeping the opposite leg straight, slowly raise and kick backwards
• Continue to kick backwards without allowing the foot to touch the ground
• Place the foot back into starting position and repeat using the left leg

4. Single Leg RDL (Romanian Dead lift)

• Start standing on the right leg with a slight bend in the knee
• With arms at your side, lift the left leg. Engaging the core, hinge at the hips and lean forward with the chest as you lift your left leg behind you
• Body moving in a straight line, keep the left leg straight and shoulders back and down. Stop when the torso and leg are both parallel to the floor
• Bring arms out to the sides in an airplane position to help balance
• Slowly stand up to return to start. Repeat for 30 seconds then switch to the opposite side to complete one rep