We just got back from vacation, and boy was it hard to maintain any sort of healthy routine while we were on the road. As I noted previously, one of the big limitations was that the only workout “equipment” that I had at my disposal was the floor and the great outdoors.
I actually anticipated problems with maintaining my exercise regime while we were away. While I went to the trouble of finding a local club that had Concept2 rowers, I knew in the back of my mind that I’d wind up slacking off while we were gone, and I never seriously considered trying to talk my way in to the club to squeeze in a row.
My recent addition of pushups to my workout repertoire did, however, give me a small amount of consistency since pushups can be done pretty much anywhere. But aside from that, all bets were off. My workouts ended up consisting of some hill running one day, a short (flat) run another day, and a couple of brisk three mile walks. I also did my pushups as dictated by the Hundred Pushup Challenge.
Making healthy food choices was also a challenge while we were no the road. We wound up dining out relatively often, and not always at the healthiest restaurants. Moreover, we spent most of the week in a group setting, such that the cooking (and menu planning) duties rotated with other members of our extended family. Thus, our food choices were often dictated by others.
The End Result
While I’m not explicitly trying to lose weight, I do try to keep an eye on the scale. Upon our return, I was pleased to learn that my weight had held steady, and maybe even decreased a bit. I also made reasonable progress in term of pushups, though I had hoped to emerge from the week with a few more reps under my belt.
It remains to be seen what effect the layoff had on my rowing, but I suspect that it will actually be somewhat beneficial. Though I was experiencing a bit of lower back fatigue before we left, I feel pretty good right now. Of course, I’ve fallen back in terms of meters rowed, but my distance goals are really rather arbitrary and not particularly meaningful.
Perhaps the biggest lesson that I learned from all of this is the importance of just doing something to stay on track while you’re on the road. While I gave myself a break, I didn’t throw in the towel entirely. I still tried to eat healthy (most of the time), I kept an eye on my alcohol intake, and I also made sure that I got a bit of exercise.
In the end, I may not have progressed, but I didn’t really slide back, either.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
You could just do what I do, and plan your vacations around marathons. Then you don’t have to worry about getting a good workout in while you are traveling. Heheh.
Nice work, glad the back is feeling better.
Thanks for sharing these insights. I’m going away for a month in November and I’ve been somewhat concerned about keeping up with healthy living while on the road.
I’m going to pack my running gear!
I’m a Briton, married to an American, and I’m off to Mississippi for three weeks starting August 1. I’m currently in the middle of a challenge to see if I can run every single day for one year – today was day #30 – and it’s going to be interesting to see how difficult it is to maintain this whilst away. I simply refuse to fail, but even the day I’m flying is going to be awkward – I foresee a 4am wake-up call to get that run in before we board the plane, as the thought of doing an hour *after* the flight, jet-lag and all, doesn’t really appeal.
As for food, when in Rome… I plan to eat whatever I like whilst in the good old US of A – can’t beat that Southern cooking – but an hour a day of running should take care of any weight gains.
I hope.
Sheamus: How far do you have to run for it to count?