If you fear to step on the scales after returning from your vacation, don’t! Erin Bender of Explore With Erin has gathered some of the fittest travel bloggers in the world to help you stay fit while you travel. And not in the usual “watch what you eat” way either. These methods are anything but boring.
There is no doubt that vacations usually have us returning home a little plumper. Trying local cuisine, sipping on crazy milkshakes, spending the days on sun beds and cocktails by the pool do not help our waistlines. In fact, it’s incredibly hard to stay fit while you travel. So in 2017, I made a conscious effort to stay healthy, even while traveling and lost nearly 60 pounds.
I discovered a ton of ways to stay fit while you travel. Ones you’ve probably already used. Get a hotel with a gym, drink water, walking tours, avoiding taxis, yoga classes, wellness retreats and more. You’ve most likely read about them all. But then I discovered there were people staying fit in more creative ways. Travel is no excuse for these 10 traveling pros.
Pack A Hula Hoop
Lisa from We Said Go Travel always travels with a Hula Hoop!
“Before I left on a year excursion to travel around South East Asia, I signed up for a hula-hoop class for adults. I had no idea that I would travel the world with a collapsible hoop in my backpack. At first, I started to hoop for up to 30 minutes listening to disco tunes and developed rock star abs! Now, I have hooped in a jail in the Philippines to Gangnam Style, on a bar in New Orleans at Coyote Ugly and on the beach at sunset in Oahu. It is a great way to meet new friends and stay fit while you travel!”
Are You An Acrobat?
Sab from Just One Way Ticket recently fell in love with Acroyoga. Slot that into travel and it makes for some pretty incredible pictures.
“I started doing Acroyoga last year in April and totally got addicted to it! Finally, I found some kind of sport that is so much fun and I can never get enough! Whenever I travel, I connect with the local Acroyoga community (most bigger cities have their own Facebook group), so I’m up to date with Acroyoga jams and classes. It’s a fun way to connect with people and do something for your fitness. After only six months of practice, I can see how my body transformed. If you haven’t done Acroyoga yet, give it a try, it’s easier than it looks like!”
Use Your Talent & Create Fire
Joshua from Veggie Vagabonds is a fire juggler and finds his talent not only earns him money, but gives him the opportunity to stay active on the go.
“Keeping fit on the road can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare. Fortunately for me, I found a way to exercise and make some money anywhere in the world! I’m a fire juggler and take my gear with me wherever I go. I busk on beaches, perform at hotels and bars or wow people whilst I wait for the bus. It’s a crazy workout and is great for your balance, coordination and core strength. I’ll juggle for hours each day so I don’t even need to think about any other exercise!”
Can You Say Handstand?
Like Joshua, Skye from The Fit Traveller found out her husband stays fit with a special talent. One that makes incredible travel pictures.
“It was during a dare in a resort pool in Lombok that I first learned of my husband’s hidden talent; he does a mean handstand. It’s a skill he likes to flaunt as we travel the globe. From ancient Angkor to a moving boat in the Maldives, Andrew loves to get inverted and it’s the perfect go-to move for a quick fit-hit and of course, makes for some amazing Insta-fitspiration. The beauty of the humble handstand is it doesn’t require any equipment, it recruits most of the muscles in the body including the core muscles. It also increases blood flow which makes it the ultimate jet lag remedy and travel exercise.”
Iron Man Challenge
James from World Travel Chef participates in IronMan challenges all over the world!
“A full distance Ironman consists of a 3.8 km swim, a 180 km bike ride and finishes with a 42.2 km run, with a 17-hour cut off. I competed in these events before we started traveling full time and recently slotted training and competition back into life on the road, competing in three continents. Carrying a triathlon bike and other race gear across Europe and Asia to international events isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it is possible, finding smooth, safe roads to ride on has proved tricky and we pick destinations that fulfill these criteria. The extreme challenge of hours of daily training keeps me ultra fit and allows me to discover our destinations in a unique way. Competing and finishing in new and exciting destinations is a real buzz and accomplishment.”
Yoga Is Free Everywhere
Namita from Radically Ever After practices yoga techniques free in any location.
“While traveling, I love practicing yoga in the wild for the expansiveness it offers. The elements make me feel at home in a way that no amount of the fanciest concrete can. I’ve found that inversions and Pranayama center my scattered energies and refresh me from the inside out. They have me breathing like I mean it and that goes a long way! Slipping into meditative states is way easier out in the wild than inside manmade concrete/metal boxes – Nature meets you halfway. Outdoor Yoga is such a powerful counter to our screen-saturated speed-junkie lifestyles. Try it to believe it.”
Why Not Pick Up A Surfboard?
Chris from the Backpacker Banter gets his fitness in by surfing. Something you can do in any ocean around the world.
“Life on the road can be tough — too many beers, too much amazing food, too many days sat on planes. But for me, that’s all balanced out (for the most part) by my love for surfing. A day in the waves is pretty solid exercise, you’re paddling, you’re popping … it uses pretty much every part of your body! From core muscle strength to raw swimming power, whether you’re a pro surfer or just learning to surf it’s an amazing way to keep in shape on the road. It really is the best way to stay fit when you travel. Combine that with some yoga (an amazing partner for surf fitness) and you might just keep your lifestyle in check!”
Staying Fit Together
Cara and her husband from Crawford Creations uses a tandem bike to stay fit. Even on vacation.
“My husband and I travel the world with our tandem bicycle and it’s a great way to stay fit while you travel. Our bike, aptly nicknamed Double Trouble, comes with us virtually everywhere we go. Bringing our bike allows us the unique opportunity to get off the beaten path and explore countryside undiscovered by most tourists. By pedaling our way up mountain passes and through jungles real and concrete, we get to see and experience so much more of the places we travel. Most importantly, riding our tandem for 100 kilometers a day enables us to grow stronger, both physically as individuals and together as a couple.”
Using Nature To Build Muscles
Sarah and Nathan from Live Dream Discover find nature provides the best exercise equipment, anywhere in the world.
“When you have a personal trainer as a partner, traveling is no excuse to not exercise. We try to travel light, but we always have to find room for our suspension straps which we hook up to doors, bars, fences … whatever we can find. When we can’t find somewhere to hook up the straps we use whatever is on hand. We’ve been known to use water jugs, chairs, filled suitcases, stairs, playgrounds, large rocks, trees, logs and even each other. Resourcefulness has become our gym and one thing is certain, our workouts are never boring.”
HIIT In Your Hotel
Becki from Borders of Adventure recommends the high-intensity HIIT workout to stay fit while you travel.
“While I always try and include adventure and adrenalin activities like hiking and climbing alongside my cultural wanders, it’s still important that I train in order to be able to take these things on, stay healthy and build strength. It’s a myth that we need to spend daily hours in the gym and after hiring a health coach to guide me on food, mindfulness, and exercise, I do three HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workouts a week. Each session is a short burst of energy that lasts between 15 to 20 minutes at a time and works by combining intervals of 20-40 seconds of fast cardio exercises and then 10-15 seconds rest. The beauty of this is that there is no excuse not do them since you can even do a HIIT workout in your hotel room!”
Which creative fitness routine is your favorite to incorporate into your travels?
Erin Holmes
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