The Great Outdoors Gym Along Your Travel Road
Stimulating Action for Fitness Tune-Ups Outside and Away from Home
Oct 14, 2009
Accessing natural and man-made outdoor areas of either the town or countryside you find yourself in while traveling is one way to explore and experience new surroundings while also taking care of your fitness and health. In fact, the different locations, local landscapes and challenges can themselves be a stimulus to your usual fit regimen, which can get a mental boost and recharge from the change of scenery.
A few of the easier outdoor options you just need to bring your knowledge and energy and some basic gear or sports clothing to participate in might be any of the following:
Swimming
A lap session in your hotel swimming pool is an excellent workout for tired muscles. Use a few different strokes during your laps and you can better overall target the major muscle groups—particularly arms, chest, and back. Also, performing some rapid walking or striding in chest-deep water, or treading in deep water for a few minutes at a time, can be effective alternatives to doing laps. Make use of the sides of a pool to do some resistance exercise like triceps dips. Water provides both excellent resistance and support. Try bounding or running in place in the pool at no more than waist high level, a good conditioning movement for the quads, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors and hip adductors.
If you happen to be near the ocean, then other water sports like kayaking, windsurfing or water-skiing, can provide great conditioning. You can also take advantage of the soft sea sand by doing some running sessions, which really targets your legs while getting your lungs pumping.
Hiking, Walking and Running
Along with a thorough lower body workout and some needed cardio stimulation, you also get out and about to explore some of the local outdoors with your choice of the appropriate footwear, some light clothing and a natural space to head for. If you are in a very flat environment, look for parks with running and biking trails or grassy surfaces. If there are parks with mountainous areas, give your legs the extra workout with some rapid ascents and descents. Even in a city, you can take advantage of structures like outdoor flights of steps for performing more challenging cardio/leg workouts. Remember to stretch or warm-up for a few minutes first if you have been spending hours seated in a plane or a car.
Biking or In-line Skating
Rent a bike or in-line skates at local sports shops for a self-guided tour through some of your host city's park areas. Again, check in advance with your hotel concierge or at a specialized sports website that has details on the best local facilities and routes to bike or skate around. This is another fantastic way to familiarize yourself with the environment of another city or country.
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