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how to stay fit while travelling diet workout and other tips to stay healthy while on vacation
Posted on by Abhishek Daniel

Staying Fit While Travelling – Diet, Workout and Sleep Tips

Travel comes with its own share of compromises on a lifestyle routine. Eating habits, workouts and sleep routines get disturbed by ever-changing vacation plans.

While it’s difficult to work out while on vacation or eat healthy food while travelling, it’s not impossible to be fit while travelling if you follow a few tips to keep routines in balance.

What should you eat while travelling?

Keeping your diet in check forms the base of the fitness pyramid. It’s easy to lose track of your calorie intake while you are on vacation. Giving in to your cravings can make you take a few steps back on your fitness journey.

Here are a few things you can do to minimise the effect of travel on your diet.

  1. As always, eat whole foods. Healthy meals while travelling include 2/3rd of the plate of a lean protein source (grilled or baked chicken, beef, tofu, eggs) with adequate amounts of vegetables and fruits and the rest 1/3rd of the plate can be a complex carbohydrate source (potato, rice, dry rotis).
  2. Avoid high sugar and fat-containing food products like pastries and fried snacks. They add up unnecessary calories and won’t fill you too.
  3. Eat in small quantities frequently as this helps keep your hunger in check and won’t make you sleepy while travelling as would be the case with a heavy meal. My go-to snack is all-natural peanut butter and whole wheat bread that I always store in my tank bag.
  4. Hydrate yourself well. Don’t let the fear of not having clean toilet access deter you from hydrating yourself well. Take frequent toilet breaks as this helps in refreshing you to continue driving down the road.
  5. Make sure you have your meals from relatively hygienic eat-outs although you cannot ensure cleanliness every time. Avoid street food stalls and cheap local eateries. They might be easy on your pocket but can cost your health big time.

How to workout while on vacation?

What if I told you that you carry a gym with you every day? Yes, your body is your gym. Callisthenics and body weight exercises are your best bet workout while on vacation.

Here’s a simple 1-hour travel workout routine I follow in my hotel room after/before a day’s travel.

Whole body workout while travelling

  1. Warmup & dynamic stretches
  2. Pushup – 3 sets till failure
  3. Pull-up – 3 sets till failure
  4. Lying leg raise – 3 sets till failure
  5. Ab crunches – 3 sets till failure
  6. Pistol squats – 3 sets till failure
  7. Sliding leg curls – 3 sets till failure
  8. Static stretches

Mix, match and improvise any variations of these exercises according to your liking. The goal is to keep your muscle stimulus active until you hit the gym back home. If you get access to a hotel gym, make use of it!

Don’t lose your sleep during vacation

Never lose your sleep while travelling, especially if you are driving/riding. I’ve seen and heard people crashing because they dozed off on the road. In many cases, they haven’t gotten enough sleep the previous night.

Heavily relying on coffee to keep you awake while driving/riding isn’t a foolproof method to get you through long distances. Make sure you get at least 7 – 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep in the nights before your drive/ride.

Postpone your ride/drive if you’ve had a night of partying or staying up late due to any circumstance. Never push your body beyond its limits or it’ll sure give up in the least expected moment.

Never let travel hinder or slow down your fitness routines and goals. Instead, let your vacation be a break your mind and body deserve without compromising the fitness gains you’ve achieved so far. Follow these tips and stay fit while travelling.

Watch this article summed up in a video here –

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