It’s the time of year where everyone heads on vacation, making training become “difficult” to keep up with. It never fails. We receive an email almost every single week from someone asking, “What can I do at the beach/lake house/cruise/…?”
Well, you could do any of the following:
Train with one dumbbell or a kettlebell
One dumbbell or a kettlebell? Yup. I’m guessing you rarely do this in the gym, so take a week and switch things up. The possibilities are plentiful. Here’s a great workout with each (click any exercise to see a video):
A1. Dumbbell Snatch 3 x 3-5/side
A2. Strong First Plank Clusters* 3 x (3 x :05)
*Clusters = hold the plank for :05 (one cluster), rest a few, and repeat for a total of three clusters
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B1. Contralateral Single Leg RDL w/ Dumbbell 3 x 8/
B2. Overhead Press w/ Dumbbell 3 x 8/
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C1. Contralateral In-Place Lunge 3 x 6/
C2. 3-Point Dumbbell Row 3 x 6/
A1. Goblet Countermovement Jump 3 x 3-5
A2. Plank Walkback 3 x 6-8
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B1. Goblet Squat 3 x 8
B2. 1/2 Floor Batwings 3 x :20-:30
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C1. Single Arm Kettlebell Swing 3 x 6/
C2. 1/2 Kneeling Kettlebell Overhead Press 3 x 6/
Travel with a TRX or a Jungle Gym
They’re light and take up almost no space in your luggage. The TRX and Jungle Gym are the most economical travel option, after bodyweight-only… Again, the possibilities are plentiful. Here’s a fun, full-body one to get you started:
A1. Inverted Row 5 x 10
A2. Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat 5 x 10/
A3. Push-up 5 x 10
A4. Hamstring Curl 5 x 10
A5. Y’s 5 x 10
A6. Biceps Curl 5 x 10
A7. Triceps Press 5 x 10
Try and get through each round with no breaks, then rest as needed before starting next round. Here’s a video of the movements:
Just be active
Vacation is a great time to “get off the program” and experience new things. Try out standup paddle boarding, hike, go climbing, kayak, swim in the ocean, take a white water rafting trip, zip lining, go for a bike ride, etc… I’m certain we could fill a one-month vacation with something new and exciting to do every day. Just get out and experience life!
Even better- alternate days of physically active adventures and some/one of training options from above! And it is vacation after all, so be sure to slip some rest and recovery in there as well…
Take Time Off
With all of those great ideas we just laid out, let’s be clear. You don’t NEED to train on your vacation. If you train ALL OF THE TIME, and haven’t taken a week off in ages, do it! If for nothing else, just to prove to yourself that the world won’t end, and the break will possibly even reinvigorate you to get excited about training when you return home. Some people even notice that they continue/resume losing weight while taking a week off…
Again, this pertains to people who train alllllllll offffffffffff theeeeeeeeeeee tiiiiiiiiiiiime, or just really want to take some time off. If that’s not you, I think we gave you a few viable options above. Please, don’t hit me if you see me out and about for recommending a few days off…
