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4 tips for keeping on top of your fitness goals while on holiday

Soak up that sun when you can, it’s good for you, writes David Last

THE SUMMER SERIES of articles are well under way and I hope a lot of the advice has helped. This week, I’ll give you my top tips for people away on summer holidays.

When my clients go away on holiday they ask me what things they should do to complement their fitness regime. The priority should be to enjoy your holiday with good food and drink, taking time to switch off, getting some sun and mostly spending quality time with family and friends.

Your holiday doesn’t have to include planning your daily gym workout, prepping your food for the week or even counting your macros.

Here are my top tips for the fitness readers going away this summer.

1. Take the break, enjoy the break

You’re on holiday so switch off and relax. If you have been consistent with your training and nutrition the last while then you’re not going to set yourself back too much by letting loose a little on holiday.

A break is good and now is the time to enjoy yourself. Have those beers, eat that ice-cream and even do it again the next day!

I have mentioned the 80/20 approach when it comes to your nutrition. Now is the time you can enjoy that 20% end and it’s no big deal if you start to push a little further than that figure.

2. Get outside

I have already talked about the importance of getting your daily dose of vitamin D. If you find yourself abroad with a little bit of sunshine then get out and soak it up.

Over the last few weeks in Ireland we have been getting a nice amount of sun but sadly we just don’t get enough throughout the year. It is important to get out and get our dose of vitamin D whenever we can.

It is good for overall health and strong and healthy bones, along with it being an important factor in making sure your muscles, heart, lungs and brain work well and that your body can fight infection.

Not only is getting outside in the sunshine good for boosting vitamin D levels but overall it’s great for clearing the head and can only encourage us to keep working on our mental fitness.

3. ‘Slow down to speed up again’

This is a quote I use a lot in my articles. Your holiday should be a time to recharge the batteries, relax and enjoy yourself.

I like to do a lot of yoga, stretching and meditation and it’s something I would encourage a lot of my clients to try while away on holiday.

I would recommend at least one yoga session a week. Slow down, breathe, stretch and meditate. A meditation app I have used in the past is called Headspace. All you need is 10 minutes a day for 10 days. You can get a free 10-day trial with this link.

Easy light activity

When you are away on holidays you don’t need to plan your gym workouts nor do you need to find yourself in the hotel gym.

Get outside and walk, jog, bike or swim.

If you find yourself planning a workout outside stick to the basic movements like air squats, push-ups and pull-ups.

Keep it simple and and at a light intensity. If you are on the road a lot and are looking for some good workout ideas and easy fitness tools to bring with you while away then you should read the article I put together last summer.

David Last is a personal trainer based in Dublin. For more information you can follow him on FacebookInstagram and Twitter. Or you can send him a direct message here.

You can also see some of his previous articles here.

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