I recently spent a week in Tenerife, and although a holiday is a great time to relax, I still need to stay active. I was thrilled to find out that the hotel I was staying in was equipped with a gym, however once I got there and checked it out I realised it was less of a 'gym' and more of a room with a couple of hand weights.
Obviously my idea of getting in a normal workout wasn't going to happen, but adaptations were made so I still managed to do something.
Running on sand is a great way to intensify any run, the sand creates resistance which really works your calves. If you wanted a more intense workout you can run barefoot, however be careful moving from a hard terrain in shoes to running on a softer surface. As you run on sand you sink, creating a deeper stretch. Its not just your legs though, because of the resistance from the sand your whole body works harder producing a greater range of movement in your joints (like your hips and your arms). Dont worry if your time is shorter than it is on hard ground, you're burning more calories and using more energy giving your cardiovascular system a better workout. 5 minutes will feel like an interval session! (Obviously the beach is great for upper body as well... press ups, tricep dips, ab crunches etc...)
Swimming is a low impact exercise, you only bear around 10% of your weight due to the buoyancy of the water resulting in less impact on joints, bones and muscles. Its a great way to strengthen muscles without strain, the resistance of the water can be up to 44 times greater than air. While swimming you get the benefits of cardio and muscle toning all at the same time. The amount of resistance will increase/decrease depending on the amount of force you are using to push the water, which allows you to control how hard you work with ease. Swimming is one of the few sports that doesn't cause any stress to your skeletal system, therefore any injuries that you have are not strained resulting in further damage.
I was fortunate enough to be in an area where I had access to hiking trails, so I woke up early one morning to hike to the top of one the hills and watch the sunrise. Check out my hiking tips here.
