How to Stay Fit while Traveling Anywhere

Happy Monday after Easter! Michael and I arrived back in Dublin from Dubrovnik on Friday and swooped right into the Easter hubbub. We had a lovely vacation followed by an even lovelier holiday with family and friends. But now that the ham and Cadbury eggs have been all eaten, it’s back to reality. It’s as good a time as any to share a post I’ve been thinking about for the last several trips I’ve taken: fitness on vacations! Sounds like an oxymoron, but hear me out. It’s one of the best little tweaks to our heavy travel schedule.

I don’t know about you, but I like to eat ALL THE FOOD and drink ALL THE WINE on vacation. And I like it that way. But, I also know that I’m happier if I can get a little exercise between ALL THE FOOD and ALL THE WINE. Exercise also helps mitigate any guilt you might feel if you can’t find the healthiest of options when you’re out and about – Croatia wasn’t so keen on salads, it seems, so we had pizza on the go more than once. Those choices aren’t world ending at all, but when you find yourself traveling to three different countries in just under six weeks, a little vacation exercise isn’t the worst idea!

So these are the ways I squeeze in some quick exercise when I’m traveling. A lot of European hotels don’t have fitness centers with lots of gym equipment, and more often than not we stay in Airbnb-style apartments, so I like to be prepared to sweat without the help of a gym. Here’s what’s worked for me.

Stairs

I suppose I should preface these first two suggestions by saying that I am the kind of person who thrives on repetition. Some people hate it, and if tha’ts you, tese first two might not be for you!

When I lived, briefly, in Santa Monica, California, in college, I was introduced to The Stairs. Capital T, capital S. On balmy mornings, I’d head over to The Stairs with all the fancy people and their trainers and we’d go up and down, up and down, the steepest stairs you’ve ever seen. You’d see people sprinting the stairs, taking them slowly, and taking them two by two. According to the trainers there, each of those tactics has their own benefits. I tend to prefer the slow and steady repetition version – find yourself a set of out-of-the-way stairs and go up and down, up and down, for as long as you can stand it.

At our apartment in Dubrovnik, there was a big set of stairs at the end of the row of houses. Perfect little workout area! (Thanks to Michael for getting himself out of bed before 10am to take these photos!)

I always do ten sets of ten flights. I take about a one minute break between sets. Because we don’t have stairs in our apartment, I’m always huffing and puffing by the second set and a little sore the next day. Or, in some cases a lot sore. In Dubrovnik last week, I decided a stair workout would be a great idea one morning, not realizing that our afternoon excurion to walk the Dubrovnik walls would involve eight million stairs. My calves were killing me the next day. Oops!

Jump Rope

I’ve been jumping rope for exercise for years now, even before Michael and I did the white collar boxing match for charity a few years ago. I order inexpensive $8 rubber jump ropes from Amazon and go through 2-3 of them each year. They are the best for bringing on vacation because they take up very little room in your suitcase and you can use them almost anywhere. All you need is a parking space or a square of concrete and a timer and you’re good to go!

For our boxing training, we always had to do sets of 3 minutes, so that’s what I typically do. It’s a great workout for your arms as well as your legs. When I’m in really good shape I’ll do sets of 20 push-ups between jump rope sets. Just set your phone timer for three minutes and jump as much as you can in those three minute sets. I mostly alternate between one foot and the other or sometimes two hops on each foot, back and forth. I told you, repetition is my jam!

Walk/Run/Cycle

In some cities, walking, running or cycling is a great option. I’ve run around the streets of Amsterdam and Paris while on vacation, and it’s such a fun way to see the city. I usually go out first thing in the morning when all the locals are heading to work, and it’s great people watching. When I run in Dublin, I don’t bother bringing my phone, but when I’m in a city I don’t know well I bring my phone to make sure I don’t get too lost. I pull up the map on my phone and make sure I can always get myself back to my home base.

Another alternative is to work in a little exercise into your daily plan. Some days, we’ll have big walking days exploring around the city, and I won’t bother with any extra exercise. Or we’ll be exploring a city by bicycle and that certainly counts as exercise as well.

Online Workouts

I’m such a fan of body weight work outs that need zero equipment because you can do them anywhere. For years, I didn’t belong to a gym because I would alternate running with body weight workouts I found online. Now I use online workouts for hotel rooms or places we stay where we don’t have a good outside space. Or, if I’m staying by myself and I don’t have to tiptoe around Michael while he sleeps late in mornings!

Zuzka Light is a good option (just ignore her hilariously fake boobs) and Tone It Up has some great short workouts as well.

And that, my friends, is how I justify ALL THE WINE on vacation. Any tips I can add to my repetoire?