This weekend was a blast!  I headed back to sweet home chicago to hang out with my lovely family and indulged in way too much food, way too much drink, and way too much fun.  I always have the greatest time visiting my family and wish I had the opportunity to do so more often.  But vacation or not, I still got my workout in.  I am always astonished when I see people say that they are working for their “bikini bodies” or they’re “trying to look good for vacation” and then when that vacation hits, they throw all their training out the window.  That’s not the point.

When I know I’m going to be traveling, I consciously plan ahead what I’m going to do in terms of workouts during that time.  This weekend, I was only on a trip for three days, so I had some flexibility.  I did my normal workout on Friday, getting up at 5:45 to make sure I still had time in my day to pack and get everything else done.   On Saturday, since we were in a hotel, I checked out the facility there and ended up doing a 3 mile run, a half hour leg circuit, and then a 10 minute cool-down of incline walking.  It wasn’t the best gym I had ever been to, but I made it work.  Since I knew I would probably be very tired on Sunday and I had a lot of traveling to do, I had planned out my week so that my rest day fell on Sunday instead of my normal Saturday.  No harm, no foul, and I still got everything I wanted to accomplish done.  Here are some other tips to getting your fitness on when you’re out and about:

• Plan ahead.  If you have to get up earlier than everyone else to get a quick 20 minute HIIT workout in, go ahead.  You’ll feel so much more awake and ready to take on the fun day when you do.
• Check out the hotel gym!  Most hotels have some sort of fitness center, so play around with the equipment and explore.  You just might find your favorite gym yet.
• Don’t fear the hotel room workout.  I have done workouts in my hotel room before and it is actually kind of fun.  Turn on some music and dance around if you have to.  Or milk that free wifi and checkout some free online workouts at one of these sites.
• Walk around outside!  Walking is not only a great form of exercise, but an epic way to get to know your new surroundings.
• Check out local Groupons and see if they have a good deal for a one time class in something you’ve never tried before like Barre or trampoline!

So next time you’re heading away from home for a little bit, I don’t want to hear any excuses about why you’re not working out.  You may even learn something new about how you like to workout.  I have had some of my best runs just exploring outside a new place.  I have had some of my most peaceful moments doing yoga at the end of a long conference day alone in my hotel room.  You never know when new motivation will strike, but why not try and grab it everyday no matter what your surroundings are.  You do have time, and if you think you don’t, make some.  You’ll come back from your vacation rejuvenated in a whole different way.

-sj