We took a short trip to Lake Michigan in my beautiful home state of Michigan this past weekend. We love to travel and always stay active while away. When I had an office job, I was always excited to have my days open to exercise. Even though my days are much more flexible now as a trainer, we still make it a point to work out on our trips. One big reason is because we rarely eat out when at home so eating out while on vacation tends to result in eating more then usual and eating lots of treats. (Anyone had Sherman's Ice Cream in South Haven, MI? Holy Moly, it is AMAZING! I may have eaten it everyday last weekend!!) We do bring healthy options for snacks and some light meals along with us but that is a whole other blog post topic!
Our workouts don't always look the same as they do at home when we are traveling. This trip I brought along some resistance bands and did some quick circuits with bicep curls, shoulder presses, tricep dips, push ups and rows. Of course I also added some squats and planks in there. We walked on the beach everyday and ran a few times. Plus there is a great trail from South Haven to Kalamazoo, the Kal-Haven trail, where we rode our bikes. We were able to enjoy the outdoors, spend time together, see more of the area and balance out some of that ice cream. On your next trip, find ways to work some exercise in to your time. Many cities have walking tours or running tours. Some hotels have bikes you can use to bike around the area. If you are going to the beach, bring lots of options like a frisbee, volleyball or a football to keep moving. Of course there is swimming too. You'll feel better and reduce stress by working out....isn't that the point of a vacation?
I hope you are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Long holiday weekends can be full of fun with friends and family and leave little time for your regular workout. Hopefully, you are doing active things like playing games at a cookout or swimming at the newly opened pool. If not, or even if you are, here is an arm workout you can do at home to get some strength training in. It's done as a circuit so you will do 10 - 12 repetitions of each exercise and then repeat the circuit 2-3 times based on the time you have available and your fitness level. If you are new to strength training, do 8 repetitions of each move and do the circuit 2 times through. If you don't have dumbbells at home you could use soup cans or bottles of water for the exercises. For each move, hold the contracted position for a second before returning to the starting position.
Bicep Curl: Stand up with a dumbbell on each hand being held at arms length. The elbows should be close to the torso. Rotate the palms of the hands until they are facing forward. While holding the upper arm stationary, curl the weights forward while contracting the biceps as you breathe out. Only the forearms should move. Continue the movement until your biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbells are at shoulder level. Tricep Kickback: Knees slightly bent, bend forward at waist with a flat back, parallel to the floor. Place left hand on left lower thigh, right elbow should be up at side. Wrist and forearm should be in front of right shoulder. Slowly kick forearm back. Stop just before locking out the elbows. Pause and lightly squeeze the tricep area. Bring forearm back to starting position, in front of your shoulder. Using the same arm repeat the exercise. Repeat same procedure with other arm. Shoulder Press: While holding a dumbbell in each hand, raise the dumbbells to shoulder height one at a time. Make sure to rotate your wrists so that the palms of your hands are facing forward. This is your starting position. Now, exhale and push the dumbbells upward until they touch at the top. Then, after a brief pause at the top contracted position, slowly lower the weights back down to the starting position while inhaling. Front Raise: Hold a dumbbell in each hand parallel to the front of your thighs. Raise your arms to shoulder height and then lower down slowly. Keep shoulders relaxed. Side Raise: Hold a dumbbell in each hand parallel to the side of your thighs. Raise your arms out to the side to shoulder height and then lower down slowly. Keep shoulders relaxed. Rear Delt Fly: Sit on the edge of a chair or bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Bend forward from the waist and let the weights hang down from your shoulders with your palms facing in. Raise your arms out to your sides (keeping your hands wide) until they reach shoulder height. Slowly return to starting position. |
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