I’m back. Sorry guys, I have just been settling back into the normal working world. I can tell you it isn’t quite the same as being on the road but it has been incredible seeing all my family and friends again. Also, I have been able to get back into my fitness regime which, for me, is probably the most important part of my day! I don’t know about you, but it puts me in the right mood to start the day feeling positive and awake!
One of my biggest fears about leaving my normal day to day life for 6 months was how I would maintain my love for a fitness routine (I say one of my fears, I didn’t really have any fears, just thoughts that passed through my mind) and keep up my level of fitness. Obviously, a big part of being on the road is being active; hiking, walking, swimming, and other activities play a huge part in the exploration of the world and 100% played a massive part in most days of my trip. Now I know I am a specific type of person for enjoying exercise as much as I do, but if you are one and the same I have written this blog to give a few pointers on how I kept myself feeling fit on my six-month journey around the world.
Gyms
Using a gym or going to gym classes is probably one of the hardest ways to exercise when you are on the move every few days, but it is not impossible, it just takes some researching. What I found was that when we were in cities it was really easy to find a gym that would either offer a 7-day free gym pass or a pass for say £15 for a week which allowed you to go to as many gym classes as you want or a first spin class free. Harry and I made the most of these whenever we hit a big city e.g. Toronto, LA, and Melbourne.
Running
The easiest way to keep fit whilst traveling has to be running. You can run everywhere! The few things that I loved about running were
1. you could get up early and see the sites without all the tourists around, always a win;
2. you were running in some of the most beautiful places in the world, so if running really isn’t your thing, the landscape should take your mind off of it and;
3. it doesn’t take long to go out and run 5k before getting on with your day! See below some of the places we went running. I mean I know I wouldn’t mind being there right now running!
Hiking/Walking
When you are traveling walking is a given. We walked everywhere! You had to though because it is the best way to see a place. There were many days when we walked half marathon distances, and I mean if that isn’t good exercise then I don’t know what is!
Other activities
Traveling is the time when you get to try new things and there are so many of these that end up being physical activities. I know that some of the best days I had were when we got to try out a new sport or do something that we just don’t have the weather for here in the UK. These included, but were not limited to; Surfing, Kayaking, Horse Riding, Sand-boarding, bob-sleighing, swimming in lakes that were barely 7 degrees and Snorkelling.
Yoga
My final and favorite way of working out when I am away is yoga. Yoga is the best way to wind down after a busy few days of activity or being on the go, on buses of planes, etc. I found it really nice to be able to set up my towel anywhere I fancied, be it a field in the middle of New Zealand, a beach in Australia or at the peak of a mountain in Canada. Yoga allows you to really be alone with your thoughts and appreciate the surroundings around you. I only wish I had done it a bit more!
The key message I am trying to get across here is you can travel and keep fit, and it doesn’t need to be in the conventional ways you might use at home. One thing that traveling has taught me is that routine is not normal, and learning to live outside of your own comfort zone will be a life experience you will never forget. I hope to do some more traveling next year (or maybe move to a hotter country) and I hope there are some new activities for me to try!
A quote I leave you with is something I think about every day, and I know that my only goal is to make sure I don’t let this happen!
‘We travel, not to escape life, but to make sure life doesn’t escape us’!
