Vacations mean rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation from the stressors of daily life. The American Institute of Stress shows that vacations are good for us, revealing that those individuals that take an annual vacation significantly defuse job stress and cut their risks of diseases by 20 to 30 percent in the following year. However, most Americans seeking a relaxing escape from reality overindulge in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, leaving exercise and healthy eating at home.

 “Some individuals have the mentality that exercise isn’t necessary while on vacation, but this isn’t true,” says Rosie Ward, MPH, CHES, director of health and wellness at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, Minn. “Exercise not only helps our bodies function better, but provides the sense of normalcy and stability our bodies need when traveling over time zones, eating different types of foods, and adhering to schedules we are not used to.”

Ward reminds people that overindulgence can lead to feeling the need to work twice as hard upon return. “You want to feel “refreshed” when you get back, without thinking you need to be a “slave” to your workout  in order to make up for time lost or weight gained.”

Katie Burns Ryan, DC, an associate professor and clinician at Northwestern, says exercising on vacation doesn’t require following a strict, intensive timetable to be effective. “Exercise doesn’t have to adhere to a rigid schedule and doesn’t have to last for an hour or more,” she says. “Exercise can include short bursts activity, including sightseeing on walking tours, swimming, running on the beach or trails, using the hotel’s exercise equipment, or simply yoga or resistance training within your own hotel room.”

Ward suggests the following tips to work exercise in while on vacation:

• Do your homework and ask questions. “Call the hotel or look it up on the Web to discover what activities or amenities the location offers so you can pack appropriately and plan ahead. Find out how safe the activities are before you sign up for them and ask the hotel if it has an arrangement with a nearby gym or look into any health clubs that might be near by,” says Ward.

• Know yourself. “Know how much exercise you need, perhaps based on your regular routine and discover where it could fit into your vacation,” says Ward. “You may need to shift your mentality about how exercise looks for you and do different types of activities that will still reflect the overall goal you want to get from exercise. Very active individuals will choose more adventurous activities like rock climbing, while others might be satisfied with dance or yoga classes offered by a cruise or resort. It simply depends on the individual and what he or she wants to get out of a vacation.”
• Try something different. “You don’t have to do the same old exercise routine day after day while on vacation,” says Ward. “Try ‘touristy’ activities like walking tours or do a more adventurous activity to keep active and engaged. It’s important to let loose but to not completely let yourself go.”
• Pack appropriately. “You can easily pack items like exercise tubes, an exercise mat, or even your iPod packed with a week’s worth of workouts from Podfitness or a podcast to keep you going while on vacation,” says Ward. “Resistance training and yoga require no space and can be done in your hotel room.”

Dr. Burns Ryan suggests the following to improve one’s overall health to make exercise easy upon arrival at your destination:

• Do isometric exercises on the plane or in the car. These exercises help improve circulation and relieve muscle stiffness during travel. Isometric exercises involve tensing  muscles such as those in the toes, calves, quads or ham strings and holding them in a stationary position while maintaining the tension and then releasing.
• Train your body before you go. “If you are planning to do a lot of activities, make sure your body is physically ready for them,” says Dr. Burns Ryan. Train for the activities to prevent injury or overuse, get a good night’s rest the night before, sleep while on the plane, and drink lots of water. Upon arrival in your destination, despite the time zone difference, jump right into the day to avoid altering your internal biological clock.”

Source: Natural News Service, Northwestern Health Sciences University (March 2007).