RSSHow To Build Exercise Into A Holiday
November 7, 2008
Workouts are not put on hold when you’re on vacation.
Easier said than done. You’ve got lots of time but it’s busy time, visiting, shopping. I can’t get exercising done mid-day because by then the day is planned and I’m dressed and don’t want to get all sweaty again. Evenings are always overbooked with friends and dinners and relaxing conversation.
Create a time slot
You just have to wake up early. You just have to. I had to learn to do this year round, in a last ditch attempt to find an hour alone each day.
It’s easier on vacation. You don’t have to rush anywhere after. It doesn’t matter if you’re a little tired during the day. It’s an hour for you alone. Getting from horizontal to vertical can be tricky if it’s been a late night, but then it’s all about you. Part of the restorative power of a holiday is more solitary time to reflect. This is a glorious time to get that done too.
Start small
Don’t start by getting up early AND working out. That’s too many steps all at once. Just have a cup of tea and look at the ocean, or outside at the snow. Give yourself a pedicure. Make this time consciously and peacefully about building YOU. Every 5 minutes, think “This is MY time.”
Come week 2, your body has learned to wake up and feels a little sharper. Exercise is how you’re going to survive the year’s fattest month, but you have to start getting up earlier NOW. Come December, even if you can manage 3 times a week, your clothes won’t be any tighter by New Year.
Build strength safely
You don’t have to do complicated exercise programs. Go for a walk. Take a piece of elastic tubing.
Elastic tubing, or so-called Resistance Bands, are one of my favorite pieces of exercise equipment. Your muscles adapt to the same moves on the same machines, or with the same weights, so progress becomes very slow if not stuck. This is a terrific equipment search page at CollageVideo because it shows you the many forms that elastic tubing can take, as well as the videos that utilize each type of elastic.
To build beautiful definition and a powerful frame, learning new movements and/or varying the equipment is the answer. The same move feels surprisingly different done with elastic if you’re used to weight.
And, listen. As we get older, working strength is unbelievably important. I try to do as much Strength as Cardio. It gives you physical and mental resilience against the onslaught of aging. Forget feeble. Aim to be stronger every year.
8 Great aspects of elastics
1. It is much harder to hurt yourself because you are limited by your own power or lack thereof. There is no momentum involved, so the weight won’t swing out of control. This one is most important for me because I have a tendency to overdo just about everything.
Figure 8 band, bow and arrow.
2. Tubing works both sides equally. I have to focus hard on this to prevent my strong side from taking over. What happens next is the weak side gives in, and we’re back to #1, where injury occurs.
Figure 8 band, side leg lift.
3. You can take it on walks. Walking on vacation is the absolute best. You can feel like you’re on top of the world, like a model in a Nike ad. With tubing, a walk can become a circuit training workout, with strength and upper body moves added in even while you’re walking, so you have some core and multi-joint work as a bonus. Wrap the tubes around your waist when you’re not using them.
15lb band with handles, front arm raise.
4. Pack it anywhere. They’re light and flat and take up no space. When I travel, I take a few exercise videos and my tubing. If it rains or I don’t want to go outside, I can still do a little workout and feel great.
15lb band with handles, kickbacks.
5. They’re cheap!! And available in many levels of resistance. 5 lbs of resistance is a starting point. 15 lbs of resistance is difficult for me.
15lb band with handles, biceps curls.
6. You can work every muscle if you use your imagination.
Biceps curls standing on the band.
7. They are a brilliant addition to your strengthening arsenal. Elastic tubes are a highly effective to tighten, tone, and build strength.
Pushups, planks, leg to the side, band on the foot and under the hand.
8. Using a tube is a nice way to stretch. Somehow my muscles relax better than when I’m using my own force or gravity.
Front shoulder press.
The challenge at the beginning is learning how to use these elastic bands. Some are flat and wide, others are tubular with handles on the end. I recommend you have both because they work the muscles differently. Also, those with handles can be looped around your feet or around a weighted body bar, increasing the movement variety.
Rowing, elbows up or down at your sides, or both.
Begin by purchasing a few DVDs using tubing or bands to see the various ways that fitness professionals use them. If you search elastic tubing, and resistance band at Collage Video, you will have 75 to choose from. This is worth doing to get some safety guidelines. I’m not a fitness instructor. The moves I’ve shown here are some of the ones I’ve learned from videos to work a variety of muscles but you still have to be sensible. Assess your own fitness level. Learn how to protect your back and stabilize your shoulders and pelvis (Pilates is great for this) before you add external resistance.
On the Collage site, you’ll see how each video makes use of time, how others have reviewed it, and the difficulty level. There is also the all-important 1 minute video clip of anything you are considering buying.
Your workout’s done. Have a spectacular day.
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