Hot holiday fitness tips

With the holidays just around the corner, we’re all starting to unwind from the busy year of work and are taking the time to relax and celebrate another great year.

It is also the time of year that we tend to need to add a notch or two to the belt buckle. But with careful planning and some smart thinking, we can still enjoy the holiday period and not add that extra weight.

Being away from the gym and out of routine makes continuing your fitness program difficult, but also opens up the opportunity to try something new and have fun with your fitness.

So here it is, your Holiday Training Tips — a simple list of exercises and activities that can be done while on holidays to help fight the battle of the bulge this summer.

1.Beach Jog
If you like a good perve, this is probably one of the better ones. Running on sand is a lot harder than running on a solid surface, so you can burn a couple of extra calories, while having the opportunity to scout the beach for the best place to sunbake.

2. Bushwalk
If you’re out camping, or anywhere near bushland, this is another great opportunity to get out and see the country, while not even realising how hard you’re working. Walking up and down hills and over the uneven ground can be a great muscle workout for the legs, as well as burning calories.

3. Bike Ride
Summer alone is a great time to drag that bike out, but when you’re on holidays, it’s even more of a reason. The opportunity to go for a ride and check out the scenery is fantastic, and hey, the side effect of burning fat and toning the legs sounds pretty good to me.

4. Swimming
A total body workout that does not have to be tiring and boring. Going down to the pool with some friends and throwing a ball around, and running around in and out of the pool is again some incidental exercise that will help keep you trim for summer.

5. Push Ups
While it is a traditional exercise, it is also an easy one to do first thing in the morning. Why not wake up, pump out some push ups to get the blood flowing and help maintain the muscles in the chest at the same time.

6. Sit Ups
Another traditional exercise, but one that is again quick and easy and helps pump the blood. Maybe a good one to quickly do before taking your shirt off down at the beach, so the abs are pumped full of blood before you unleash.

7. Surfing
This is probably one of my personal favourites. Surfing is an awesome total body workout, using every muscle in your body to be able to jump on top of a wave and ride it into the beach. And hey, there is nothing hotter than watching a guy walk up the beach with his wet suit half off, abs showing, tanned body dripping in water and surf board under the arm (you can wipe the drool away now).

So there is plenty that you can do to help stay fit while you’re on holidays. You just need to try and plan your activities to include some form of incidental exercise. The biggest tip to remember is that alcohol (whether it is low carb or not) is one of the biggest contributors to increasing body fat over the holiday period. Drink responsibly and train smarter, to help keep you fit for summer.