Yesterday morning we woke up to blue skies and calm water; it was hard to believe that an 800 mile wide hurricane was “barreling” towards us.
We were very tempted to stay another night but five-hundred meteorologists can’t be wrong so by mid-afternoon we packed up the car and had a relatively uneventful drive back to Charlottesville. The guy who came to board up the house we were staying in probably played a part in our decision too.
As the optimist that I am I am focusing on the glorious 45 hours I had at the beach, rather than the mandatory evacuation.
No shoes from arrival to departure!
Living room dance parties with my 4 vacation companions!
Mid-night ocean swims!
Turtle nests!
Apple-ginger-rum-zucchini bread! (Look for a recipe soon, this combo was a winner.)
Workouts on the beach!
My year of living in Peru was a lot about self-reflection and self-motivation. One of the best things to come out of that time was learning how to workout on my own: without the aid of videos, classes, trainers, hand-weights, or treadmills.
Even as a personal trainer and aerobics instructor I used to find it really hard to workout completely on my own. The elliptical and a magazine or t.v. made it so much easier to knock out my 30 minutes of cardio! Peru changed all that. I didn’t step foot in a gym for over a year and a half and still worked out nearly everyday.
Learning to workout on your own is incredibly self-empowering. I feel like I am owning my health when I workout in unusual situations or when everyone else is moving towards happy hour.
Preparation helps motivate a self-led workout. I knew that I would want to workout at the beach so I brought my running shorts, a tech shirt, visor, a watch, running shoes (which I didn’t use), and a 20# kettlebell.
Having proper clothes and equipment makes things a little easier but don’t let lack of preparation throw you off though!
There are plenty of exercises/activities that you can do sans sports bra, shorts, kettlebell, or proper shoes!
- walking (o.k, you might need proper shoes for this one)
- lunges/squats
- plank
- push-ups
- tricep dips
- Pilates
- dance parties 🙂
- squat thrusts
Most of these exercises can be done wearing anything from Pj’s to jeans and require only a few square feet of space.
Or standing on the beach facing the vast ocean.
Do you workout on vacation or does the lack of gym/classes/equipment throw you off your routine?
What’s your favorite workout-to-go?
Stay dry!
Gracefulfitness 