Fitness Should Travel With You, Not Control You
As we move into the heart of summer, vacations, long weekends, family trips, and holiday travel start filling the calendar. Along with them comes a question I hear every year:
"What am I supposed to do about my workouts while I'm away?"
It's a reasonable question. Most of us have worked hard to establish routines that support our health, and stepping away from those routines can feel uncomfortable. At the same time, I sometimes think we approach the question from the wrong direction.
The purpose of training isn't to become so dependent on our routine that we can't enjoy a week away from it. In many ways, the reason we train year-round is so we can fully participate in experiences like vacations, hikes, beach days, bike rides, battling heavy Marlin, paddleboarding, exploring new cities, and spending active time with the people we care about.
One thing I've become more appreciative of over the years is the difference between maintaining momentum and chasing progress.
Those aren't always the same thing.
When you're home, sleeping in your own bed, eating your normal meals, and training with full access to your equipment, it makes sense to pursue progression. When you're walking ten miles a day through a city you've never visited before, hiking a trail you've always wanted to experience, or spending the day in the ocean with your family, maintaining momentum may be a much more appropriate goal.
That shift in perspective tends to remove a lot of unnecessary stress.
Before worrying about how you'll train on vacation, it may be worth asking:
Will this trip naturally involve more movement than usual?
Am I trying to maintain momentum or make progress?
Would a workout enhance this experience or take away from it?
Those questions often provide more clarity than any travel workout template.
Movement Still Counts
Movement and exercise overlap, but they aren't always the same thing.
A long hike, a swim in the ocean, a day spent exploring on foot, or even an active afternoon with your kids may not look like a traditional workout, but that doesn't mean those activities suddenly stop contributing to your health.
In fact, those experiences are often part of the reason we train in the first place.
Health and fitness should expand our ability to participate in life. Travel often provides a good reminder of that.
Sometimes a Quick Workout Still Makes Sense
Of course, there are also times when getting a workout in while traveling feels great.
Maybe you're on a work trip and want a break from sitting all day. Maybe the weather isn't cooperating. Maybe you simply enjoy training and feel better when you move. I know I do and it’s one of the main reasons I workout.
This is where simple tools can become surprisingly valuable.
Over the years, I've packed resistance bands on countless trips. Not because they're the perfect training tool, but because they're practical. They take up almost no space, weigh next to nothing, and can turn a hotel room, a park, a beach, or just about any open space into a workable training environment. I’ve even used them to augment a gym workout at a hotel that didn’t have weights above 25lbs.
What bands do particularly well is allow you to:
Get a solid pump
Elevate your heart rate
Move through full ranges of motion
Maintain movement habits
Feel better when you return home
Are they ideal for building maximal strength? Probably not.
Can they help bridge the gap while you're away from your normal environment? Absolutely.
Use What's Around You
One of the things I enjoy most about training while traveling is that it often forces a little creativity.
I've done workouts with bands attached to trucks, hotel railings, playground equipment, and whatever else happened to be available. I've used public pull-up bars, stairs, park benches, and outdoor fitness equipment. On one trip, a few sets of dips overlooking the beach ended up being more memorable than any gym session could have been.
The lesson isn't that everyone needs to find ways to work out on vacation.
The lesson is that movement doesn't always have to happen inside the four walls of a gym. Sometimes it can be fun, impromptu, and not always pushing limits or RPE.
The Bigger Picture
If there's one thing I'd encourage people to remember this summer, it's that health and fitness should support your life, not compete with it.
Some trips may include workouts.
Some may include hikes.
Some may include swimming, long walks, or simply being more active than you normally are at home.
Some may include no structured exercise at all.
That's okay.
The goal isn't to execute the perfect training plan while you're away. The goal is to return home feeling refreshed, having enjoyed the experience, and ready to step back into your routine when the time comes.
Fitness should travel with you.
It just doesn't need to control the itinerary.
📣 Quick Announcements:
New Class Times + Program! New evening classes have begun and so has our transitional program half way through 2026! New 5:30pm slot Tuesdays and Thursdays now mirrors our morning class offerings and round out your training with power, athleticism, conditioning, and that familiar pump. We look forward to seeing you there! ALL workouts are also now live in our app
June Challenge is Still Going Strong one last week: Maximum repetitions:
🏋️ Men: Bench Press @ 60% Bodyweight
🏋️♀️ Women: Bench Press @ 40% Bodyweight
Barbell Alone = ½ Points/Reps
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We'd genuinely appreciate a follow as we get things back up and running, and feel free to share it with anyone who may be trying to build a little more alignment, health, and sustainability into their own life this summer.
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