Fitness & Travel

Good morning, y’all, and happy Tuesday! I’ve been struggling with post ideas for the past week or so, and I did what every blogger advises: look at your own life and go from there. Well, I’m going to Orlando this week for the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, and that means I’m traveling! You know what else that means? My workout split is about to be all over the place and my nutrition is definitely about to be not so great.

I know when I first started on my fitness journey, the idea of not being able to make it to the gym for a week was the equivalent of never being able to train again. I caused myself so much unnecessary stress because I thought a week or two off of the gym was going to be the end of my life.

Fitness is meant to structured around your life. Your life is not meant to be structured around fitness.

And this is even truer in regards to fitness and traveling. Staying on track while traveling can be a daunting task, but for one thing, I don’t want to be stressing about food and training sessions while I’m trying to experience a whole new city!

After all, I’ll get back into my normal routine eventually, and everything will be back to even itself out.

So while I’m out and enjoying everything Orlando has to offer, here’s what I’m going to be doing to stay on top of my fitness game!

Eat All the Food

I AM TRAVELING. I WILL BE ENJOYING ALL THE FOOD I WANT. I WILL NOT FEEL GUILTY.

Okay, of course I’m not going to be devouring doughnuts, pastries, and pasta for every single meal, but I’m going to allow myself to have some fun! Get ready for some food Instas. #noshame

Am I going to be counting macros/calories while I’m on this trip? No.

Am I going to be mindful of what I’m consuming and choose the best options possible while giving myself some freedom? Yes.

In my mind, if I have a solid breakfast, lunch, and eat decent snacks throughout the day, I can have all the fun I want at dinner. I mean I probably won’t be back in Orlando anytime soon so I’m going to enjoy myself without feeling guilty.

Be That Person with the Snack Bag

Call it the mom bag, call it the snack bag, call it the keep-Abigail-from-being-hangry bag, but whichever way you put it, this is my number one way to staying ‘on track’ while traveling.

If I don’t have food with me, I’m much more likely to go grab a muffin or pastry or something carb-filled and destined to give me a sugar crash. That’s not good for my mental state, for other people around me, or really anything in my life.

I’ll be packing airplane-friendly food so whatever I don’t eat, I can easily bring back with me:

• RX Bars
• Protein bars
• Dried fruit
• Apples
• Nuts

While I will probably be drinking more coffee than I even want to think about, I refuse to let myself be on that caffeine rush and a sugar high all at the same time.

Find Some Local Gyms

Okay y’all I cannot tell you how hype I am for this one.

While I’m using this travel week as a kind of rest week and give-myself-a-break-from-the-gym week, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to get to the gym.

The best part about traveling is hitting up local places. And for me, that means finding local gyms.

I worked at a local gym in Knoxville over the summer, and it was by far the best gym I’ve ever been to. There’s just something about the atmosphere, the people, and the vibes of a local gym that is hard to find in other places.

I already have a few I’m looking to hit up (Power Strength Gym and Iron Religion), but we’ll see if I actually have enough energy to get there, haha.

If you’re from Orlando and know of any bomb gyms in the area, please let me know!

Enjoy the Week Off

I’m not one that enjoys forcing myself to take a week off from the gym or my relatively healthy eating habits, but sometimes it’s much needed.

While I take rest days every week, there’s nothing like taking a week off of the gym, not thinking about lifting, and just letting my body rest. I don’t know about you, but I feel so motivated and strong whenever I re-enter the gym after a long break.

I like to give myself a week off at least once every three or four months. It’s like setting the reset button not only for my body but for my mind as well.

I cannot wait to keep y’all updated on all the fun adventures I have in Orlando! If you know of any amazing places to eat, or you’re going to Grace Hopper as well, let me know!

What are some ways you try to keep up with your healthy habits while traveling??

~abigail gray