Training on Vacation: The Workout

First, some good news for you strength-training practitioners out there: Going a week or two without hoisting some iron will have little detrimental effect on your strength. In fact, research has shown that up to six weeks of inactivity results only in a slight decrease in power. So if you’re worried that skipping a week’s worth of training is going to set you back, don’t. You’ll be fine.

What’s more, taking some time off from strength training might actually set you up for bigger gains down the road. Strength training is taxing on your body. Fatigue can build up to the point that you are overtrained and can no longer fully recover from workouts. The result is stalled progress in your strength gains.

So taking a break from the iron for a few days may be just the thing your body needs to make a full recovery, and prepare itself for pushing past a plateau once you get back home.

With that said, you do want to maintain a little activity while on vacation, primarily to keep your metabolism up as a hedge against packing on the pounds from all the delicious food you’ll be eating.

With that goal in mind, Matt recommends doing short, but intense metabolic conditioning (called “metcon”) workouts while on the road. 

For our workout, we’ll be doing intense, full-body circuit routines. Do them every other day. You can do these inside or outside.

Remember, these are metcon workouts — our goal is to make the workout hard and fast. You shouldn’t spend more than 30 minutes with it. You’re on vacation. You’ve got better things to do.

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