Know I don’t know about you but when I go on holiday I’m packing my Kindle and bikinis ready to relax on the beach and I think most of you will agree when I say I go on holiday to unwind, de-stress and relax (and not have to worry about washing, ironing, cooking or cleaning!). However, it is also the ideal time to get fit and enjoy the beautiful outside weather! So how do you keep active on holiday whilst still relaxing?
Well just swimming in the sea or hotel pool can keep you toned and fit – why not go for a swim in the morning before breakfast? In fact just half an hour of swimming (not just paddling!) can burn up to 250 calories! Just doing small amounts of exercise on holiday can help protect you against heart disease, help you to relax, and keep toned – do you need any more reasons to why you should swim on holiday? Don’t fancy that? Well just take a look at the other easy exercises you could try…
Walking
Wherever you decide to go on holiday there will be plenty of opportunities and places that you can go for walks. Holidays are the perfect excuse to swap the car for a pair of trainers, it’s an ideal way to take in your new surroundings and give your body a good workout at the same time.
The benefits:
- Walking doesn’t only help to tone the legs, but the ankles and calves too! It also helps strengthen the 50-odd muscles in your feet. The swinging action of your arms will also help reduce tension in and around your shoulder joints, helping you to relax even more. SO take a deep breath and take in your beautiful surroundings.
- Regular walking is good for you because cardiovascular exercise strengthens the heart and lungs, this means that’s the oxygen is bringing more nutrients into your tissues and helping to remove waste from your body quicker.
- Together with healthy eating and other forms of exercise, walking can also help with weight loss and tone up muscles. So a five minute walk doesn’t mean you can gorge on a full English!
- If you get a chance to walk on some uneven terrain such as such or stones then this will work your muscles even more! This is because each step you take on uneven ground means the muscle in your body are being used to steady and centre itself causing you to tone your muscles in the process. Especially if you want a more challenging workout that will help you burn up even more calories, try walking up and down hills. Apparently walking up a gentle incline means you will burn 50 per cent more calories than walking on a flat surface! Scout out those hills!
- Walking is also said to drain the lower legs of excess fluid, helping to prevent varicose veins through the pumping action of the calf muscles and nobody likes those!
Calories burnt? This is part that we are really interested in…A gentle walk can burn as many as 100 calories a mile – or around 150 calories every half an hour.
Tennis
If you want legs like Anna Kournikova (and I mean who doesn’t?) – And all-round fitness, then it is suggested that you take up tennis. Fans claim this popular sport activates every joint in your legs and offers a great aerobic and muscular workout, so you won’t only be losing weight but toning at the same time too! Some fitness experts claim playing tennis every day can help you lose up to half a stone in just one week – WOW!
The benefits:
- Tennis is not only good for your legs (obviously!) but every time you hit the ball, this action works your triceps and biceps – ideal for anyone wanting to tone up their arms for the beach!
- Tennis provides an excellent fat burning workout because you are running around the court for an average of one to two hours.
- Apart from providing immense cardiovascular and toning benefits, tennis also gives a great mental workout as you have to work out a strategy to fool your opponent and also make snap decisions, which in turn is stimulating your mind!
Calories burnt? A one hour tennis session can burn up to 350 to 500 calories, obviously that depends on your size and fitness level!
If you’re keen to play tennis or would like to learn, then why not try a tennis holiday? There are plenty of destinations available for weekend or week long stays were you get professional coaching and tournaments with other students. Or if you fancy something a little less intense then just try and book a hotel where you have a tennis court and remember to pack your workout gear!
