How can i stay in shape while traveling?

We are currently on our way to cerro castillo where we will do a tough 4 day trek with our backpacks. It will probably be astonishing but also mentally and physically challenging.

We’ve been quite active since we started our trip. Mostly because we’ve been walking a lot. Still, apart from our 4 day hike, I doubt our activities will keep me in my current shape.

My active lifestyle at home

At home, quite a big part of my week is dedicated to sports and staying fit. I practice boxing twice a week and try to go for a run 2 to 3 times a week. I also do some basic excercises daily and try to eat healthy (mostly).

Planning ahead

Before we left on our adventure, I thought a lot about good ways to maintain my active lifestyle. Almost evertything has crossed my mind. From doing parts of the trip by bike to occasionally joining a boxing class. The problem with these things is that they are inconsistent. I needed something that ensured me of some sort of routine.

Keep on running

To include a steady workout in our travels, our running shoes were on the must take along list. I decided that I will try to run at least once a week and so far I have been able to do so. Dagmar and I ran together in Santiago and I ran alone in Castro on the island of Chiloe. The difficulty in running here is the steepness of most routes. Mostly there is just no route that doesn’t include hills. For someone from a flat country as the Netherlands, this makes it a lot more challenging. Temperatures in Chile are moderate in the mornings and evenings so that makes for fine running conditions. I’ll have to see about that for the other countries we’re planning to visit.

What else?

I still do my daily excersises which consist of at least 20 push-ups and 50 sit-ups. Dagmar decided to join me with those excersises and we help each other with it. We found out that our flight bag is also a fine mat to save us from a green behind when we do this next to our tent in the grass. So far no one has looked at us funny, even though it must make for an interesting sight, two crazy tourists doing sit- and push-ups. Also every time we see a public gym, and they are quite common here, we do some excerises, just for fun.

Help us out

All of the above seems like a good start but we might encounter countries where going for a run makes you a bit of a target. Either to make fun of us or to try and take our wallet. We will always use our head to judge the situation. You could be of great help though, with tips, tricks and thoughts. If you have an idea about, or experience with, staying in shape while traveling, please let us know!

♥ Thomas