The Summer Vacation Workout Routines To Stay Sharp - Muscle & Fitness

Summer is here in full swing, and people are hitting the road to get away from it all. But there is one unfortunate thing about this. You cannot bring the gym with you and before you ask, yes, the gym will miss you. But it’s not all bad because taking time off from the gym and the barbell allows you to recover and reveal your true strength. But if you’re the type of person who loves to train then you can still get your workout in with these 4 vacation workout routines that will still give you huge health and calorie-burning benefits.

If you’re anything like me then your diet isn’t going to be great while on vacation, so there is an advantage to performing short, intense training when you are away. This allows you to maintain what you worked hard to build without taking too much time away from enjoying the finer things in life. We incorporate this factor in the following vacation workout routines.

So yes, you CAN have your cake and eat it too.

HOW THESE VACATION ROUTINES WORK

Your main source of energy is glycogen (a form of sugar) and this is stored in limited quantities in the liver and the muscles. And when you exercise before an indulgent meal, exercise increases glycogen breakdown of liver glycogen to maintain blood glucose concentrations, so your muscle has enough energy for movement.

Now is especially important as exercise intensity increases. When doing these HIIT Workouts (High-Intensity Training) results in the lowering of liver glycogen stores. (1) The exercise-induced glycogen deficit increases insulin sensitivity and makes your body more receptive to the calories you’re about to eat.

THE 4 VACATION WORKOUT ROUTINES

These short, sharp training routines are not about improving your strength or cardiovascular conditioning. They’re about maintaining fitness, reaping the benefits of exercising outdoors, and being able yourself without feeling too guilty of “skipping the gym.”

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BODYWEIGHT TABATA TRAINING

According to its creator, Izumi Tabata, a real Tabata interval is defined as an “exhaustive, short-lasting, high-intensity intermittent exercise, which consists of six to eight sets of a 20-second exercise at the intensity of 170% Vo2 max, with 10-second rest between the exercise bouts.”

Doing this style of training with bodyweight exercises such as squat variations, alternating forward/reverse lunges, planks, pushups, and jump squats/lunges is a great option when equipment and time are limited. Performing two or three of these will only cost you eight to 12 minutes of your precious vacation time and will have you sweating and smiling.

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DUMBBELL UNILATERAL COMPLEX

If you find yourself in a hotel gym with limited equipment and only small dumbbells, then this unilateral dumbbell complex will make this small dumbbell work for you and primed for your steak dinner.

Instructions

Do anywhere from three to eight reps of the following unilateral exercises. Do one side entirely,

1. Snatch
2. Overhead Carry
3. Front Squats
4. Push Press
5. Cross-body row

Both sides equal one round and do 2-3 rounds.

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SPRINT- PUSH-UP- SPRINT– SQUAT WORKOUT

If you’re on the beach, exercising in the sand is more challenging due to the unevenness of the surface. Moving in the sand activates more muscle groups because your balance is constantly challenged. Running, walking, yoga or playing catch are great options and you are only limited to your imagination. But if you’re not feeling creative, try this:

Sprint 15 yards.
Drop down and do 10 pushups.
Get up and sprint 15 yards and do 10 bodyweight squats.
Repeat this sequence, going down by one repetition each time on the push-ups and squats until you reach 1 of each.

If you are not a fan of running, then performing bodyweight countdown supersets (like the one above) works well. Pick one bodyweight lower body exercise and one upper body exercise and do 10 reps of each. Go down by one rep each superset until you get to one rep. For example,

1A. Jump squat 10 reps-1 rep

1B. Inchworm 10 reps-1 rep

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SPOKE TRAINING

Combining cardio and strength training gives you the best of both worlds and you can do both with little to no equipment. With this routine, you’ll be alternating between a strength exercise and cardio exercise with little or no rest in-between.

Here’s an example.

Note- Most bodyweight strength and cardio exercises work here.

1A, Bodyweight jump squat 12 reps