A few years back, my job had me zipping across the country frequently. Every few months I’d find myself exploring new cities and adapting to different time zones. Lucky for me, I was always mindful about keeping fit, and that served me well… Can’t help but wonder where I’d have been if I hadn’t prioritized fitness and nutrition.
However, during a particular phase in my career, I moved back to the States and stayed with family for about a month. I permitted myself a ‘pause’ on my fitness journey and decided to fully indulge in the joys of family time. Turns out, that was a big blunder.
Fast forward to my next assignment and I hit a shocking realization – I had piled on nearly 15 pounds in a mere month! I was out of breath after running 2 miles, my stamina had hit rock bottom at the gym and even simple activities left me breathless. Despite getting back on the fitness bandwagon as soon as possible, it took me a solid half-year to regain my former fitness stature.
One month of neglect spiraled into several hard months of clawing back to my baseline. Does this narrative sound relatable? Does this vicious cycle repeat every trip, leaving you clueless about altering your habits? If yes, continue reading and maybe my experiences and words of wisdom might strike a chord with you.
How it happens
There you are, smoothly sailing on your fitness journey, eyes fixed on the goal post, each day bringing you closer. Suddenly, your boss drops the bomb – a business meeting in Toronto in a few weeks. Or maybe you’re about to quench your wanderlust with a week-long vacation in the Bahamas. Either way, the preps need to roll, and fast!
You start assembling a checklist of things; what to pack, household chores to wrap up before you leave. You pour over websites in a bid to find the best restaurants, the most picture-perfect beaches, or finding a hotel perfect for your family’s vacation. So far, so good.
Then comes D-day when you land at your destination. The next day begins in regal fashion, a breakfast worthy of a king. If you’re on vacation or a work-free day, you might even throw in a mimosa. Unbeknown to you, this is the first step down the road of indulgence for the rest of the journey.
Each day brings new opportunities to explore, to try gourmet cuisine, or laze around because, well, it’s vacation! The pattern continues until it’s time to bid adieu. As you head home, you notice a bit of a ‘pudge’ but brush it off. No biggie, right? Back on track soon, you assure yourself.
But the reality check comes soon enough. Within a day or two, you step on the scale and gasp – you’re a good 5-10lbs heavier. Your budding six-pack is under siege. Now you face the age-old dilemma – spring back into action to regain control or sink into a fitness stupor, your motivation having taken a beating due to your laissez-faire attitude on the trip.
For the next couple of weeks, you waffle around before finally putting on those running shoes again. By the time you’re back in the swing of things, your progress has suffered, leaving you potentially further from your goals than you were before your trip.
No harm, no foul if it’s a once-in-a-while scenario, but with multiple business trips or a couple of vacations in a year, you may find yourself in a vicious cycle of fitness ups, and downs we like to call ‘yo-yo fitness.’ It’s a tricky place, and we’ve all been there. Just me? Didn’t think so!
The Magic Elixir
The magical combination to triumphantly return from your travels, not just with a mind full of memories but also in supreme shape, is to metamorphose into a ‘Fitness-Minded Traveler.’ This concept isn’t just about ticking off tourist attractions from your list but also being mindful of your health and fitness goals.
Imagine, as you stir your brain to weave an exciting holiday itinerary, browsing through websites for attractions, taste-testing corners, you carve out some time to draft a health plan. Not the boring one draped in sweat and self-inflicted hunger, but a thrilling blueprint that complements your travel schedule and keeps the fitness enthusiast in you alive and kicking.
Initiate this transformation well before you set foot on your journey. Develop a laser-sharp focus on three pivotal phases – the pre-trip setting the stage, the intra-trip keeping the flame alive, and the post-trip regulation allowing for fine-tuning.
Dive deep into the amenities that your hotel offers. Are their fitness facilities equipped to suit your workouts? Does your residence come with cooking facilities should you need to rustle up an impromptu, healthy meal? But we’re not just confining your fitness tour within the four walls of the hotel building.
Explore local parks for morning jogs or sunset runs. Tap into the available gym facilities where you can inject a shot of novelty into your usual fitness routine. Then maneuver around the culinary landscape, hunting down addresses for health food stores or meal-prep services. This level of preparation may seem overkill, but trust me, it turns into your strongest ammunition once you’re on the battlefield.
Remember how they say, ‘Well begun is half done’? Put this into action on your travels. Launch yourself into your fitness commitments within the first 24 hours of your arrival. This decisive step triggers a positive domino effect for the rest of your trip, sending out clear signals to your body and mind that your fitness goals aren’t confined to home-ground. They are as universal as your love for travel.
Once home, allow yourself time to reflect, to review the resolutions you held close while away. Examine where you scored and areas that could play out differently. This exercise doesn’t merely plug loopholes but makes each subsequent trip substantially easier to navigate. The icing on the cake? You prove to yourself that a splendid travel tale doesn’t necessitate shelving your fitness goals. Quite the contrary, a harmonious fusion of the two can enhance your travel narrative, making it memorable for all the right reasons. A riveting vacation doesn’t have to push fitness to the sidelines, isn’t this a thought worth toasting to?