Don't Take a Vacation from Exercise

It’s been fun the past couple of weeks to hear about the summer plans for my friends and neighbors. This seems to be the summer for cruises and trips to national parks. With vacation plans ahead, you should be planning your exercise or physical activity along with it.

Whether you are going on a scheduled cruise or venturing off on your own, your summer vacation can be a great way to maintain or jump-start your need for physical activity. Before you head off to the great outdoors, be sure to put a plan together:

• If you are planning on hiking or backpacking, this may be the time to invest in some new shoes and a sturdy pack. 
• Go out on a “trial” hike before trusting the equipment you have. You don’t want to find on your vacation that you have faulty equipment.
• Besides checking your equipment, check your body. Are you in shape for your vacation and the physical demands of sightseeing? Take the steps necessary to improve your cardiovascular fitness.

You may fall into the mind set of, “I’m on vacation, the last thing I want to do is exercise.” I would encourage you to think again. Vacations can and should be wonderful, but they can also be stressful. Exercising can help you cope with the stress of vacationing as well as compensate for the potential over indulgence of food and sweets.

Vacationing can also be a fun time to explore different types of physical activity. For example, cruises and group vacations offer a variety of classes which invite and encourage physical activity. You could take a yoga class, line-dancing class, or rock-climbing lesson. Who knows, maybe you could unleash the “electric slide” animal in you, just waiting to come out.

If you are not interested in breaking a sweat, be sure to take longs walks on the beach or stroll through your vacation destination. Remember, exercise is good for the body, good for the mind and good for the vacationer.

How do you get your exercise in while on vacation? Tell us in comments.