| |
| |
|
Exercise Information |
| Site Map | Privacy Policy |
|
|
|
Sweating Vacation
It seems like everyone is concerned about putting on the pounds over the annual holiday season, but what about summer vacations? We spend the greater part of the new year trying to shed the weight gained from an over-indulgence of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pies and various other sweets in order to slip into that new bikini or eliminate the gut before shedding the shirt at the beach. What happens when you reach your destination of summer frolicking? Toss your diet out the window and reward yourself with excess? Stay loyal to your eating and exercise plan? Somehow manage to find a happy medium? I was faced with these questions when I embarked on a weeklong excursion of bliss to Kona Village on the Big Island of Hawaii. My parents wanted to take the family on vacation to celebrate their 40th anniversary, as well as the birthdays of my nephew (10th) and myself (36th, ahem). They decided on Kona Village because we had celebrated Christmas there back in 2002 and had a wonderful time (though I had experienced periods of boredom due to the fact that the accommodations have no TV, computer or phone). If you want a site to get away from it all, and be pampered in the quintessential locale of relaxation, this is the place to go. Over the holidays I had fallen victim to the two-headed monster known as Sloth and Gluttony, so I put in plenty of effort to get back in shape. As a competitive open water swimmer, I was focusing more on getting prepared for the spring/summer race season than achieving the perfect beach body, but I won't scoff at the aesthetic results. After months of training, respectable success in my races, and the loss of 15 pounds, I was a bit apprehensive about stepping aside for a week of hedonism. Determined to take as few backwards steps as possible, I forged a plan for exercising and eating before departing the mainland. My training partner in California (shout out to Lisa) hooked me up with a friend of hers who lives in Kona-Kailua so I would have a motivating force on the island. We exchanged communications and planned a few swims, including a race the day after I arrived! The 11th Annual King Swim took place at the Kailua Pier, which is the starting and finishing point of the Ironman World Championships Triathlon. Before you start to get impressed (just yet), the race was just 1.2 miles, instead of the 2.4 miles swum in the initial stage of the Ironman. I didn't go through the ubiquitous pre-race nerves because I didn't have any high expectations for this event. Since I was in the land of stud triathletes and had been in Kona for just 15 hours (not to mention the effect the time change had on me), I went into the race just wanting to have fun and to get some ocean swimming under my belt. Despite some crooked swimming, due to my limited attention span wondering off and looking at all the pretty fishes, I actually had a pretty good race. I finished first in my age group (got a sweet trophy), was the fifth male and the seventh overall finisher. Of the six people who came in before me, five were 18-years-old or younger, and the other was a 43-year-old woman who holds numerous world records in Masters Swimming (my island training partner). Not bad for an old man in the last day of his 35th year of life! Aside from this race, I tried to swim daily in the ocean, which included another 1.2 miler on the same racecourse (for fun) and a completion of the whole 2.4-mile Ironman course (also for fun). Throw in a couple of pool workouts and a (mostly) daily trip to the resort workout room for weights and cardio, and I got in more than my fair share of vacation exercise. I found that the key to getting your sweat on while away from home is to do it first thing in the morning, getting it out of the way and leaving the rest of the day wide open for the real fun (or napping, if you prefer). As for eating, the hardest part was resisting the temptation of the huge buffet breakfasts and lunches. I stuck to my goal of keeping on the blinders in front of the food spreads and throwing caution to the wind at dinner. Every day I was a good little boy and had eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt and berries for breakfast and a biggie salad for lunch (with a few French fries thrown in for good measure). Dinners were a different story, though I did not go completely overboard. There were plenty of four-course meals (with yummy lobster on most nights), but I knew I could shovel it in knowing I would be burning (most) of it off the next morning. As for desserts, I swore to myself that I would avoid them all unless cheesecake (my Kryptonite) was offered up. I succeeded in this mission until the last dinner of the trip when cheesecake finally popped up on the menu (woo hoo!). All in all, I had a fabulous trip and came home weighing the same as I did when I left. I'm not suggesting that y'all be a psycho nutcase like me when taking time away in the summer, but it is possible to avoid all the traps that lay ahead of you when leaving the safe confines of your home regimen. Plus, the more disciplined you are while on vacation, the easier it will be to jump back into the daily grind upon your return. Just a little food for thought. SwapThing.com is a site focused on building a strong swap community online. The ShareThing program helps non-profits get access to item & cash donations as well as volunteers and professional services. This article comes with reprint rights. You are free to reprint and distribute it as you like. All that we ask is that you do not make any changes, that this resource text is included, and that the link above is intact.
MORE RESOURCES:
Exercise - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
7 Ways To Guarantee You Stick To Your Workout Program 1. Begin Looking at Exercise Differently. Rotator Cuff: Exercises and Strategies to Prevent Injury Have you ever experienced a dull ache or sharp pain in your shoulder or upper arm? Maybe you are unable to sleep on one side because your shoulder wakes you up at night. Perhaps, you have discomfort reaching behind your back to tuck in your shirt or grab your wallet. Finding Time to Exercise Exercising During Commercials I'm getting up an hour earlier these days. At first I said I'd never be able to do it: I was already sleep deprived rising at 6 AM how would I ever get up at 5 AM? I'd never be able to get to sleep earlier (this is still true), and a hundred other reasons why it wouldn't work. Top 5 Exercise Plateau Breakers Plateau. That dreaded word that you do not want to hear, let alone experience. When Exercising Right Looks Wrong III (Back) Hopefully, if you read my last article I got you thinking. Thinking about different ways to train, not necessarily using machines, but using your entire body with each exercise. Anywhere and Anytime Exercises These type of Exercises generally makes your body strong and firm. No matter, you are Exercising or Muscle Building or Body Building, these exercises are quite handy and help a lot. After Exercise Headache - More Serious Than You Think? It's surprisingly common - you're exercising, everything's fine, and then POW - a headache strikes! Or, sometimes, a headache hits while you're exercising. Is it just a minor annoyance? Or could it be a signal that something serious is going on? Should you go to the doctor, or just shrug it off?If you already suffer from headaches or migraine, it may just be that your exercise is starting the headache chain-reaction. Diet and Exercise - Without Going to the Gym Exercising and dieting are tasks that are very difficult for many of us, but usually just the thought of it that makes us queasy. There are some simple ways to get out and get fit, and you just might enjoy yourself too. Benefits of a Good Training Journal Most of us have trained at one part in our lives. Chances are if you've ever taken your training seriously you've used a training journal or a training log. Strength Training After Fifty Strength training after fifty is no longer for those people who are having some sort of mid-life crisis. In fact, doctors are literally writing prescriptions to get this generation up and moving. Get Fit From Home-Part 2 --------------------- Using The Stairs ---------------------Not everybody has stairs in their home, but chances are you know somewhere that you can find a set. Maybe it's a set of bleachers at the high school or a set of steps at a park. What is the Right Home Exercise Program for You? What do you want to get out of the exercise program?What you want to achieve as a whole fitness program has to do with the kind of program that will work for you in the long run. You may want to ask yourself what you want to accomplish, do you want to lose weight, do you want to stay in shape. Physical Activity Versus Exercise: Is there a Difference? Quite often a client will come into the gym discouraged with their exercise program. The common complaint being lack of results. Life Walking: Dont Walk Just For Exercise - Change Your Life "Life walking" is more than walking for exercise and fitness objectives. It's the larger ideal of using walking to change your life. Unstable And Proud Of It! Power to the Push-Ups! When I get finished teaching you this never-before-seen version of the push-up, you're going to think that either I'm crazy or a genius or both! Of course, the results you'll get from it will speak for themselves.First, we need to set the stage for this version of the push-up. See How Trampolines Can Be Part Of Any Exercise Program When the trampoline was invented by a young boy intrigued by the ability of aerialists to bounce in a net and perform artistic maneuvers while they did so, it literally became the "springboard" for a whole new sport.George Nissen, who was a tumbler and gymnast himself, took the sports to a whole new height by putting them on canvas strung in a metal frame. Are You A One-Dimensional Trainer? Most people are classically biased toward one of the three legs of the fitness triad: progressive resistance training, cardiovascular training or diet/nutrition. How many folks try and lose weight by dieting and dieting alone? A safe bet would be a majority of individuals. Want To Get In Shape? Watch Another Infomercial! You know I have always wondered how people of yesteryear, like Eugene sandow, John Grimek, Steve reeves, Jack Lalanne, Joe Louis, Charle Atlas, and many others that i could mention could possibly get into such fantastic shape without all these gadgets, gizmos, and late night exercise machines being touted all over your favorite TV stations.I mean let's look at what is happening here! You have got Ab dolly, Ab rocker, Ab lounge, Abwheel, Ab-this-Ab-that, and I am not saying that they may not give some results but let's face it if any one of these was a "cure all" why do they have to keep coming out with more??????? And why do people keep buying the latest and greatest thing? Well i will tell you?SALES AND MARKETING! These infomercials have it down to a science. 3 Exercises for Good Posture and a Six-Pack These days many people spend a significant part of their day slaving away over a hot computer and as a result, their posture is not what it should be. Bad posture can result in short-term discomfort such as neck stiffness and headaches and also lead to more serious problems in later life. Incorporating Physical Activity into Your Daily Routine Not as Hard as You Think You already know that getting at least 30 minutes of exercise each and every day is good for you, but putting that assertion into actual practice is an entirely different matter, right? Contrary to what you might think, making physical activity an everyday habit isn't rocket science. There's no secret code for success waiting to be cracked.
|
| © 2005-2006 |
