Smart Ways To Stay In Shape Whilst Travelling

Benjamin Jones

Travelling is an incredibly enriching and rewarding experience, so much to see, do and absorb. The dark side of travel is often the weight gain and loss of fitness, which comes from the enjoyment of rich food, fancy cocktails and a change in routine.

Ensure that you come home looking fit and fabulous and still enjoy your holiday with these easy fit tips for healthy travel.

Eat a plant-heavy diet

Organic Produce from Kumu Farms
Buying organic produce from Kumu Farms, Molokai, HI

We all like to indulge in the local delights whilst travelling, a new culture, a new cuisine, and you shouldn’t have to miss out whilst you’re on holiday. When dining out choose meals based around lean proteins, fresh vegetables and fruits and ask for sauces and dressings on the side.

Most importantly avoid fast food joints and truck-stop food, as these are high in calories and low in nutrition. Instead, find a grocery store and stock up on fresh natural foods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

If you’re on a long-distance road trip or travelling through airports and going to a restaurant or buying convenience food is your only option, ask for diet-friendly or low-carb options.

I like to eat out for one meal per day, then snack on small supermarket-bought meals of healthy fresh foods. This is a budget-friendly way to keep your calories in check and ensures you can enjoy your one indulgent meal with a yummy cocktail or two.

Pack your skipping rope

Whether you’re a budget backpacker or staying in five-star luxury all the way, a skipping rope is a light and effective exercise tool that takes up minimal suitcase space.

Skipping is an efficient and effective bodyweight workout you can do in a limited space. In addition to minimizing ankle injuries, rope jumping also strengthens the calves, quadriceps, and is one of the best workouts for your hamstrings.

You don’t need to skip for hours to get a really great workout, just ten minutes a day first thing in the morning will boost your metabolism, tone your whole body and give you a stellar cardio workout.

For a supercharged skipping workout check out the 1000 skips workout video above.

Pack seasonal activewear

jumping fox glacier
Getting active on the Fox Glacier

It doesn’t matter if your destination is tropical, icy or somewhere in between, packing active wear suitable for the season will help get active outdoors in comfort.

Include layers to accommodate different temperatures and most importantly pack comfortable and supportive footwear, chances are you will be doing a lot of walking.

Seek out opportunties to be active

hiking-great-ocean-road
Making the most of the hiking trails along the Great Ocean Road

Wherever you go on your travels, chances are your destination will provide plenty of opportunity for activity. If your destination is a city, make walking or even running your main form of transport. Road-tripping? Seek out hikes along your journey.

When you arrive at your destination, explore your new area with a walk or a run. Walking, running or even cycling, (if you can get your hands on a bike) is the best way to take in the sites, sounds and smells of your holiday destination.

Use what you have around you

hawea-river-track
Renting a mountain bike instead of a car

If you’re staying in five star luxury or camping under the stars, make sure you use the facilities on offer. If your accommodation has a gym and/or pool, make the most of the facilities by scheduling in a workout before your day begins.

Budget traveller? You don’t need a fully fitted gym to get an amazing workout, you can get a cracker of a workout using your own bodyweight. Explore the local area with a walk or run, then complete 3 sets of 10 push-ups, burpees, squats, and lunges before your day begins.

If you have access to wifi, tap into the Lithe Fit and Toned YouTube Channel for some heart pumping, calorie-torching workouts.

For more about how to eat and exercise yourself into shape for life follow Lithe Fit and Toned on Facebook to get the Nutrition and Lifestyle Program.

Do you have any top tips for staying in shape on the road? Share them with me below.

Travel Blogger & Photographer
  1. Great tips! It can be so hard to stay active while travelling, so it’s always nice to hear how other people manage to do so. I also try to do some yoga wherever I am, because I can do it anywhere as long as I memorise a few stretches and short sequences!

    1. Thanks Emma! Yoga and stretching is a great addition. It doesn’t take much to stay in shape, just 15minutes of heart pumping exercise per day. Check out my website for more

      1. Every time we travel and can’t afford a local gym membership, we always always always make sure to take the stairs (yes, even with the huge backpacks), do bicep lifts with our bags, grab a drink of water every time we pass a drinking fountain. and wake up early to get a nice run in!

    1. It is a challenge to stay in shape on the road, try implementing these tips. Just a little bit everyday will help you enjoy your treats and stay in shape

  2. Nice tips! It’s so easy to neglect your health on vacation, but these are tips are easy to follow. Another good tip would be to keep hydrated by drinking lots of water, instead of drinking sugary beverages since these have a lot of empty calories.

    1. Hi Corinne, glad you enjoyed the tips. I understand we’re you’re coming from, staying in shape as a blogger is a challenge. To learn how to get into great shape for life head over to my website and check out my nutrition program. Happy blogging and traveling! Rebekah

  3. Oh man…traveling is really the only thing that makes me pack on the pounds, even though we try to stay active while on vacation. Unfortunately, the more I travel, the more I gain 🙂 I’m currently working on getting rid of the 20 pounds I’ve gained over our last 3 trips this year. If only I could say “no” to all of the great food. Thanks for the tips!

    1. Hi Greg, I’m glad you enjoyed the tips. When you travel you definitely want to have fun and enjoy everything your glorious destination has to offer. Staying fit whilst traveling is about making fitness part of your travel schedule and using the wonderful facilities on offer. To learn how to lose those extra kilos and keep them off for life, even when you’re traveling head to my website and sign up for the lithe fit and toned nutrition program. Happy Travels!

  4. Thanks Rebekah for these great work out tips! Swimming is also great work out, if you are traveling in a place with warm climate. I try to go for an hour swim a couple of times a week, either in the sea or swimming pool. We are now traveling in Asia, so the temperature in the sea is not so bad :). Will definitely check out your YouTube channel!

    1. Hey Maria, great job with the swimming. Like I said in the article- use what you have on offer- if you’re holidaying in a beautiful beach location or have the advantage of a great hotel pool, use these workout tools to your advantage. For more workouts and fit tips head to my website or sign up for the lithe fit and toned nutrition program to learn how to stay in shape even when you’re on the road. Happy travels!

  5. This blog is very timely for me! Shortly setting off on a backpacking trip around central america and keen to stay as active as possible on the road! GREAT idea re the skipping rope! I’ll certainly be adding one to my packing list now! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  6. I lived in Melbourne for 3 months and using the public transport everyday can add up to be quite expensive so I walked everywhere. It was 5k to where I worked so I’d get te tram there and walk back along the beach. I saved money and kept quite fit.

    Parkruns are popping up all over the world now, especially Australia. It’s a free 5k run every Saturday morning around a local park. We try and do one everywhere we go. So far we have done the one in Melbourne, Sydney and Darwin and doing on in adelaide on Saturday! http://Www.parkrun.com.au

    Great blog!!!

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