6 Fitness Tips for Working Out While Traveling for the Holidays

Traveling for the holidays can feel stressful and chaotic, making it challenging to keep up with your regular exercise routine. With plane rides, road trips, and everything in between, your days will be filled with gatherings and holiday parties. Trying to balance staying active and a busy holiday schedule may feel impossible some days, but with these fitness tips, you can still maintain a workout routine and stay healthy while traveling throughout the holiday season. 

Take Advantage of Walking

Although it might not feel like a true workout, a quick run or walk can provide your body with a great workout. The steps add up quickly, and it is the easiest way to get movement in during traveling. Whether you walk laps in the airport, take a walk from your hotel to a local coffee shop, or ask your family to go for a walk to look at holiday lights, you will be getting a workout in. If you want to take it a step further, you can look and see if there is a holiday 5k in the area you are traveling to and plan ahead to participate. 

Utilize the Hotel Gym

If you are staying in a hotel that has a gym, this is the perfect time to take advantage of the amenities. Even if the gym at your hotel is not large with an abundance of equipment, you can make do with what you have available. If you are struggling to come up with a workout idea, look up a free online workout that requires minimal equipment and do what you can to get some sort of workout completed. 

Use the Time You Have

Don’t stress about not having a full hour to fit in a complete workout if you are running low on time. Even if you only have 30 minutes, that will allow you to get some movement in, which is better than nothing. Take advantage of any free time you are given and try to get some form of physical activity in.

This time of year is chaotic and is not the time you need to spend worrying about being perfect with your routine. It is about consistency and not perfection. You may find that you can fit in 30 minutes each day instead of worrying about an hour or two five days per week. 

Look Into Bike Share Programs

If you are traveling to a place where the weather is nice enough to go on a bike ride, a bike share program can be a great way to get a workout in! You can easily look up bike share programs in the city you are traveling to and find out where you can pick up the bike and the cost.

Riding a bike is a great form of exercise, and if you ride for a while, you might be surprised at the amount of movement you get in. A bike share program can also be a fun way to explore a new city you might be in and get to spend time with family and friends. 

Make the Most of Your Space

You may be staying at a friend or family member’s house or even in a small hotel without a gym, but you can still utilize the space you have available to get a great workout in. If you need to do something in an area such as a hotel room, you can use the floor to fit in a quick yoga routine, do jumping jacks, work on strength training exercises, or use items in the hotel room as weights. It will take some creativity, but you can use almost any space to get some form of movement and exercise in. 

Plan Ahead

One of the key factors in staying fit while traveling is going to be planning ahead. Look at your travel schedule, where you will be staying, and what your plans are at your destination. From there, you can find out where you will have time to fit in a workout, look at workout options in your area, and get creative if you need to. By allowing yourself time to plan, you will be setting yourself up for success. 

Looking for More Fitness Tips?

Traveling for the holidays can be fun and exciting, but it can be stressful for those people that want to stay in their regular routine. Although it may not be possible to follow your routine precisely, you can still utilize these holiday fitness tips to stay in shape and keep your body active while traveling. Looking for more fitness tips? Read the XTERRA Fitness blog for more.