The Ultimate Upgrade

Earlier this year, I decided 2012 was the year of the “upgrade.” Not just my travel, but my entire life. I was going to upgrade my wardrobe (I still had clothing I purchased freshman year of college circa 2003), my job, my electronics etc. All aspects of life were going to be upgrade.

One part that I was neglecting was my health and body.  I never really paid much attention to what I ate or my lack of regular physical exercise. That needed to change! If I was going to upgrade the physical objects in my life, I should spend equal focus and money upgrading the most important asset, my health.

Around July, I made the decision to work-out at the gym or run outside a minimum of 5 times a week. Yes, a big jump from zero days a week, but I needed to go all-in or I would fall off the horse. Since July, I am averaging about 4.5 days a week and loving every moment of it.

Back to the purpose of this post, this weekend’s trip to San Diego caused me to have a small problem: When was I going to work out? I was going to be gone 3 days, Saturday through Monday. If I skipped working out all three days, I would have had to work out five days straight this week, which my body can’t handle.

Since I just got serious about exercising two months ago, I never paid much attention to if a hotel had a gym before booking. Luckily, the Four Points had a small gym with a stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical and free weights. However, the Holiday Inn Express did not have a gym. What would have happen if neither had a gym?

Yes, I could have run outside, but I was nervous not knowing the neighborhood. In addition, I get lost very easy. Twice on this trip, I had to take a cab to my hotel as I got lost walking back to my hotel. Once I found myself by the city jail at 11pm. Not the best place to be around that time of night.

In the end, I worked out Saturday afternoon, after arriving, and Sunday morning before switching hotels. In both instances, I killed about 90 minutes between stretching, working out and showering afterwards. Luckily, on this trip, I had no agenda, but what if I did. Could I justify spending 90 minutes a day on vacation to work out?

Is there a balance? Can I explore a new destination, eat what I want and exercise all while on vacation? It’s a question I am going to need to think about before planning my trips.

In the future, I am going to have to pay more attention to if a hotel has a gym in choosing my travel. If a gym is not an option, then I am going to have to use Mapmyrun.com to pick a route before my trip begins. If I am going to succeed in upgrading my health, its going to take dedication and persistence especially when away from Washington, DC.

Do you work out when on vacation? What do you do if a hotel does not have a gym/?