Exercising on a road trip
The Longevity Exercise Physiology and Personal Training team in Drummoyne, Edgecliff, Marrickville, Bella Vista, Randwick, Lindfield, Balmain and Neutral Bay understand the importance of the continuity of exercise and are here to discuss a few tips to keep you moving!
With COVID-19 restrictions slowly beginning to ease, travelling around Australia and overseas is most likely on the cards after being restricted for so long!
Exercising on a road trip doesn’t have to be complicated and completing basic exercise with what you have can still provide you with benefits even while you’re away from the gym. Whether it’s aerobic exercise or training a specific body part, it can still be done but sometimes you have to be a little bit creative!
Aerobic exercise
The easiest place to start is a common area where people fall short at home which is hitting your daily step count. This is a great place to start as you will be fulfilling one of the parts of the daily physical activity guidelines. Here are some tips to increase your step count:
- If you’re travelling somewhere new, leave the car at your accommodation and set out on foot when exploring around your holiday destination.
- If you are staying in a remote area where you must drive to where the action is, park further away from where you want to visit so you are forced to walk around. Who knows, you might find other things that catch your attention.
- Research tourist sites which require walking or hiking, such as waterfalls, lookouts, or national parks.
If walking isn’t your thing but you still want to get around while exercising, bike riding provides an enjoyable way to travel around while completing some exercise. Possibly think about researching bike rentals within the area you are staying in or bring your own if you can.
Resistance training
Most exercises which are completed within the gym, can be replicated with bands or being creative with sourcing other means of adding resistance to body weight. Packing some TheraBand’s with you in your luggage won’t take up much space nor will it add much weight to your luggage either.
If you don’t have TheraBand’s, this is where you have to get creative. A simple way is to create a makeshift dumbbell or heavy object would be filling a backpack or bag with objects. This way, you can perform weighted squats very easily, you can use the handles of a duffle bag or backpack to perform rowing exercises (for the back), pushing exercises (shoulders, chest), and arm exercises via curls and pressing.
All our Exercise Physiologists are professionals in prescribing exercise according to your goals and health conditions, so we can provide guidance for you during your holiday period. 2022 is just around the corner, so get in touch with us to set up some strong exercise and lifestyle strategies to start the new year off on the right foot!
If you have any questions or would like to book in, please call 1300 964 002 for a free 15-minute consultation.
Written by Guy Beynon
