In the do as I say, not as I do category...
I purchased exercise bands before starting my around the world trip. I carried the exercise bands to South America. To Asia. To Europe. Back to the U.S. The bands never left my bag.
If you don’t exercise when you are at home, it’s unlikely that you will exercise when you are on vacation. I continuously convinced myself that the next city would be the city where I’d start to exercise. Then the next city. Then the next city. Until I succumbed to reality. It’s difficult to start an exercise routine when you are constantly changing cities and living in a small space. Which is a shame. Morning jogs provide a new perspective on a city. If it’s your fifth time to Paris and you swear you aren’t visiting the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre…running past those sites at six in the morning is a new experience. It is an inherently local experience. Seeing those sights at sunrise, when no one else is around…it brings the magic back. The jog transports you back to your first visit.
The longer your stay in a single location the easier it is to exercise. You’ll have more time on your hands because you aren’t constantly planning for your next destination. You’ll find areas where it’s easier to exercise and run through the city. The morning jogs are complicated in countries with uneven sidewalks that are crammed with street food vendors and the occasional motorbike. It can be tricky to walk in Bangkok let alone run along the city’s streets. Parks are a viable alternative to sidewalks and streets. Wake up early to exercise in parks in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia. The morning runs in Victoria Park were one of my favorite Hong Kong experiences—the old women made line dancing entertaining to watch. Play basketball in evenings in Southeast Asia.
Running and walking is an exercise and health reality check. Exercise and walking are not justifications to eat and drink. These activities do not harm as many calories as you imagine. On numerous occasions I walked two miles instead of taking public transportation, then ordered an appetizer or dessert, on the faulty logic that I earned it. That walk burned a mere 160 calories, the appetizer had over 500 calories. If you aren’t going to exercise AND you are trying to maintain your weight, walking alone won’t cancel out any increase in caloric intake. You will need to reduce the calories you consume or exercise.
There are some instances in which exercising is necessary. If you are heading to the Himalayas, if you are heading to Patagonia, you can hike these locations out of shape. There are plenty of out of shape people slugging their way up to Everest Base Camp. You could. But why? Why spend all that effort and money on a trip to the Himalayas and then be exhausted during the trek?
Technology has made it easier to exercise while traveling. There are free YouTube videos. There are yoga videos. There are premium exercise classes offered like P90X. There are apps with stretching, sit-up, and push-up routines. There’re more yoga apps. There’re even more yoga apps. Sorting through the yoga apps is an excellent finger exercise.
The best way to ensure you exercise is to start exercising early in your travels and develop a routine. Start with 30 push-ups and sit-ups. After four months you’ll be doing 150 push-ups and sit-ups per day. One other tip: schedule any running and cardio exercises to coincide with laundry intervals—you don’t want to pack sweaty clothes in your backpack for a couple of hours.
As for the exercise bands? I still have exercise bands sitting in my basement if you are interested.
I purchased exercise bands before starting my around the world trip. I carried the exercise bands to South America. To Asia. To Europe. Back to the U.S. The bands never left my bag.
If you don’t exercise when you are at home, it’s unlikely that you will exercise when you are on vacation. I continuously convinced myself that the next city would be the city where I’d start to exercise. Then the next city. Then the next city. Until I succumbed to reality. It’s difficult to start an exercise routine when you are constantly changing cities and living in a small space. Which is a shame. Morning jogs provide a new perspective on a city. If it’s your fifth time to Paris and you swear you aren’t visiting the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre…running past those sites at six in the morning is a new experience. It is an inherently local experience. Seeing those sights at sunrise, when no one else is around…it brings the magic back. The jog transports you back to your first visit.
The longer your stay in a single location the easier it is to exercise. You’ll have more time on your hands because you aren’t constantly planning for your next destination. You’ll find areas where it’s easier to exercise and run through the city. The morning jogs are complicated in countries with uneven sidewalks that are crammed with street food vendors and the occasional motorbike. It can be tricky to walk in Bangkok let alone run along the city’s streets. Parks are a viable alternative to sidewalks and streets. Wake up early to exercise in parks in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia. The morning runs in Victoria Park were one of my favorite Hong Kong experiences—the old women made line dancing entertaining to watch. Play basketball in evenings in Southeast Asia.
Running and walking is an exercise and health reality check. Exercise and walking are not justifications to eat and drink. These activities do not harm as many calories as you imagine. On numerous occasions I walked two miles instead of taking public transportation, then ordered an appetizer or dessert, on the faulty logic that I earned it. That walk burned a mere 160 calories, the appetizer had over 500 calories. If you aren’t going to exercise AND you are trying to maintain your weight, walking alone won’t cancel out any increase in caloric intake. You will need to reduce the calories you consume or exercise.
There are some instances in which exercising is necessary. If you are heading to the Himalayas, if you are heading to Patagonia, you can hike these locations out of shape. There are plenty of out of shape people slugging their way up to Everest Base Camp. You could. But why? Why spend all that effort and money on a trip to the Himalayas and then be exhausted during the trek?
Technology has made it easier to exercise while traveling. There are free YouTube videos. There are yoga videos. There are premium exercise classes offered like P90X. There are apps with stretching, sit-up, and push-up routines. There’re more yoga apps. There’re even more yoga apps. Sorting through the yoga apps is an excellent finger exercise.
The best way to ensure you exercise is to start exercising early in your travels and develop a routine. Start with 30 push-ups and sit-ups. After four months you’ll be doing 150 push-ups and sit-ups per day. One other tip: schedule any running and cardio exercises to coincide with laundry intervals—you don’t want to pack sweaty clothes in your backpack for a couple of hours.
As for the exercise bands? I still have exercise bands sitting in my basement if you are interested.