I have been traveling a lot lately and that has put me out of my regular fitness routine. But I have not stopped working out just because I'm in a hotel! Instead, I'm following some simple steps to stay “tennis fit” even though I'm on the road. In this episode, I'll give you my top tips for staying in shape so you're ready to hit the courts when fall gets here. You can listen to this episode by clicking on the media player above or by listening in with your favorite podcast app. You can also subscribe in iTunes by clicking on this link: tennisfixation.com/itunes.
SHOW NOTES
Well, it is still summer here in the United States. And I myself am traveling a lot this summer, even more than I expected. Some last minute trips have popped up and I am really not getting to do my usual amount of tennis play or working out. But I am not letting that stop me from staying “tennis fit” because I know that fall is quickly approaching, league tennis is starting again, and I want to be in the best shape possible when that happens, when it gets here. So I've got some great tips for you on how you can stay tennis fit when you're traveling and these are tips that you can use even if you're not traveling but something is throwing you off your regular workout or exercise routine.
It seems like when you're traveling, however, it is really easy to get put off your regular workout routine. And so when I give you my tips here, I'm not saying that you need to turn every vacation you take into a new workout routine, but there are some simple steps you can take to make sure that you do get some fitness work in. That it's easy to do. And that it doesn't disrupt everything else that is happening on your trip. And by following these simple steps, you can be sure that when you come back from your vacation, you're not starting back at square one again as far as your fitness level goes.
So, here are my top tips for staying tennis fit while traveling.
1. Bring Your Workout Gear
Be sure and pack your workout gear when you travel. This would include things like workout clothes, fitness shoes, sunscreen, an iPhone, iPod or other smart device you use to listen to music if you like to listen to music when you workout (I do), headphones or earbuds, and a fitness tracker or GPS watch. You could also bring some other very simple and light fitness equipment like a jump rope or fitness bands but I don't even bring that kind of stuff. The good news is, on workout gear, that there are a lot of very cute workout clothes these days. And I guess I'm really speaking to the women out there. The kind of clothes that can also double as travel clothes – like cute yoga pants, shorts, tank tops, t-shirts, things that you can wear for both. Same goes for shoes and as far as using a fitness tracket or GPS watch, you may, like me be someone who keeps a fitness tracker on your smart phone. So just make sure you have that downloaded in advance and you know what you're doing with it.
2. Workout In The Morning
Try to workout first thing in the morning. This is a tip that probably applies whether you're traveling or not. But it can really help you to make sure that you do get some exercise in. You can easily fit a simple workout in before you have a business meeting, before you do sight-seeing. It helps because it does not disrupt any other travel plans you may have with your family if you're on vacation. You won't be so tired that you don't feel like working out. Because a lot of times if you postpone that workout until the afternoon or the evening, you're going to be wiped out from the vacation activities you've done during the day.
And you can also avoid a lot of traffic or crowds if you are running or walking or doing a combination of both. I just recently got back from taking a quick trip to Las Vegas. And every morning that I was there I got up early to do my run/walk routine out on the Strip in Las Vegas. And it was an incredible time to be out because it was not as hot as it was going to be later in the day. There were some extremely interesting people out to see and it was just a great way to get an up close view of a lot of things going on on the Strip when there aren't quite so many people out. Definitely Las Vegas is a city where, on the Strip, if you're a tourist, there are just crowds packing the sidewalks. It's hard to get around. But if you get out early enough, you can easily cruise around from casino to casino and it's easy to go inside, cool off, get a drink, use the bathroom.
So I loved my morning routine I got into. Because I got up early and exercised then. And here's a photo of me at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign:
The Las Vegas sign was about 3 miles from my hotel and while I was there, I got someone to take my photo. So that was a lot of fun and well worth getting up early for the pic!
3. Talk To Your Concierge About Workout Routes Nearby
It's always a great idea to ask your concierge about interesting running, walking or hiking routes you might take that are nearby and are scenic and safe. A lot of hotels want to really tout their interest in your fitness and they will even have maps that they will give you to show you various distances of trails or routes that you can take to walk or run while you're staying there.
4. Check With Your Concierge About Workout Facilities
While a lot of hotels do have workout facilities, going elsewhere might be a good idea. Resort-type hotels, like the one I stayed at in Las Vegas, have beautiful workout facilities that are part of their spa area. But a lot of times, hotels, even super-nice hotels, aren't so great on the workout/gym area. If you talk to your concierge, you may be able to find out about other gyms in the area that you can buy a pass to or go on-line and try to find a free one-week trial. Just something to get you through that vacation time. And your concierge can certainly help you find those workout facilities. You can also look on-line for those. I have a recommendation from my sister, the runner in my family. She has used gymticket.com. It is a gym locator for here in the United States and it supposedly lets you know about gyms that have free passes. I myself haven't used it but my sister recommends it.
5. Stay Hydrated Throughout The Day
If you are working out and then doing a lot of outdoor activities as part of your vacation, it can be very easy to forget how important it is to hydrate. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this – I'm married to a Urologist. And he is constantly on all of us about staying hydrated and drinking water all day long. I know it sounds like it would be great to be married to a Urologist but it does get old with the Drink, Drink, Drink! all the time. But we do tend to stay really hydrated in my family. Try to remember to stay hydrated because you can get really caught up in your activities and if you're doing a lot of walking and sight-seeing, you can let that go quite easily.
6. Try To Eat Healthy
I know that a lot of times when you go on a trip, there are opportunities to eat some really great food that isn't necessarily healthy. Goodness knows that is very true in Las Vegas. We had some fabulous food and that's a big part of what we were there for because there are some excellent restaurants. But keep in mind that breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks do not have to all be unhealthy, over-the-top food. So if you're going to have an incredible dinner, maybe you have a lighter lunch. Make sure you fit in some fruits and vegetables during the day. Have a light snack, perhaps before or right after you workout. And this could be a piece of fruit or a granola bar or other bar that is nutritious and that you like to eat.
7. Do A Hotel Room Workout
If you are not in a situation where you can go outside and workout, or if that's not your thing, or if you just find yourself in a situation where you need to workout in the evening, there are some very simple exercises that you can do in your hotel room that will give you a really great workout. You don't need equipment but if you bring along a jump rope or fitness bands, that's great. You can use water bottles as light hand weights if you want. You can use a bath towel as an exercise or yoga mat. You can walk up and down the stairwells or hallway if you want to get some steps or lunges in. And you can do really simple bodyweight exercises like sit-ups, push-ups, squats, jumping jacks, right there in your hotel room. So you really don't have a good excuse for not working out.
Back in Episode 116, I did a whole thing on super quick bodyweight exercises for tennis players and I included a workout routine in there that had 10 simple bodyweight exercises that anyone can do and that are really good for tennis players and you could get a PDF download of that workout in the show notes for that episode. You can find a link to that listed below.
So those are my top tips for staying tennis fit while traveling. Again, I want you go out and have a great time while traveling but I don't want you to lose any of the fitness you've already built up. And I certainly don't want you to unprepared for fall tennis when that comes around.
RESOURCES AND LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE
- Click here for Super Quick Bodyweight Workout for Tennis Players – Tennis Quick Tips Podcast Episode 116.
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