22 Sep Holiday exercise routine – when in paradise
If nothing else, the Sapphire Coast feels like it is conducive to selected healthy behaviours. I just went to the gym because I want to keep my fitness habit by engaging in a holiday exercise routine. And the invigorating feeling of having worked up a sweat and got my heart rate up for half an hour or so, is probably the nicest memory that I have of this place in the world. It reminds me of how inspired I was to get out and interval run in the sunshine when I lived here.
Before I left Collingwood, I took a photo of the routine a trainer had prescribed for me. And so I am using that as my holiday exercise routine. The good thing is that it seems to me that most gyms (perhaps around the world?) have the same or similar equipment. So, they are likely to have a treadmill, leg press, chest press, rowing machine (absent at the Sapphire Aquatic Gym), dumbbells and seats to do core workout moves. That means you can pretty much pick up a routine and take it anywhere, thereby maintaining a fitness habit.
The only thing that was an issue at this gym was that the weights for the different machines, and the placement of the seats etc, was different. So, even though at the Collingwood Leisure Centre, I was pressing 12.5 kg with the leg press, when I put the peg in that weight at the Sapphire Aquatic Centre that felt like it was way too much for me. I think I have pulled a muscle in my chest in this way, because of the weight of the chess press. I feel like if in doubt, it can be good to put the weight on the lowest level and work up from there, to be safe.
My holiday exercise routine is:
10 minutes on a treadmill alternating between jogging for a minute and fast walking for a minute
Leg press – 12.5 kg – 12 x 2- 3 reps (again the weight might not be comensurate)
Chest press – 7.5 kg – 12 x 2 – 3 reps
Seated row – 14 kg – 12 x 2 – 3 reps
Bicep curls with 3 kg dumbbells – 12 x 2 – 3 reps
Sitting on a box or seat – 20 x 2 abdominal twist
– 20 x 2 figure eights
5 – 10 minutes – Treadmill – my program says incline 4 – 5 % but I go for 7 – 8 % with a speed of about 4.5 km/hr
That whole exercise routine had me sweating nicely, and felt like a good workout.
Enjoying the habit of fitness
It is only really half an hour our of the day (give or take travelling time), and the uplift in my mood after I have done this kind of exercise is so lovely. So, it seems like it is a very sustainable process. (As long as I don’t hurt myself with too much weight). Also, it is even nicer on holidays when it doesn’t feel like I need to get home to get into work.
Do you have a special holiday exercise routine that you follow when you are travelling?
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