How to Stay Fit on Vacation (While Still Enjoying Yourself)

Health

Going on vacation (or traveling for business) can throw a lot of things in your life out of their routine — including your diet and strength training program.

Oftentimes the place you’re traveling to doesn’t have the equipment you usually use for your workouts. You’re lucky if a hotel has some dumbbells in their fitness area, and if you’re renting a house, it may lack any equipment at all. Sure, you could find a gym in your area and pay for a day pass, but that’s not an option if you’re away from it all out in nature. And really, you’re on vacation — taking a break from your regular routine is the whole point. You’ve got places to go and things to see. Fitting in an hour-long training session might not be on your agenda.

Then there’s the vacation diet. Sticking to your macros is pretty easy when you’re at home — you can plan your meals out and stock your fridge with plenty of healthy foods. When you’re on vacation, though, you may not have access to a kitchen, so you’ll be eating out a lot, particularly at places that aren’t known for their “light” menus. Plus, again, it’s vacation! It’s a time to indulge and let loose a little.

So given these challenges, how can you balance staying in shape, while also thoroughly enjoying your vacation?

This is a question that has loomed large in my mind as the McKay clan prepares for one of our regular pilgrimages to the Green Mountains of Vermont later this month. We’ll be staying in a house in the middle of nowhere and I won’t have access to the barbells and squat rack I use for my regular workouts. Plus, we’ll definitely be making regular trips to some roadside “snack shacks” for burgers and maple creamees.

So I asked my strength coach Matt Reynolds what I should do while I’m away in order to maintain the muscle gainzz I’ve made so far this year, while mitigating the “table muscle” gains I’ll get from stuffing myself with delicious New England fare.

Here’s what he suggested for me and other guys in regards to training and eating on vacation.

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