How I Make Movement Part of My Vacation

A Realistic Approach That Actually Feels Good

Julia here.

I received quite a few questions while we were in Greece around “What I do for workouts/staying active while traveling or on vacation”.

This is something that changes with each trip, depending on the length, whether kids are with us, and how much luggage we have (i.e. if we have room to bring any workout accessories). When we’re traveling with kids, that energy gets zapped pretty quick, and the desire for additional physical fitness falls short.

But here’s the thing, when I’m feeling zapped or grumpy or tapped out - because yes, those things still happen on an amazing trip, especially with kids - a workout is usually what I need to get me out of my funk. I’ve realized over the past year or so that my workouts don’t need to be draining to be impactful. I don’t need to be dripping with sweat from an hour+ workout to feel good and strong and re-energized.

If we’re doing a longer trip, like our 3.5 weeks in Greece, I know I won’t be working out every day, and I don’t even put the pressure on myself to try to. We are able to take longer trips like this one, or last year’s to Italy (for 7 weeks!), because we can work remote and travel is great for our business in the summer. But that means we are still working a lot during travel, so within our priorities, I much rather add in kid time than a workout if my time during the day is limited. So these longer trips are a lot harder to keep up a consistent schedule. Here is what I found realistic and helpful to re-engerize myself with movement:

• I didn’t put a number on how many times I planned on working out, but it ended up being around 3, sometimes 4/ week.

  

• Some workouts were only 20 minutes, but had a big impact on how I felt afterwards.

• Thomas is a very self-motivated person. He is great at working out at home. I am motivated by the energy of group classes. I end up slacking off working out more at home. So working out together helped me stay motivated.

• My own body weight gets the job done, but if I can, I prefer to pack my Bala bangles and my Stakt weights - which I do if the trip is shorter/I have more space in my carry-on for them.

  

• I rely mostly on Apps for fitness direction and motivation. I love doing my ACE classes while on the go. Since I do them so often at home, it’s second nature while on the go, and easy to follow along. A friend recommended Fit With Coco and I really love her classes. They are challenging, but in a good way, and come in a wide variety of lengths (anywhere from 20min to an hour). You don’t need props, although you can use them (as she does, if you have access to them). They feel a bit like my pilates classes (minus the megaformer) mixed with weight lifting - which I have been consistently doing more of at home.

  

• Walk! I try to walk every day. That’s one of the things I love about being in Europe, we always end up moving so much over the summer from just walking and exploring. Plus, carrying my 3 ½ year old a good portion of the time feels like walking with a weighted vest.

• Listen to my body. After four days of not doing a ton of physical activity, I felt the urge to run and joined Thomas and my brother in law on a nature run. I am not a runner, but it felt good to have a big cardio burst. It’s what my body was craving. Just as I listen when I need rest, I listen when it needs something bigger.

  

Not Sure Where to Begin on Your Next Trip?

Here’s a quick 15-minute travel workout Thomas created that we loved doing poolside in Greece. It’s simple, requires little to no equipment, and works perfectly in a hotel room or beside the pool— so you can sneak in some movement while still keeping an eye on the kids.

15-Minute Poolside Workout

3-Minute Warm-Up

• Leg swings

• Squats (or jump squats)

• Trunk twists

• High knees

Main Circuit (Repeat Twice):

• Walking lunges: 10–15 per leg

• Myo-rep push-ups: 20 reps, then short 3–5 sec breaks, repeat sets of 5 until failure

• Single-leg hamstring bridge: 10–15 per leg (foot elevated on a chair)

• Core exercise (e.g., suitcase crunches or leg raises): 30 reps

• Bulgarian split squats: 10–15 per leg (back foot elevated on a chair)

Finisher:

2 minutes of cardio (stair climbs, jumping jacks, or burpees)

What about you?
Have any tips that help you sneak in workouts during travel— or even on busy days at home? I’d love to hear what works for you in the comments!

xx Julia