Staying Fit Abroad

The struggle with staying fit is constant. You are no sooner happy with your progress and you end up going on a weekend away undoing all your hard work! I am a great believer in balance so I won’t deprive myself of some treats while I am away but I can’t say I don’t feel guilt when I indulge in a week long foreign food binge!

Here are some tips on keeping fit abroad (making all those ice creams and pastries that little bit less guilty..) *GIVEAWAY AT THE END!*

1. Walk EVERYWHERE 

I know when you are not used to somewhere it is easy to google bus routes and tram routes and avoid taking a wrong turn down a street and getting completely lost but honestly some places are so much closer than they seem. Even in places like New York it is not entirely necessary to always take the Subway and if you do, try walk a station or two further from your originally planned stop to get in that extra bit of walking. You will never see an entire city between the walls of a carraige so walking has more than just health benefits.

2. When you can’t walk, Cycle!

I will be the first to admit that sometimes cycling is seen as ‘uncool’ but it is an amazing way to see a city and get fit at the same time. While working abroad one summer the buses were too unreliable to get to work on time so instead we all invested in bikes and cycled 8 miles to work every day and back and it is the only thing I can credit to me not turning into a beached whale all summer! In most European cities cycling is very common and many offer bike rentals which if you are clever (they are usually free for the first 30 minutes) you can dock them a minute before your free time runs out and then start all over again! Cheap, healthy and quicker than walking.. I see no complaints here?!

3. Games on the beach

Playing games like volleyball, tennis, etc on the beach or even in the pool instead of just lying there is a great sneaky way to get some cardio in! You won’t even realise how much you are running around, you will get a tan in the process (without having to flip yourself over like a burger) and you have fun on top of it all! I know this fitness tactic would only work in certain scenarios, but keep in it mind if you are ever away on a beach trip.

4. Circuits

Not the most pleasant option of them all  but if you really want to put your body to work then do some circuit training in your hotel room. Circuits like the Kayla Itsines BBG Challenge can be done in 28 minutes and it is a serious workout! If your lucky you might not even have to stay in the confinements of your bedroom walls and venture down to your hotel gym 🙂

5. Run Forest, Run!

Running is another option if you want to get your daily dose of cardio in but make sure that the area is safe, check your route and always run in daylight if it is in an unfamiliar area!

These are just some of the ways that you can stop yourself completely falling off the wagon while abroad but if you don’t get a chance to do any of these then don’t beat yourself up… visiting another country isn’t about just seeing the sights, it is about the complete experience! If that means missing a few gym days then so be it, it will be there when you get back 😉

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GIVEAWAY!

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So, the lovely people at GPSMyCity have arranged for TWENTY of my lucky readers to win a promo code for a guided walking tour of the city of your choice! These codes are used on the GPSMyCity App which is available for both iPhone and Android and these codes are usually $4.99 so getting one would be a real steal! The app itself is free to download and they offer over 5,000 walks almost 500 cities around the world!

For those well traveled this could be the opportunity to trial these walks before committing to buying them, or you could simply be heading on a weekend away soon making this the perfect opportunity to see the sights at a low cost! To win one of these codes, all you have to do is follow my blog and comment underneath as to why you would like to win one of these codes! So get commenting folks.. I have plenty of codes to give away!!! 🙂

Winners will be announced at the end of next week!