Tips on staying fit these holidays

[Guest post by Jess Connelly, Goodlife Health Clubs Brand Ambassador]

I’m all about enjoying a break away but the only thing I want to bring back from my holidays is excess luggage in my suitcase and a golden tan! You can still enjoy your hard earned holiday, while staying fit and healthy too. Staying active on holidays is all about balance so here’s my top 5 tips for staying healthy and fit while you’re away!

1. If you fail to plan, plan to fail!

The easiest way to foolproof your fitness when you’re away from home is to make sure your accommodation has gym facilities. Websites like booking.com make it really easy for you to filter hotels by facilities – including gyms. I don’t need anything fancy, as long as there’s a treadmill, cross-trainer and some free weights like dumbbells, then I’m set. It’s important to relax and unwind on your holidays, but there is nothing worse that getting home to a nasty shock on the scales and feeling slow and sluggish because you’ve overindulged a little too much! When I’m away I prefer to train in the morning, before my brain figures out what I’m doing! You’ll start your day the happy way, and you’re more likely to make good food choices, too. Plus, it’s pretty hard to find the motivation once you’re nursing a food baby after breakfast and lunch.

2. Don’t discount DIY

Don’t let the no gym-factor give you a mental leave pass from exercise. If your accommodation doesn’t have gym facilities there’s still plenty you can do in your room, or around the hotel, to burn extra calories. At the moment I’m loving Tabata for a quick, fat-burning, high intensity workout. It involves 20 seconds of hard work at your maximum effort, with 10 seconds rest in between, for four minutes. Repeat this for about 15-20 minutes. And the best part? This type of training spikes your heart rate and boosts the amount of calories you will burn for the rest of the day (second glass of vino, perhaps?).

Try this easy 10-minute Tabata routine:

1. Alternating lunges

2. Squats

3. Mountain climbers push ups

4. Step up with high knees

5. Tricep dips

6. Skipping

7. Side skaters

8. Burpees

9. 2 minute plank to finish

3. Life is a gym

As soon as I arrive at my hotel, I drop my bags in the room, put my runners on and start exploring on foot. Rather than turning on the TV, or flicking through the tourism brochures, start pounding the pavement and get your exercise fix at the same time. Getting out and walking around your holiday destination, rather than driving or catching taxis, is a great way to stay active while exploring. Venture off the beaten path and you’ll probably stumble across some awesome finds, too! You could even take your training routine outside to a local park or maybe even a morning beach session!

4. BYO snacks

Meal prep never sleeps, even when you’re on holiday. If you’re like me and eat very regularly throughout the day, pack some pre-prepared snacks alongside your passport. Your accommodation package might include breakfast, lunch or dinner, which is great for consistency for your major meals, but finding healthy options in between can often be a needle in a haystack situation. The easiest way to avoid a blowout is to take protein bars, protein powder and individual portions of fruit and nut mixes with you. If you are prepared with your meals and your snacks you will not reach out to eat all the wrong foods when hunger strikes. All that hard work in the gym can be undone by a bad food choice over happy hour!

5. Be careful of liquid calories!

I was so shocked to learn about the amount of calories that are in some alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. Some of these delicious looking cocktails can contain just as many calories as an entire unhealthy meal, so be careful what you order at the bar!

Making simple choices like choosing soda water as a mixer instead of lemonade or another sugar filled drink, will save you hundreds of unwanted calories! This extends further than just alcoholic drink choices too. Be mindful when ordering mocktails and soft drinks and try using fresh lemon or lime to flavour your drink as apposed to cordials.

Happy Holidays!

* Lee (images above) is wearing Nike printed tights and Nike Lunarglide 6 shoes above  *
Jess Connelly (below)