.
I’m at the beach for a week in Mexico. When I travel, I like to maintain a workout schedule and keep eating heathy foods in reasonable portions.
When I am officially “on vacation” for a short time, as I am this week, I often treat it as more of a rest time. This is especially true when I come into it with a strained back and a nagging sore throat/cough.
The resort has a gym, but it seems a shame to waste time working out inside with this time-limited access to beautiful weather and an outstanding beach.
So, I have replaced my regular routine with three daily activities: at least one swim, a long walk on the beach with my partner after the sun drops behind the buildings but before it sets, and nightly dancing.
With these three activities, I would say I’m on my feet at least as much, sometimes more, than the average day at home. That’s despite lying around on a beach bed reading (and napping) for a good chunk of the day.
I am also getting lots of great rest. When the stress of daily life isn’t nipping at my heels, I find I need less sleep. So even if we don’t get to bed until 2 or 3 a.m. (or even later!), its easy to wake up before 7 and move out to the beach. Neither I nor my partner drink alcohol, so thankfully we have no issues with morning hangovers and dehydration.
The morning sun here is wonderful, nice and low in the sky at just the right orientation to heat up the beach and the people on it. When it gets hot enough, it’s time for that first swim.
As far as healthy eating goes, they may not have the vegan thing figured out well here (like last night they made me a special veggie stir fry with fried rice, and the rice was full of bits of chicken) but fresh fruit and salads are abundantly available. I travel with my own soy milk and protein bars. I just wish I’d packed Emergen-c for this cold of mine!!
The routine isn’t rigorous but it’s keeping me active and rested at the same time. I wouldn’t back off like this for long, but for one week it’s going to work well.
What do you do to stay active when you’re on vacation, especially a resort-type of vacation where you aren’t by default on your feet all day exploring a new city etc.?
