SUMMER IS IN FULL SWING. THE DAYS HAVE GOTTEN LONGER, HOTTER AND ARE TYPICALLY FILLED WITH INDULGING IN TOO MANY BURGERS, COLD DRINKS OR SLICES OF GRANDMA’S FAMOUS CHEESECAKE. SUMMER IS A GREAT TIME OF YEAR, BUT IT IS ALSO THE ENEMY FOR A GUY TRYING HARD TO MAINTAIN A BEACH-READY BODY. WHILE YOU CAN ALWAYS KEEP YOURSELF IN CHECK CLOSE TO HOME, BEING OUT ON THE ROAD CAN LEAD TO LESS THAN STELLAR RESULTS. DOMESTIC LEISURE TRAVEL HAS INCREASED 2.0 PERCENT IN 2017 TO NEARLY 1.8 BILLION PERSON-TRIPS. SUMMERTIME TRAVEL IS A WAY TO RELAX FROM THE RIGORS OF EVERYDAY WORK, BUT CAN ALSO BE A PITFALL FOR YOUR CONSISTENT WORKOUT ROUTINE. AS DEDICATED AS YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOUR BRAIN WILL NATURALLY FIND AN EXCUSE WHY YOU SHOULDN’T WORKOUT WHILE ON VACATION. WE’RE TOTALLY ON BOARD WITH TAKING TIME OFF AND LETTING YOUR BODY HEAL, BUT YOU NEED TO FIND A HAPPY MEDIUM WHEN IT COMES TO MAINTAINING YOUR FORM. WHETHER YOU ARE TRAVELING TO A NEW CITY FOR WORK OR HEADING TO THE BAHAMAS FOR PLEASURE, KEEPING YOUR FITNESS A PRIORITY IN YOUR LIFE CAN BE PAINLESS AND PRODUCTIVE.
When you are away from home, shorter, high intensity, body weight workouts are easy to incorporate into your day. At a hotel? Do your workout in your room or the hotel gym. At a beach rental? Go outside in the yard and work up a sweat. If you squeeze in a 30-minute workout earlier in the day, before all the fun of vacation really begins, you will feel much more energized and you won’t sacrifice your fitness goals while traveling.
This workout can be done anywhere and is a full body burner with no equipment needed. Start with the warm up and go through the circuits below for 3 rounds or set a timer for 25 minutes and complete as many rounds as possible. The object of these exercises is to get your heart rate high quickly and try not to rest for too long in between sets.
WARM UP ~ 3 MINUTES
20 sec each x 3 rounds (30 sec rest after each full set) jumping jacks, high knees, kick butts
2-3 MINUTES OF CARDIO.
Whether you jog around the block, do jumping jacks, or repeat the warm up routine,
get that heart rate up with some cardio at the start of each circuit.
LATERAL PLANK WALK + SQUAT THRUST (10 REPS)
At the bottom of your squat thrust, plank walk laterally 4 paces, jump back up to standing. Next time, plank walk 4 paces back to where you started. That’s 1 rep, complete 10.
SPLIT SQUAT (15 REPS, EACH LEG)
Your standard split squat starts with legs starting like the letter A. Keep you head up, back straight and bend your knees till your knee come close to the ground and then return to the top. That’s 1 rep, complete 15. FOR A TOUGHER WORKOUT: Your rear leg can be elevated (on a step or bench like above) to make things harder.
PLANK JACK + PLANK TUCK JUMP (15 REPS)
Start in a push-up plank position. Jump both feet out to the sides, like a jumping jack and then back to center. Then, with both feet together, jump up towards your chest (pike your butt up to the sky and keep your legs straight), back to center. That’s 1 rep, complete 15.
TRICEP DIP + OPPOSITE TOE TOUCH (4/4, 10 REPS)
Start in a reverse table top position on a bench or chair. Complete 4 tricep dips, then reach your opposite hand and foot straight up to meet in front of your face, alternating side 4 times. That’s 1 rep, complete 10.
PUSH UP + SIDE PLANK WITH CRUNCH, ALTERNATING SIDES (10 REPS)
Complete 1 push up, then open up to a side plank and crunch (bring your bottom knee in towards your top shoulder). That’s 1 rep, complete 10 alternating sides as you go.
Lastly, a few tips to ensure that your workout DOES happen while you’re on vacation:
GET IT DONE EARLY
The longer you wait to workout throughout the day, the less likely it is that it will actually happen. It is very possible that some other, more interesting activity will pop up later in the day and you don’t want to be the guy who skips out on the fun.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
You don’t need equipment. You don’t need a gym. All you need is your own body. Extra equipment is great, but not necessary. Also, use your surroundings — benches, parks and hills all make for a great and efficient workout.
HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE
Set your alarm for your morning workout by 5pm the day before to hold yourself accountable for your workout the next day. Make the commitment ahead of time and you will be happy you did. If you’re a social fitness person, see if you can find a buddy who will join you or schedule a class nearby for a workout. NEVER bail on a workout with a friend.
DON’T STRESS ABOUT IT
I totally get it…things happen and situations arise. If it doesn’t happen one day, that’s fine. Don’t stress about it or beat yourself up over it. Commit to your workout the next day and enjoy the day ahead!
DRINK LOTS OF WATER
Although this is obvious especially in the summer, it’s also easy to forget. You want to make sure you wake up feeling ready to take on a workout.
Big thanks to model Ryan Wood for the examples .
