Screen your hotel’s fitness facilities.
It’s insufficient to know that there is a gym: The length of it? What are the hours? What sort of equipment is available? What courses are offered? Are they free? Will the pool have lap lanes, or perhaps is it a family free-for-all? Are there in-room fitness offerings like treadmills or yoga mats and DVDs. Do rooms have sufficient floor space for an in-room workout? Exist in-room whirlpool baths? What about on-site saunas or steam rooms? Demand information and/or take a virtual tour from the hotel on its Site or on a booking site.
Consider local workout options.
Ask your hotel or host for recommendations, or take a look at sites like Healthclubs.com and Airportgyms.com. Swimmersguide.com, created and maintained by two lifelong lap swimmers, has listings of pools all over the world that are accessible to the public, in addition to some hotel pools. On RunthePlanet.com you are able to research the world’s races and routes; the second are provided by fellow runners. Yogafinder.com does precisely what its name implies-in about 85 countries. AthleticMindedTraveler.com charges under $5 a month for access to well-edited info on where to work out, run, buy equipment, or play your preferred sport in more than 60 U.S. and Canadian cities.
Research exercise routines and portable gear.
Virtually all of the fitness magazines (e.g., Health, Fitness, Men’s Health, Women’s Health) have exercise routines in their issues and on their Internet sites. The American Council on Fitness has a workout library with illustrated moves that concentrate on every part of the body. Jfit.com sells a transportable travel workout kit with resistance bands, bars, and ankle straps. All Lifeline USA’s exercise products are portable.
Be imaginative.
Can’t find any of the activities you are aware of love? Try a new one-perhaps one that the destination is known, and considering obtaining the whole family on board. Subscribe to tango lessons in Buenos Aires, surfing sessions in San Diego, rock-climbing courses in Grand Teton, guided walkabouts within the Outback, or tai chi classes in Hong Kong. Tourist-board, national-park, and city Internet sites have information on many such activities. Maxlifestyle.com has info on everything from getting started to preparing to planning a trip around 14 different activities-from hiking to snowboarding to meditation.
Try eating normally.
Travelers often joke that, on the highway, "Calories don’t count"-if only! If your usual breakfast is a bagel and juice, a good week of breakfast buffets might get you into trouble. Identify your workout goals before leaving home, and avoid sabotaging them by wondering the question: Is this what I’d do in your own home normally? Do your best to approximate normal eating routines while still permitting opportunities to sample local cuisines-and holiday favorites.