I was on vacation last week, with a bad foot. We had lots of walking planned, though, and I generally try to fit in a 30-60 minute workout in the morning if possible, and the hotel has an exercise room. My goals were 1) Don’t overeat ALL the time (maybe SOME OF the time); 2) Morning exercise; 3) Don’t cripple my foot, and apply cold and elevate it when possible.
Workouts
Monday: Bring It! Warrior Phase 1 Cardio. This time, I modified it by substituting a few exercises for my bad foot (only a couple this week, as I improve). I also used a trick from 30 Day Shred, by adding light weights to exercises such as squats and lunges where possible. That brought the calorie burn closer to what I have seen with 30 Day Shred itself. I felt the same way with P90X Kenpo, that no matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t burning a lot of calories. Maybe I’m just not a karate expert.
Tuesday: Resistance, shortened because we were getting ready to leave for vacation.
Wednesday: Our first morning in the hotel. When I discovered there was an exercise room, I carried my photocopied Bring It! workouts with me, and here is what I found:
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| Balls, weights, and a bench |
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| Cardio machines and pull down |
This room had it all! There were even floor mats tucked away in a cabinet, for yoga or ab exercises. I decided to stick with Bring It! workouts for the rest of the week after all. So it was a Cardio day, as scheduled, using hand weights again during squats and lunges.
Thursday: Resistance, using the lat pulldown machine (not the resistance bands) and full set of hand weights (not my adjustable ones). I could get used to this!
Friday: Cardio, with an audience (not really) of two additional people in the exercise room. We worked around each other without a problem. It was supposed to be yoga day, but I wasn’t going to attempt that using written instructions in a room with other people.
Saturday: Resistance. I made it almost all the way through the Warrior Phase 1 workout, including Circuit 1, Bonus Round, and Circuit 2 minus a few exercises when I ran out of time. All that in about an hour!
Sunday: This is normally a rest day, but I knew I was going to be in the car a while, so instead I did Cardio. I was glad I did, too, since the trip home took almost twice as long as it did to get there (nine hours to get home, with stops).
Vacation Meals and Calorie Counting
OK, I admit it: There was no calorie counting this week, and very little thought given to healthy choices, except maybe fiber where possible. I failed in my pledge to overeat only SOME of the time. Now that I am writing this back home, I am glad to return to calorie counting and healthier eating. It’s fun to let loose for a few days, but it does make me feel worn out after a while.
Activity Level
We did a lot of walking, which is a big change from my desk job. It was warm out, too. That had to help a little with the calorie surplus I was racking up, right? Also, my foot was aching at the end of most days, but did not seem to get any worse overall. The next day I was back in the exercise room and ready for more sightseeing.
Bring It! Tip of the Week: While on vacation, if at all possible, add workouts and physical activity to your fun-filled days. Your body will thank you for it, especially if you overindulge in other areas.
