I started working out and going to the gym when I turned 16 and sticked with it for the whole time. It was my passion and I really loved it. You could say I lived the fitness lifestyle. But on the other site there was my passion for travelling and photography, which grew bigger and bigger and to be honest it’s hard to stick to a proper gym routine while you travel. So I was very scared to lose my physical shape when I was on a worldtrip, but I was going to risk it anyways and I did pretty well.
After around 10 months of continuoes travelling, I only lost 3 kg and I still feel more than comfortable in my own skin. But what is my secret?
There is no real secret.
The secret is dedication.
It’s all about how you attempt the travel lifestyle. What I experienced is, that people use travelling as an excuse to not work out anymore or stick to a healthy diet, because they are on vacation. But if you are longer on the road, as I was, it’s not vacation anymore.
You just need to switch your thinking about this topic and still make it happen somehow. You can go for a run, do bodyweight exercises, find local gyms or workout on playgrounds. There are so many different options.
If you break it down very simple, there are two parts you need to focus on. Your workouts and your diet. I will break it down roughly in the following.
Part 1: The workouts
It is fairly easy. You just need to force yourself to get up and do something when others aren’t. I always prefered the morning hours for that, but you will know what works best for you.
I always tried to have at least three workout days in one week, but mostly I worked out more, because I just enjoyed it.
There are different options for how you can workout.
- Go for a run
- Find a place where you can perform a workout with your bodyweight
- Look up outdoor gyms (they are for free)
- Look up local gyms and buy yourself a day pass
- Find a playground and work with what is there
- Workout with some tools (trx suspension trainer, resistance bands)
And you can still split you days in different body sections or workouts.
Part 2: The diet
It’s hard to eat healthy all the time, because mostly you have to eat at restaurants and can’t prepare your own food, also there is so much food you will see and want to try, that you probably will eat more than normally.
But the good thing is, you will also move way more when you are travelling. Because you are exploring, hiking, walking through cities or swim in oceans. So you burn more calories than back home, what means that you can easily also eat more food, because your overall calorie intake is higher.
At least you should keep an eye on your protein intake, so you don’t loose your muscles too easily over time. I mostly travelled with a bag of protein for the days when my protein intake was fairly low.
Besides that you can always choose the more healthier options when you go out, drink less alcohol and stop consuming unhealthy snacks while on the go. And when you have the oportunity to use a kitchen, do that and cook your own meals and prepare some snacks for yourself.
Conclusion
Concluded staying fit while travelling is not that different to a normal life, you just need to adapt to the circumstances and be flexible with your workouts and your diet. But it’s absolutely doable, believe me.