Brandon

My wife and I will be traveling to western europe for a month i sept/oct. I am wondering does anyone have any ideas or an excercise routine that you have used on your travels to help stay in shape and work off some of the wine you have consumed. I am looking for ideas other than the obvious ie running. Thank you for your help.

Alice

Here is the exercise routine I have successfully used: up early, walk to metro, up/down stairs, out on the street, walk blocks to sightseeing, rest at cafe, more walking, stairs, cobblestones, parks, miles of museum halls, rest at cafe, up/down stairs in metro, back to hotel, hot bath, collapse. <BR>Teasing a little, but we eat plenty and never gain weight. You might actually need to work on an exercise routine BEFORE you go (if you don't already) so you will have the energy/stamina to maximize your exploring.<BR>I've read that you can take a couple of empty soda liters, fill them with water in the hotel and use them for arm exercises, do your situps, and you will get plenty of walking in while in Europe.

Tess

Brandon,<BR><BR>Like Alice, I'm usually on the walk-walk-walk-walk-walk-walking program when traveling in Europe. I've never found the need for an "exercise routine" to stay in shape; rather I'm usually more fit by the end of my vacation. And this is including a daily gelato fix when visiting Italy.<BR>

Dick Yeager

Brandon,<BR><BR>My wife and I were in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France this past May and June. We saw almost no joggers. You will walk, walk, walk and more walk. It is as Alice says.<BR><BR>Be more concerned about good shoes rather than getting enough excercise. As Alice also said, eat and drink all you want. You will not gain weight. In fact I lost 2 pounds!!<BR><BR>Of course now that we are home, we take the car everyplace we would have walked to in Europe.<BR><BR>Let us know about your trip when you return.<BR><BR>Dick

Marilyn

Brandon -- I finally got back to the gym after several years away, and had lost some weight, so when I went to Italy last month I was determined not to gain it back. There ARE several things you can do.<BR><BR>1. Always make the more physically active choice. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk instead of riding a bus. Take a hike instead of having an aperitif.<BR><BR>2. Check out resistance bands. They are like big flat elastic bands that take up no room and weigh nothing. You can use them for various exercises like biceps curls.<BR><BR>3. Get a trainer to give you a routine that you can do when traveling. There are lots of exercises you can do in a hotel room, like lunges, squats, triceps dips, pushups, crunches. The bands will enlarge your repertoire. But know that you have to really schedule time (30-40 min) to do a workout in order to get any benefit from this. If you can manage to do it 2x/week when you're gone, it will help a lot.<BR><BR>3. Don't deprive yourself of the food you love, but you don't have to eat it every day. My recent Italian "diet" was pasta no more than once a day, and the same for gelato. Every few days I tried to have a dinner that was lower cal, like grilled chicken. I did, however, drink wine virtually every night. <BR><BR>Just so you know, I am 55 and have struggled with that extra 5-10 lbs my entire adult life. This is probably the first trip I've been on that I did not gain any weight -- I couldn't believe it! When you do all of these things it tends to add up, just like all the little calories add up.<BR><BR>Good luck!! (Do post when you return and let us know how it went.)

Melissa

Ya know, I am as much a rabid exerciser as I am an eater but found that I do not have time to exercise while on vacation. This last trip, I thought I might gain weight from all the duck fat, cheese, and sausage, but ended up losing some because I walked SO much every single day. The trip ended with staying 5 days in a 6th floor walk-up in Paris. That alone was like having a stairmaster! Like Marilyn says: when possible, take the more physically active choice and you can't go wrong.

elvira

Like everyone else has said it so well, just sightseeing will work off virtually everything you eat. Between the walking and standing (which uses more energy than sitting), you'll get more exercise in one day than you could in two hours at the gym. I'm also a firm believer in "real" movement - better to walk, stand, climb in your daily routine than do nothing all day then workout frantically for two hours at a gym. Alice's description of a typical day is right on the money (and also hysterically funny).<BR><BR>Something I figured out not long ago (particularly about lunches or "snacks") was the difference between gulping-style food (Big Mac and fries) and work-at-it food (country ham on a baguette). It's easy to over-consume when the food is easy to eat; it's a lot harder to do that when the food is complicated or requires some effort (Bic Mac bun vs baguette). So along with smaller quantities, European food (for the most part) takes longer to eat.<BR>Which makes me think of something my mother and I spotted in a restaurant in Paris where we were eating - one of the desserts on the carte was "peach". At the table next to us, that was delivered. And it was a whole peach, with a knife and fork on the plate. The woman slowwwly cut the peach, ate one bite at a time, took her 10 minutes at least (it was a beautiful white peach, I nearly grabbed it off her plate). <BR>

Marilyn

Sorry, folks, but the walk-it-off theory doesn't work for me. I am a small person and don't need a lot of calories, so just being served a "normal" size lunch or dinner is a lot for me. Once it's in front of me and tastes delicious, it's practically impossible for me not to eat more than I should.<BR><BR>My last trip is the only time in 35 years of traveling that I did not gain weight. This includes trips where I was tromping around the temples of Angkor Wat or Mexican ruins (you want exercise?) and trips where I was afflicted with tummy troubles and hardly ate for several days running. I can only attribute it to a different approach, which included careful eating and some planned workouts. When you work as hard I did to lose some weight and get into shape, you really don't want to backslide. <BR><BR>But the best part was I DID eat gelato and pasta, just not every day.

Shannon

I am also small, but gain weight quickly if I'm not dieting. I never gain weight on vacation (in fact, I always lose weight) and I eat anything I want. Echoing the others, it's the walking that does it for me. Having said that, at home, I spend 9 hours a day sitting at my desk in the office, and then drive to and from work (after all, this is L.A.). My only exercise is a work out 3 times a week. So, 6 hours of pounding the pavements in Europe, taking a swim if the hotel has one leaves me NO time to go to the hotel gym, not that I would anyway.<BR><BR>But to answer your question in a different way, head to the local public pools. They are, in general, like country clubs, and almost all locals.

Katie

Elvira - <BR><BR>I guess the concept of a "frantic workout" is a relative term. For me, a 2 hour workout is a 14-15 mile run, or a 35-40 mile bike ride. Do you really believe that most on this board would find that kind of workout less demanding than a full day of sightseeing on foot?<BR><BR>P.S. I'm a big believe in walking whenever possible, but don't consider it to be more "real" (whatever that means) of a workout than something like marathon training.

Runner

I have no doubt I will be flamed for this, but I'm going to say it anyway.<BR><BR>I've seen many people on this board, usually runners, ask for advice about where to run in a given European location. The most common response I've seen is something along the lines, of "don't bother, you'll do plenty of walking." Do the people who say this have any idea how non-responsive and unhelpful it is? Running and walking are NOT the same - and anyone who enjoys running knows this. If someone came here looking for advice on a certain kind of hotel, meal etc, and someone said - "don't bother, just eat at McDonald's or stay at the Holiday Inn", there would be an absolute uproar. But those very same people have no problem telling runners not to run - just because they wouldn't, and because they get 20 times as much exercise walking around Europe as they do living their sedentary lives in the U.S. <BR><BR>Yes, I realize the initial poster said he was NOT asking about running, but this seemed like a good place to post my viewpoint.

Alice

I interpreted the question to be "help me not gain weight from the wine/food I'll consume", rather than "I will be running the Boston Marathon upon my return and must keep in condition". If we posters interpreted the question correctly as being the first version, then we answered from personal experience, which is what most people come here for. If incorrect, and it is the second version, then we goofed- only Brandon can say. But then, it is more likely that a serious fitness follower would find an exercise routine from a more appropriate resource, imo.<BR>p.s. no flames here, just a response

aerobicizer

Runner is absolutely right. I work out 3-4 times a week, and despite being on my feet for 10 hours a day while in Europe, I still put on pounds, because I am away from my workout normal routine. <BR>I've found a brief Pilates routine helpful that they don't take more than 10 minutes in the morning, and maybe some situps and pushups in the evening, but I still come home with some extra weight. <BR> <BR>I blame all that cheese! I can't resist it.

Melissa

I go to Europe with the express intent to run a marathon--I run at least 30 miles a week. Yes, you cannot compare a 16 mile run to simply walking. But I think the average person will be able to walk off major poundage, every day. Like I said, I lost weight on my last trip to Europe, and I only ran once...OK, it was the Prague marathon, but I only ran once! The rest of the time I was eating cheese and other artery clogging delights! (And walking to & from my meals.) ;-)

Brandon

A big thank you to everyone who has reponded to my post, many helpful ideas. There does seem to be some confustion however, I am in my mid twenties and I am not especially worried about gaining weight rather losing weight. A quick 15 minute routine which I can perform in a hostel room is what I am seeking. Trust me I don't plan to skimp on any food or drink the entire month. The rubber band post (thera-band) is a great idea. Thanks again to everyone who has reponded- I'll keep checking my post.

xxx

I agree with Alice! After walking on those cobblestoned streets and getting lost and then backtracking to the correct landmarks, that's plenty exercise. Also try walking from your hotel to almost all of your destinations and then back to the hotel. Walking is efficient exercise and it's enough for me!

exercise

I wholeheartedly 2nd the idea of walking - it may sound kind of wimpy, but you'll be pleasantly surprised how much more pleasant it is vs. doing it in places like the U.S. (I never understood the mall rats who walk around inside malls - guess, though, it's the only thing to do in car-culture USA). Europe is MADE for walking: in cities, distances aren't that great; sidewalks are interesting and made for discovering things; you have old-town sections as well; PLUS, if you can swing it, go to some mountain resorts and walk there. You'll get fresh air, high altitudes, incredible scenery. Anyway, you won't believe the extra pounds you can work off just walking. P.S. If you make the mountains, get some appropriate shoes...

Jon

I find a stupid idea that you make a direct relation between wine drinking and weight. I guess, like others said, you should do like europeans do: walk and walk, stand and don´t eat fast food and so many sweets.

mpprh

Hi<BR><BR>I've found opening a bottle of lager to refresh the palate before I go to bed, to be the only exercise I need in Europe<BR><BR>Peter<BR><BR><BR>

Jim

This is a great thread!<BR>I ate like a demon in Italy, and actually lost 5 pounds during the two weeks, due no doubt to the miles and miles we walked, and the hundreds of stairs we climbed each day.<BR><BR>Should go to Italy every couple of months just to keep my weight down. LOL