Should You Exercise Whilst On Holiday?

Short answer:

You can.

But you don’t have to.

A holiday will not ruin your progress.

You won’t lose all your muscle.

You won’t undo months of work.

You might feel a bit rusty when you get back, but after a couple of sessions you’ll usually feel normal again.

That’s not lost progress.

That’s just having a break.

You Don’t Need To Earn Your Food

You don’t need to train because you had pudding.

You don’t need to do cardio because you had a few drinks.

You don’t need to punish yourself for enjoying your holiday.

Training should improve your life.

Not stop you living it.

But If You Want To Train, Do It

Some people like training on holiday.

If it makes you feel good, go for it.

Hotel gym.

Run.

Swim.

Walk.

Bodyweight session.

Whatever.

Just make sure you’re doing it because you want to.

Not because you’re scared of reversing the progress you’ve made.

What About Weight Gain?

This is what most people worry about.

You come home, step on the scales and you’re up 2kg.

That does not mean you’ve gained 2kg of fat.

Holiday weight is usually:

• More food in your system

• More carbs

• More salt

• Alcohol

• Less water

• Poor sleep

• Travel

• Water retention

Fat gain takes a lot more than people think.

Roughly:

• 1kg fat = 7,700 calories over maintenance

• 2kg fat = 15,400 calories over maintenance

• 3kg fat = 23,100 calories over maintenance

That’s not total calories.

That’s extra calories above what your body already needs.

To gain 3kg of fat in a week, you’d need to average around 3,300 calories over maintenance every day.

Possible?

Yes.

Likely from a normal holiday?

Probably not.

The Scale Might Jump

Don’t weigh yourself the morning after you get home and panic.

Give it a few days.

Drink water.

Get your steps back up.

Train as normal.

Eat normally.

Most of the jump usually settles.

The Main Thing

The holiday isn’t the problem.

Letting one week off turn into six weeks off is the problem.

So enjoy the holiday.

Move if you want to.

Rest if you want to.

Then come home and get back to normal.

No guilt.

No punishment.

No dramatic reset.

Just continue.