Do you love to travel but fear losing your workout rhythm when you’re not at home? Not to worry! You can stay in shape as you explore other places or even new countries. You can even plan certain trips around a workout routine.

Stay in Shape While You Travel

The act of traveling — be it on planes, trains, or automobiles — can be exhausting, despite it not being a very physical activity. Long periods of immobility can be just as tiring as vigorous exercise.

Take advantage of breaks in travel:

  • Don’t just sit there, walk. If you’re stuck at an airport, go on a walk to another terminal. Carrying your bags around can be a workout in itself depending on how much you pack.
  • Try to stretch out. After a long trip or hours of waiting, your muscles can get very tight. Bend over and touch your toes, stretch your back, sit on the ground and hug your knees. There’s no need to lay out your yoga mat and stretch out for a full session, just make sure you get your muscles warm and relaxed.
  • Improvise. Remember, you don’t need to pack special weights or tools to exercise while you travel. Full water bottles make excellent hand weights and hotel towels can be used as resistance bands or sliders to help you stretch.

When in Rome…

Certain countries are known for specific types of exercises, so if you’re there, why not try them out?

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India:

One of the most well-known forms of exercise from India is yoga, which is an ancient form of mental and physical discipline. Yoga can help you increase strength, flexibility, muscle tone and mental serenity.

Brazil:

If you’re in Brazil, try Capoeira. Capoeira combines martial arts, dance, acrobatics and music. This workout tones and strengths most muscle groups while increasing flexibility, agility, balance and rhythm.

China:

If you’ve ever been to China, you’ve probably noticed some of the Chinese walking backwards. This is an ancient Chinese exercise that focuses on increasing postural muscles and leg muscles that are usually not worked, while also increasing your balance. Go out for a walk around China — see if you can walk the whole Great Wall backwards.

Middle East:

You can’t leave the Middle East without trying to belly dance. Not only is it fun, but it is a great exercise, teaching you to move and manipulate individual muscles. This is the perfect exercise for working on your abs and pelvic muscles. Fun fact: for women, belly dancing is said to relieve menstrual cramps and make childbirth less painful.

Japan:

Every morning in Japan a series of warm up stretches are broadcast over the radio. These stretches are called Radio Taiso and are done throughout the country. If you’re in Japan on vacation or exploring the land, join in to help raise your energy level and your mood for the day. These stretches unify the nation of Japan while promoting good health.

With holiday vacations coming up, these tips can help you stay in shape while you travel and keep the weight off from all those holiday dinners.