Do you guys work out on holiday? Training whilst on holiday was something I only two years ago wouldn’t even dream of doing. I was disciplined in my everyday life but as soon as I was on holiday I would lie there on my sun bed and barely move for a week. There is nothing wrong with that if that’s what you to do but my last trips I’ve really been missing moving and exercising, which was when holiday training came into the picture. I need exercise in my life to feel good just as I need to eat and sleep. My mood is really affected by whether I exercise or not, it’s like my daily cup of coffee.
This holiday I was wondering how my training would go. I was really looking forward to going away but at the same time I felt so happy with where my training was going and a bit sad to be missing out on the G5 classes plus loosing the strength I had built up. I was looking at gyms in Nice but they are all in central Nice and quite expensive, plus that money I honestly would rather spend on other things. So when I landed I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.
Then I started thinking, I’m on this path of challenging myself to things I don’t really like doing and not really good at to improve my general fitness. This involves running and Nice has got an incredible promenade I’ve run along before. You all know my thoughts on running, it’s not my favourite thing to do when it comes to exercise and I wasn’t thrilled at the thought of having to run for the next couple of weeks. But, instead of being frustrated I’m missing out on my classes and not having access to a gym I started to think of this as an opportunity. An opportunity to improve my running and other exercises I struggle with. I can take the time I normally take to lift to improve other aspects of my fitness. I had no excuses now when I was stripped of my access to gym equipment.
I think the issue I have is that I put a lot of pressure on myself with what speed I should run at and that I should run in a certain time. Whilst a bit of pressure can be good it can also be discouraging. Instead I decided to think me just going out running is an incredible win and a massive change in my attitude towards it. Before I would rather do nothing than run. Now I’d rather run than do nothing. I don’t care if I run fast or not, just pushing myself to do it is an incredible accomplishment for me. Some days I’ve pushed myself to run faster, other days I’ve just been happy to run at whatever pace I feel comfortable. At the end of the day I’m on holiday and I’m only going to do it if I feel like it. I know as soon I get back to Glasgow I’ll be back in the gym training so anything I do now is just to still maintain some exercise in my life. Having that attitude towards it has helped me loads. It’s crazy how your mindset can change everything.
Other than running I’ve done lots of bodyweight exercises. I see this holiday as a fantastic chance to work more on my push ups but also jumping lunges (god they can be so tough and they burn so bad) and jump squats combined with loads of other exercises.
What I want to say is training whilst on holiday is something you do or don’t do, it’s up to you but if you do there are so many things you can still do without having to pay for access to a gym. It’s all in your head and for me finding a challenge in what I do gets me motivated. I’ve challenged myself to do those exercises I usually avoid when training on my own and because I’m doing them I know I can only get better at them. You’ve got nothing to loose when you know you’re not very good at something haha. That’s quite a good feeling! You’ve got everything to gain from trying and this will benefit you in other aspects of your training too.
This can also be applied to when you’re starting out on your fitness journey, don’t look at everyone else is doing. If you’re starting from nothing you just doing some form of exercise on a regular basis is an amazing start. Then you start increasing the intensity and start going more if you want but going all in and putting that pressure on that you should go five times a week and have a sweat fest every time probably won’t be sustainable in the long run but if you start small and gradually increase the the amount of times you go and the intensity gradually you’ll find what works for you.
Going back to what I was saying about training on holiday, through focusing on what I can do to improve my fitness when I’m away with what I have I have made myself go running even though it’s not my favourite thing in the world. I know I’ll benefit from doing it and I need my exercise. It’s all about mindset and being your own cheerleader and coach. It’s tough taking on those roles when it comes to yourself because it’s tough to be disciplined but it’s something I’ve worked on for years. I’ve gotten to a stage now when I’m quite good at cheering myself on and pushing through but it’s not always easy!
Something I try to do when running is to race a little bit with the people who are also running along the promenade hehe. Just to give myself that little extra push. It really does help, especially for someone who has got that touch of competitiveness in them (*cough* me).
What are your thoughts on holiday training? Do you struggle to keep to stay motivated? I’d love to hear!
Have a beautiful day! Love, M xxx
