Sunshine, fresh air, good food and time to relax, here’s how to stay fit on holiday so you don’t return home having to start all over again

Words: Lucy Miller | Images: Shutterstock | Workout photography: Eddie Macdonald

We all want to relax on holiday. After months of early mornings, gym sessions and meal prep, you’ve earned the right to switch off. But for many women, that often comes with a nagging worry: will a week or two chilling out on a sun lounger undo all their hard work? The good news? It absolutely will not.

Contrary to popular belief, missing a few gym sessions won’t suddenly erase your fitness. In fact, holidays can be the perfect opportunity to give your body and mind a break from structured training, so rather than trying to stick rigidly to your normal workout plan, think about movement differently. Consider swimming in the sea, exploring local trails, paddleboarding, hiking, playing with the kids by the pool or even some beach yoga. These all count as movement and can help keep your fitness ticking over.

If you do want a little more structure, short bodyweight workouts are your best friend. A quick 20-minute session before breakfast can help maintain strength, boost energy levels and leave the rest of the day free for sightseeing, sunbathing or reading that long-overdue book. Better still, they require no equipment and very little space; think beach sprints, hotel room HIIT or something as simple as sunset stretching.

The key is consistency, not perfection. A few smart choices, some enjoyable movement and a realistic approach will help you return home feeling refreshed, energised and still firmly on track with your fitness goals.

If you want to know how to stay fit on holiday, feel energised and have fun with these simple workouts. They can be done anywhere, whether that’s your hotel room, on the beach or out on the trails.

How to stay fit on holiday

The hotel room workout

Train smart in your hotel room with nothing more than a bit of space and your body weight. You could even do this session on the balcony for an extra dose of fresh air.

To do this workout, set your timer for 15 minutes and do as many rounds as you possibly can, performing all the moves for 40 seconds each and taking as little rest as possible between moves. Don’t forget to do a quick five-minute warm-up. This can be as easy as doing some marching or jogging on the spot, or doing some star jumps.

Running press-up  

The running press-up will not only work your chest, shoulders and arms but will also work your core and coordination. 

  • Start in a high plank position, with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart (A). Brace your core and slowly lower your body towards the floor into a press-up (B), then push back up. As you do, bend your left knee and twist it towards your right elbow, making sure you engage your obliques (C). Return to the start and repeat with your opposite leg. 

Star jumps

Star jumps will work your inner and outer thighs as well as raise your heart rate and therefore improve your cardiovascular health and fitness.

  • Start by standing tall with feet together, arms by your sides. Then bend your knees slightly, getting ready to propel yourself upwards. Jump up, extending your legs outwards and your arms out from your shoulders, so that your body forms a star shape in the air. Keep your core tight and your torso straight. Land softly with bent knees and feet together.

Walkouts to press-up to T  

This compound exercise is a full-body move. Your legs will work as you bend down, whilst your shoulders and arms will work as you walk yourself into the press-up position. Use the twist to work into your core and obliques.

  • Stand upright, bend your knees and place your hands on the floor. Walk your hands out (A) into a high plank where your body is in a straight line from your head to your toes and hold for a second (B). Keeping your core tight, shift your weight and rotate your hips and shoulders towards the sky, so you raise your tight hand overhead (C). Reverse the movement to return to the start, then walk your hands back to your feet to come back to standing. Repeat by walking your hands back into a high plank and twisting into a T on the other side.

L drop squat  

The L drop squat is a plyometric move that will work your coordination as well as your entire lower body. 

  • Stand with your knees slightly bent, then lower into a squat, driving your left arm out to the side and right arm down towards the floor (A). Jump up (B) and land with your feet a little wider than your hips as you lower into a squat, driving your right arm to the side and left arm down towards the floor. Jump your feet back together and return to the start.

The beach burner

What better place to work out than on the beach? Training on sand adds a real challenge, as your body has to work harder to maintain balance and stability with every hop, skip and jump.

This quick beach workout is designed to elevate your heart rate, strengthen your lower body and challenge your core – all while soaking in the beautiful views of your holiday surroundings. Just don’t be surprised if your legs feel a bit heavy the next day.

After a five-minute warm-up (you can power walk or jog up and down the beach), perform this circuit two-to-four times through. Perform one move, then immediately after complete a 20-second shuttle run before moving to the next exercise. Take 20 seconds’ rest between each exercise and repeat all four moves, with a shuttle run in between.

Mountain climbers  

Mountain climbers will get the heart rate up while working your shoulders, biceps, triceps, chest, obliques, abs, quads and hamstrings.

  • Start in a high plank position, with arms and legs long, abs engaged and body straight. Squeeze your glutes and draw your shoulders away from your ears.
  • Pull your right knee into your chest. As the knee draws to the chest, squeeze your abs even tighter to be sure your hips don’t sag.
  • Quickly switch to pull the left knee towards the chest. Continue to switch knees (right, left, right, left), always switching simultaneously so that you are using a running motion.

Raised leg crunch (legs straight)

This is a great spin on the usual crunch. It not only stretches your hamstrings, but also works your upper and lower abs.

  • Lie on your back and raise your legs so they are pointing up to the sky, with your knees straight and squeezed together.
  • Raise your arms, so your hands are above your shoulders, palms facing legs.
  • Engage your abdominal muscles and lift your shoulders and upper back off the floor. Think about lifting your chest to the sky instead of rounding your shoulders.
  • Hold the crunch for one second, then slowly lower the upper body to the starting position and repeat.

The 15-minute hotel room workout that keeps you fit on holiday

Air squats 

Air squats are an effective way to get your quads, hamstrings and glutes engaged all at once.

  • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointed outwards, hands behind your head. 
  • Engage your core muscles and pull your shoulder blades together slightly to push out your chest (A).
  • Squat back as if you were about to sit in a chair, keeping your weight in your heels so you don’t lean forward (B). 
  • Hold for a few seconds, then rise up by pushing through your heels and using your glutes to return to a standing position.

Press-ups

This move works the chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps, core and back all at once.

  • Begin in a high plank position, with your hands under your shoulders and your feet hip-width apart.
  • Keep your abdominals and legs tight as you slowly lower your chest towards the ground, with your elbows bending and pointing behind you.
  • Exhale as you push back up to plank. Drop to your knees if full press-ups feel too tricky.

The walking workout

Walking might not be the first activity that springs to mind when you’re thinking about your fitness goals, yet it’s one of the easiest ways to boost your daily movement and get a great cardio workout while exploring your holiday surroundings. Who knows what new sights you’ll discover on your walk?

This walking workout combines periods of brisk walking with simple bodyweight exercises to elevate your heart rate, strengthen your muscles and help you stay active while making the most of your holiday. 

Day 1: Aim for 20 minutes. Remember that you need to keep up a good pace to gain the maximum benefit from your walk, so try to walk briskly rather than simply strolling.
 
Day 2: Aim for 25 minutes today. Find a hilly route or head to the beach if you can, as this will have even more impact on your lower body. To really tone your bottom, concentrate on pushing off with your big toe and little toe after rolling through your heel with each stride. This will help engage your glute muscles more effectively.

Day 3: Aim for 30 minutes today. Focus on your pace and technique. Good posture will help you avoid aches and pains, so make sure you’re not slouching forward or looking down at the ground.

Day 4: Drop back down to 20 minutes and let your legs recover slightly. Recovery days are important, even when walking.

Day 5: Hit 30 minutes today, and why not add some upper-body strength work, too? Every five minutes or so, stop at a bench and do 10-15 press-ups or 50 arm circles.

Day 6: Aim for 35 minutes. Try to walk as fast as you can without becoming so breathless that you can’t hold a conversation – sometimes called the ‘talk test’. Walking should be an aerobic exercise, meaning your muscles receive plenty of oxygen. If you’re gasping for breath, slow down a little.

Day 7: Can you do 40 minutes today? Add in some intervals to finish the week on a high. Warm up by walking at a steady pace for five minutes, then alternate three minutes at a faster pace with two minutes of recovery. Repeat this six times before finishing with five minutes of easy walking to cool down.

Lucy wears Janji Blue ⅞ Pace Tights Leggings, £75, Blossom Pink W’s Long Bra, £55 (uk.janji.com), Asics Superblast 2 trainers, £200 (asics.co.uk)