Vacation Workout
Summer is just around the corner, which means that so are summer vacations! Try this easy-to-do workout when you’re on vacation this summer so that you don’t miss out on any time sweating. Get your body moving by jogging up and down the beach for five minutes (or the length of the first song on your playlist). Then, move into five more minutes of any of the warm-ups we do in the gym (grapevines, side-to-side shuffles, high knees, bear crawls, etc.)
After your warmup, move into squats, doing 15 reps per set – with three to four sets for the entire workout, depending on how much time you have. Stand with your feet parallel, maybe with your toes slightly pointing out depending on your squat stance. Keep your feet shoulder width apart. Bring your hands to your chest and clasp them together. Then, drop down by sending your backside out and keeping it straight – like you’re dropping down into a chair. Lower so that your thighs are parallel with the ground before coming back up. Keep your weight back in your heels and spread the floor as you work through this movement.
To add a little bit of weight to your squats, grab anything you can find – a rock, maybe even your luggage, and intensify this movement. Keep the weight tight to your chest but be sure to look straight ahead and not down at it.
Plank variations are a great way to get your sweat on at the beach or in a hotel room. You can do high-to-low planks for thirty seconds or simply hold your plank for thirty seconds per set. To intensify this movement, simply add weight to your back as you move through the workout.
Throw in an upright crunch to be sure you hit your core just a little bit more (since you are on a beach, after all.) Sit with your feet flat in front of you with your knees slightly bent. Lean back a little bit and bring your arms parallel to the ground, about six inches above the ground. Then, lean back so that you are hovering over the ground and simultaneously extend your legs out in front of you. The idea is to keep your shoulders and your feet from touching the ground – just hover right above it. Be careful to use your core – not your arms – to leverage your body through this movement. Do 15 reps of this movement per set, 30 if you work out regularly and want an extra burn.
Bring your body into a high plank position with your hands below your shoulders and your toes in the sand. If you have shoulder problems, dropping to your knees will help alleviate extra pressure on your shoulders. Lower your body to the ground, keeping your back straight and your neck neutral. Once you’re about an inch or so from the ground, raise your body back up. Do ten of these per set. All you need to do, is repeat the above workouts three to four times – I said this was quick! Just be sure to properly stretch and warm up, as well as stretch when you’re done.
Bonus: any group activity that gets you sweating is a good one to try to get your friends to join you for when you are on vacation. Just be sure that you have someone keeping score or maybe even acting as a referee before your friendships disintegrate into the sand… kidding!
