Working out on vacation is a hot topic pretty much every July/August.
It’s also a source of considerable anxiety. I’ve known people who stress so much about training on their summer holiday that they turn vacations upside down just to find a gym. Or worse, they just don’t go at all.
So, how do I approach this subject with clients? Well, I hate to say it but… “it depends.”
Here are some of the factors you want to consider:
- How long is the vacation?
- Are you traveling by plane or by car?
- Are you bringing the family?
- Is it even realistic at your destination to plan on finding a gym or even exercising?
- Are you feeling beat up?
- When’s the last time you had a week off?
- How consistent has your diet been the last few months?
- Has your weight stable?
- Is there a hard goal on the near horizon?
- Do you NEED to workout to feel in rhythm or make good food choices or fall asleep at night? Does it have to be weight training?
- Do you love to train at new gyms but when you do find it hard to stick to your program?
All these variables go into what I might want a client to do (or try to do) while out of town.
However, this much I can tell you for certain. It will NEVER be:
“Here’s a brutal vacation workout. It’s gonna trash you, gas you, and leave you sore as hell for a week.
Ideally, you’ll tear a pec or blow out your lower back, just to make those 12 hours you spend standing in line at 6 Flags that much more hardcore. If you get bandaged up, blot some ketchup on it so you can tell everyone you caught shrapnel getting to da choppa — but that’s all you can say, normie.
Because your goals don’t take vacation. Nor do they ever call in sick. And they sure as hell don’t skip leg day to give a eulogy at a funeral for someone who probably didn’t even lift.”
I… don’t do that.
Training and diet is only successful if it’s sustainable for the long haul. And that means weaving it into the very fabric of your life, so it’s a part of your life, and part of you.
So there are times to train, times to rest, and times to play.
– Coach Bryan