According to a recent study by the University of Scranton, only eight percent of those who make a New Year’s Resolution succeed in reaching their goal, with less than 65 percent of people making it past the first month. Many things in life can knock you off the New Year’s Resolution wagon, including vacation.
Did you make a resolution to get in shape this year? Did you commit to vacationing more or being more connected with your family? These resolutions do not need to be mutually exclusive. There is no reason to stray from your fitness goals while on vacation, many of the activities that travelers typically seek out on vacation are real calorie burners.
| Activity | Calories/hour – 150 lb adult |
| Snowshoeing | 450 |
| Sledding | 400 |
| downhill Skiing/light effort | 340 |
| Cross Country Skiing (moderate) < 5 mph | 475 |
| Ice Skating < 9mph | 300 |
| Ice Hockey | 525 |
| Swimming (freestyle slow) | 490 |
| Surfing | 400 |
| Tennis | 470 |
| Scuba | 480 |
| Kayaking | 600 |
| Rock Climbing | 730 |
| Paddle Boarding | 450 |
| Horseback Riding (general) | 475 |
| Pilates | 160 |
| Yoga | 275 |
| Zumba | 390 |
| Aqua Aerobics | 260 |
| Tai chi | 160 |
| Golfing with cart | 230 |
With this list of fun activities to shred pounds, there is no excuse to abandon your weight loss resolution.
Ski Vacations
Ski vacations are an easy way to combine a commitment to fitness and vacation time. One added bonus is that the cold temperatures naturally increase your metabolic rate and the most popular winter activities are calorie scorchers!
Hiking or walking is the absolute easiest way to add some extra calorie burn to your vacation. Search Trails.com for interesting routes near your vacation destination. Walking or hiking in an area is a real opportunity to explore and feel like you really visited and know the destination.
You can also rev up your calorie burn by nearly 45 percent by snowshoeing instead of walking, a 150 pound adult will burn an average of 450 calories per hour trekking through the snow. The additional calorie burn can be attributed to a few factors including the resistance of moving the snowshoe through the snow, the weight of the shoe (think ankle weights), terrain and pace. Snowshoes are available for rent in most ski rental shops and many ski resorts offer specific snowshoe trails.
Downhill skiing is another great way to “sneak” in a workout. You can avoid that torturous p90x workout, yet still feel your legs screaming after a long downhill run. Light effort skiing will scorch away approximately 340 calories per hour, so imagine what a full day of hitting the slopes can do for you.
The silence of a snow covered forest is an excellent environment to unwind and relax your mind while working out your body. A moderate effort of Cross Country Skiing, under five miles per hour, will burn 476 calories per hour. Add an hour of skating at the ice rink or a nearby frozen lake and you can burn another 306 calories with a light effort. Even a snow-day favorite, sledding with your kids, will burn nearly 400 calories per hour.
During a typical week long ski vacation a traveler could easily burn an extra 10,000 calories by skiing half a day and adding some other winter alternatives like snowshoeing and ice skating in the afternoon. Perhaps consider an evening yoga class to stretch out those sore muscles!
Summer
Don’t restrain yourself to a beach chair during your next warm weather vacation. Kayaking and rock climbing are vigorous calorie burners. An AM surf or tennis lesson will burn off more than 400 calories and still have you planted in your chair by the pool before lunch. Next time you see women gathering for a water aerobics class; join them and burn at least 260 more calories.
Of course many other sports and actives can be utilized during the warmer months. Throwing a football, kicking a soccer ball or taking a swim at the beach each day of vacation will help to keep you on track for completing your resolutions and fitness goals.
All of these suggestions are fun activities that most people seek out while on vacation anyway. Don’t be worried about looking for gyms while on the road or at the hotel, employ these everyday vacation activities and you will be well on your way to joining the eight percent of New Year’s success stories.
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