Going on vacation often means taking a break from our daily routines, and for many, that includes a pause from regular fitness and nutrition habits. While a break is essential for relaxation and mental health, many people worry about losing the progress they’ve worked so hard to achieve. The good news is that you don’t have to choose between enjoying your holiday and maintaining your fitness.
This guide will provide a structured approach to staying active and eating well while traveling. We’ll explore practical nutrition strategies that don’t feel restrictive, and simple workouts you can do anywhere. You can enjoy your vacation to the fullest and return home feeling refreshed, not derailed.
Staying fit while traveling doesn’t require hours in a gym. It’s about making smart, manageable choices that fit into your vacation schedule. Here are ten tips that blend exercise and nutrition to help you maintain your progress without sacrificing fun.
Prioritize Protein at Every Meal
Protein is crucial for muscle repair and satiety. Aiming to include a source of protein with each meal can help you feel fuller for longer, reducing the likelihood of overeating less nutritious options (1, 2). This could be eggs for breakfast, grilled fish for lunch, or a steak for dinner.
Stay Hydrated
Dehydration can often be mistaken for hunger and can lead to fatigue. Carry a water bottle with you and aim to drink consistently throughout the day. Water is essential for numerous bodily functions, including metabolism and energy levels (3).
Plan for Active Sightseeing
Incorporate movement into your exploration. Instead of taking a bus tour, consider a walking tour of the city. If you’re at the beach, go for a long walk along the shore. This makes exercise a natural part of your vacation experience rather than a separate chore.
Pack Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are lightweight, portable, and incredibly versatile. They are an excellent tool for a full-body workout, allowing you to target all major muscle groups without needing access to a gym (4). You can easily fit them in your suitcase.
Use Your Bodyweight
Your body is a powerful piece of fitness equipment. Exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges, and planks require no equipment and can be done in your hotel room. A short, high-effort bodyweight circuit can be very effective (5).
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Follow the “One Plate” Rule at Buffets
Buffets can be a challenge. A simple strategy is to fill one plate with your chosen foods and not go back for seconds. Prioritize filling half your plate with vegetables, a quarter with protein, and a quarter with carbohydrates to create a balanced meal.
Limit Liquid Calories
Sugary sodas, cocktails, and specialty coffees can add a significant number of calories without providing much nutritional value (6). Opt for water, unsweetened iced tea, or black coffee. When you do indulge in an alcoholic beverage, be mindful of the quantity.
Get Enough Sleep
Vacations can sometimes disrupt sleep schedules, but proper sleep is critical for recovery and overall health (7, 8). Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. Good sleep helps regulate hormones that control appetite, such as ghrelin and leptin (9).
Walk Instead of Taking Taxis
Whenever possible, choose to walk. Exploring a new destination on foot is not only great exercise but also allows you to discover hidden gems you might otherwise miss. It’s a simple way to increase your daily activity level.
Practice Mindful Indulgence
You’re on vacation, and you should enjoy the local cuisine. The key is to be mindful. Savor one special treat a day instead of grazing on everything. Eat slowly, pay attention to the flavors, and stop when you feel satisfied, not stuffed (10).
Read more: Beginners Weightlifting Routine to Transform Your Body
It’s common for even the most dedicated individuals to see their fitness routines slip during vacation. Understanding the potential reasons can help you anticipate and manage them. The shift is often due to a combination of environmental, psychological, and logistical factors.
Our daily lives are often structured around predictable schedules that make it easier to build and maintain habits. Vacation, by its nature, breaks this routine. The absence of familiar cues–like your morning alarm for the gym–may make it harder to stick to your fitness plan.
Your home gym or local studio isn’t coming with you on vacation. While some hotels have fitness centers, they may be poorly equipped or crowded. Being in a location without easy access to the equipment you’re used to may feel like a significant barrier to working out.
Travel often involves dining out with friends and family. There may be social pressure to indulge in foods and drinks you’d normally limit. You may also want to immerse yourself in the local culture, which often revolves around food and can make sticking to a specific eating plan difficult.
Some people adopt an “all-or-nothing” approach. If they can’t complete their perfect workout or eat their ideal meal, they may feel it’s not worth doing anything at all. This mindset can lead to abandoning all healthy habits for the duration of the trip.
Travel itself can be tiring. Jet lag, long travel days, and a packed itinerary can leave you feeling drained. The desire to relax and recover may override the motivation to exercise. You might feel you simply don’t have the time or energy to fit in a workout.
No gym? No problem. You can get an effective, muscle-maintaining workout using just your body weight and minimal equipment. The key is to focus on compound movements that work multiple muscle groups simultaneously and to ensure you’re applying enough effort to challenge your muscles.
Here is a simple, effective full-body workout program that can be done in your hotel room.
Program Notes
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodyweight Squats | 3 | 15-25 | 60-90s |
| Push-Ups (or Incline Push-Ups) | 3 | To 1-2 RIR | 60-90s |
| Glute Bridges | 3 | 15-25 | 60-90s |
| Pike Push-Ups | 3 | To 1-2 RIR | 60-90s |
| Alternating Reverse Lunges | 3 | 10-15 per leg | 60-90s |
| Plank | 3 | Hold to failure | 60-90s |
Bodyweight Squats
Push-Ups (or Incline Push-Ups)
Glute Bridges
Pike Push-Ups
Alternating Reverse Lunges
Plank
To maintain fitness, you don’t need to replicate your at-home training volume. The focus should be on meeting the baseline recommendations for health, which are surprisingly manageable.
The 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week (11). Moderate intensity can be defined as an activity where you can still talk but not sing, like brisk walking at a pace of 3-4 miles per hour (12).
In addition to aerobic activity, the guidelines also recommend muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups on two or more days a week (11). This doesn’t have to be a heavy weightlifting session. A bodyweight workout that takes sets close to muscular failure, as described in the program above, is sufficient to send a maintenance signal to your muscles.
Even small amounts of activity are beneficial. Interrupting long periods of sitting with just 3-5 minutes of light walking every 30 minutes can have positive effects. The goal is to “move more and sit less,” which is a perfect mantra for a vacation.
Beyond structured workouts, there are many creative ways to weave activity into your vacation. These small efforts can add up significantly over the course of your trip.
Whether you’re in a hotel, a museum, or a subway station, opt for the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. It’s a simple way to get your heart rate up and engage your leg muscles.
Use your vacation as an opportunity to try a new activity. Depending on your destination, this could be surfing, paddleboarding, kayaking, rock climbing, or even a dance class. Trying something new is not only fun but also challenges your body in different ways.
Renting a bike is a fantastic way to cover more ground than walking while still getting a great workout. Many cities have bike-sharing programs that make it easy and affordable to explore.
No matter where you are in the world, there’s likely a hiking trail nearby. A hike offers a great cardiovascular workout and often rewards you with stunning views.
If you’re on a beach vacation, use the sand for more than just sunbathing. Play frisbee, beach volleyball, or simply go for a run. The unstable surface of the sand will make your muscles work harder.
Ready to explore the outdoors, even when it’s cold? Check out our guide to winter outdoor activities.
Absolutely. Walking is one of the most underrated forms of exercise, especially while on vacation. It is accessible, low-impact, and an effective way to maintain cardiovascular fitness (13).
Research shows that meeting the minimum guideline of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, which can be achieved through brisk walking, is associated with a 31% lower risk of premature death compared to being sedentary. Even exercising for half that amount, just 75 minutes per week, is linked to a 23% lower risk (14).
Walking is also beneficial for mental health and can help manage conditions like depression (15). On vacation, it serves the dual purpose of being both exercise and a primary mode of discovery.
A brisk walk through a new city or along a scenic path can easily help you meet your daily activity goals without feeling like a workout. So, walk as much as you can. It’s one of the simplest and most effective tools for staying fit while you travel.
Read more: The Ultimate Outdoor Walking Workout Guide for Beginners
Eating healthy on vacation isn’t about restriction; it’s about balance and making mindful choices. You can enjoy delicious food without derailing your progress by adopting a few simple strategies.
Front-Load Your Day with Healthy Choices
Start your day with a nutritious, protein-rich breakfast. This sets a positive tone for the rest of the day and can help you feel full and energized for your morning activities.
Scan Menus Ahead of Time
Most restaurant menus are available online. Take a few minutes to look at the menu before you go. This allows you to make a thoughtful choice in a low-pressure environment, rather than a hasty decision when you’re hungry. Look for grilled, steamed, or baked options instead of fried ones.
Stay Mindful of Portion Sizes
Restaurant portions are often much larger than what you’d serve at home. You don’t have to finish everything on your plate. Consider sharing a main course, ordering an appetizer as your main, or packing up the leftovers for later.
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Make Smart Swaps
You can often make small modifications to your order to make it healthier. Ask for sauces and dressings on the side, substitute fries for a side salad or steamed vegetables, and choose water over sugary drinks.
Embrace the 80/20 Rule
Aim to make nutrient-dense choices 80% of the time, and allow yourself to indulge 20% of the time. This flexible approach allows you to enjoy special vacation treats without guilt, knowing that the majority of your choices are supporting your health goals.
Planning a get-together? Find inspiration with these healthy appetizer ideas.
The key to returning from vacation without feeling like you’ve lost all your progress is to shift your mindset from “all-or-nothing” to “something is better than nothing.”
The goal of vacation fitness is maintenance, not improvement. Even a couple of short, high-effort workouts per week are enough to preserve your hard-earned muscle mass. Similarly, focusing on a few key nutritional habits–like prioritizing protein and staying hydrated–can make a huge difference.
Remember that a week or two of reduced training intensity and a more relaxed diet will not erase months of consistent effort. Your body is resilient. Enjoy your trip, incorporate movement where you can, make mindful food choices most of the time, and you’ll be able to jump right back into your routine when you get home.
If you feel you overindulged, a structured plan can help you get back on track. Learn more about a sensible after holiday detox.
Yes, it is realistic. The goal should be to maintain your current fitness level, not make significant progress. This can be achieved with just 2-3 short workouts per week and mindful eating habits, leaving plenty of time for relaxation and enjoyment. Yes, it is okay. A week off from structured training can be beneficial for both physical and mental recovery (16). If you choose to rest completely, your fitness losses will be minimal and quickly regained once you return to your routine. Yes. Even a 15-20 minute high-intensity workout can be very effective for maintaining muscle and cardiovascular health. The intensity and effort you put into the workout are more important than the duration (17). Swimming is an excellent full-body, low-impact exercise. It’s a great way to improve cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance (18). If you have access to a pool or a calm body of water, it’s a fantastic way to stay active on vacation. Significant losses in fitness take longer than you might think. For cardiovascular fitness, declines can start to be seen after about two weeks of inactivity (19). For strength, it generally takes longer, around 3-4 weeks, before significant muscle loss occurs (20). A typical one-week vacation will have a negligible impact on your overall fitness.Frequently Asked Questions
Is it realistic to stay fit on vacation?
Is it okay to skip workouts on vacation?
Do short workouts still count?
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How long does it take to lose fitness?
Staying fit on vacation is not about sacrificing your enjoyment for a rigid regimen. It’s about finding a sustainable balance. By focusing on the minimum effective dose of exercise, making mindful nutritional choices, and integrating activity into your daily explorations, you can maintain your health and fitness without compromising the restorative power of a good holiday. Embrace the opportunity to move your body in new ways, savor local flavors mindfully, and return home feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to continue your fitness journey.
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