Gym Rats, how do you behave on vacation?

[Steven_&_Daniel]

I was just curious as to how other gym rats handle being on vacation.

Do you skip the workouts/exercise?

Do you continue to eat healthy?

How do you handle all those tempting desserts?

[Steven_&_Daniel]

I continue my weight lifting every afternoon. I've found I love having a gym with an ocean view.

I do try to limit the amount of food that I eat....within reason. I pretty much get what I want, but might eat less of it.

The desserts, especially anything chocolate, are my weakness. I'll admit to having several desserts with every meal.....and a few in between meals. The trade-off that make for doing this is boycotting the lifts. I take the stairs every time, all week long. I'm not sure that really makes up for it, but it keeps me from feeling guilty.

[DShock]

I'm an avid runner who averages 1000 miles a month. My running regimine remains the same on cruises...however...I give myself an eating and drinking holiday when cruising, meaning anything goes. I'm strict about that any other time of the year but on cruises I just enjoy! Makes cruises even more fun than they already are.

[Seafoam Green]

I skip the gym, and walk around the deck, making sure to get several miles in, twice a day.

Yes, I continue to eat healthy, but I do have dessert every evening. I somehow manage to avoid the breadbaskets and pastry trays.

[umbertsmum]

I use the gym treadmill to run, walk the decks , book all the spin classes and pretend the lifts don't exist. I eat /drink what I fancy and aim to keep the weight gain to a few pounds over 14 days.

[billco]

I went on two cruises last fall. One to Mexico in September and one to Hawaii in November. I ran the California International Marathon in December.

On those cruises, I ran 90 minutes to two hours on the treadmills every day. I also continued to eat healthy and started out each cruise minimizing the desserts, cookies, and other junk food. But, I have to admit after a few days on each cruise, temptation got the better of me and I slacked off. Still made healthy choices on the main courses, but couldn't resist the desserts, cookies, breakfast rolls, and other junk.

I paid the price on the marathon and had my worst time ever.

I learned I don't have the discipline to really behave myself on a cruise, so I am going to make sure not to mix marathons and cruises in the future.

[DShock]

The key to maintaining a healthy diet and workout routine is allowing yourself indulgences occasionally (key word occasionally). My occasionally is cruising.

And if your one of those in the spin class…please, no yelling or grunting noises! For some reason that seems to be the norm with spinners! You don't hear us doing that on the treadmills do you?

[san diego sue]

I am on the treadmill at home daily. Once on the ship, my routine is murdered, not by my not going on the treadmill, but by not getting one.
Signs say 30 minutes but the treadmill hogs seem to never get off.
So I use the stairs, walk on the Promenade deck daily, have desserts, but not every meal.
My husband and I walk single file and stay to the right, in case someone wants to pass us. We pass on the left. I was told recently by a friend that the promenade is not for exercise, but for strolling.She said that is what promenade means. I tried not to laugh.
I try to eat similar to how we eat at home. We cruise often and gain maybe a pound(that comes off once we are home).

[centralcalicruzer]

My husband and I love to use the gym, especially on sea days when we go at around 9:00 after all the die hard early birds are done! I also enjoy zumba classes, something I don't participate in at home. I'm a serious runner but don't really like treadmills, although I have used them a few times at sea. I've run on the jogging tracks, but it gets pretty repetitive since most of them take 15 times or so around to make one mile, and I find the Caribbean humidity really zaps my energy, but it's fun to be up on a top deck enjoying the sea air on a run. I try to make good food choices, but I'll admit that the temptation of dessert is pretty great, since I don't usually have dessert at home. I try to save my splurges for something special I can't get at home and not waste the calories on bread and other "ordinary" items.

[centralcalicruzer]

Originally Posted by DShock

I'm an avid runner who averages 1000 miles a month. My running regimine remains the same on cruises...however...I give myself an eating and drinking holiday when cruising, meaning anything goes. I'm strict about that any other time of the year but on cruises I just enjoy! Makes cruises even more fun than they already are.

Wow, even Olympic marathoners only run about 500 miles a month! I can't imagine what it takes to fit in 1000 a month, that's like 30 miles every day. I'm impressed, even training for a marathon I've never had a month with more than 150 miles. Of course I am pretty slow, I wouldn't have time to go to work if I tried to do that. We had a local guy who ran 300 miles over a 5 day period recently to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and I know he trained about six months to be able to pull that off, he's pretty inspiring. Do you run a lot of Ultras?

[DShock]

sorry...1,000 miles a year. I log mine so that I always know where I'm at and its motivation as well.

As far as treadmills I go at noon when most are eating and have never had to wait...not once.

I also enjoy running ashore.

[Bohemian]

On a ship, I'd never skip my gym time, I'd rather miss dinner. I spend 1 to 2 hours in the gym every day, more on sea days. My diet is the same on a cruise as it is at home, I usually go for the healthier foods in moderate amounts. It's the shore based restaurants while sampling local cuisine and beverages that get me in trouble but that doesn't happen too often.

[centralcalicruzer]

Originally Posted by DShock

sorry...1,000 miles a year. I log mine so that I always know where I'm at and its motivation as well.

As far as treadmills I go at noon when most are eating and have never had to wait...not once.

I also enjoy running ashore.

Oh, ha ha, that did seem like a lot, but then again there are some ultra runners out there who run distances I can't even imagine, so it's not out of the realm of possibility! I average just about 1000 miles a year too. I've never taken a cruise when I've been training for a really long race, so I've never had to plan out specific longs runs on a ship. I don't think I would run in port, at least not in the Caribbean unless it was a private island or I was with a couple of guys.

[CadillacRon]

As a bodybuilder, I tend to book ships based on the gym facilities. After 45+ cruises, I think NCL Epic has the most impressive gym. All the equiptment was new and the layout was great. It's the only cruise ship gym I know of that has a smith machine squat rack and a seated calf raise. I'm going on the Allure this spring so we'll see which one "wins".
I'm a hard gainer so I love being able to eat every 3 hours. I walk past a buffet and grab a chicken breast. On my last cruise my roommate and I would book a specialty restaurant early in the evening when reservations are easy to come by. Then we'd eat again in the main dining room just before they closed. If you make smart choices, you can eat really "clean" as well as indulge in the desserts.
I was able to gain 8lbs of muscle in one week on the Epic. I'm 5'6" so I came off the ship feeling like a relaxed suntanned monster. Since I don't drink alcohol my biggest onboard expense is usuallly a massage. I enjoy a steam/sauna after my workout then usually fall asleep on a lounger.
I don't just eat, workout and tan though. I go to the shows, some of the ports, nightclubbing and lose a little in the casino. The Allure this May can't come fast enough.
I know this is a long post, but you did ask.
I tried to insert a photo of the Epic gym but I don't know what the "url" is. Yes I'm a meathead.

[bluehawk47]

I try to hit the gym or walk/run the deck daily. I have always wanted to take a spin class, but they never seem to be offered until late afternoon. By then, I have started happy hour. That is my splurge on cruises. I will have a dessert a couple of nights and usually split it with my husband.

Since my last cruise, I have started doing the Bar Method, which is a class that uses a ballet barre and involves small movements. It is a killer!! It doesn't look like much, but it is awesome! So, hopefully, in two weeks, when I am on the NCL Star, I will be able to find a hidden corner with a barre or rail that I can continue my Bar Method routine. I might look a little silly, but I don't care...I know it works for me.

[gma_pat]

Originally Posted by bluehawk47

I try to hit the gym or walk/run the deck daily. I have always wanted to take a spin class, but they never seem to be offered until late afternoon. By then, I have started happy hour. That is my splurge on cruises. I will have a dessert a couple of nights and usually split it with my husband.

Since my last cruise, I have started doing the Bar Method, which is a class that uses a ballet barre and involves small movements. It is a killer!! It doesn't look like much, but it is awesome! So, hopefully, in two weeks, when I am on the NCL Star, I will be able to find a hidden corner with a barre or rail that I can continue my Bar Method routine. I might look a little silly, but I don't care...I know it works for me.

There is a barre in the Star aerobics room. I used it most mornings before the first stretch class at 7am (it opens at 6am). You may find some openings also in the early afternoon and evenings just check the dailies for class times and work around them. It's nice as it is in a separate room from the rest of the qym - nice and quiet most of the time. Yes the Bar Method workout is a killer and works muscles that you never knew you had

[bluehawk47]

Originally Posted by gma_pat

There is a barre in the Star aerobics room. I used it most mornings before the first stretch class at 7am (it opens at 6am). You may find some openings also in the early afternoon and evenings just check the dailies for class times and work around them. It's nice as it is in a separate room from the rest of the qym - nice and quiet most of the time. Yes the Bar Method workout is a killer and works muscles that you never knew you had

Thank you very much! I am not sure I can make it there by 6:00, but I will try. Can I use it during the 7:00 stretch class or will the class be too crowded for me to find a corner to do my thing? Do you know the schedule of classes in the aerobics room?

[gma_pat]

Originally Posted by bluehawk47

Thank you very much! I am not sure I can make it there by 6:00, but I will try. Can I use it during the 7:00 stretch class or will the class be too crowded for me to find a corner to do my thing? Do you know the schedule of classes in the aerobics room?

I did not stay for the stretch class so I do not know how crowded it got, there was stretch class at 7 then yoga (paid) at 7:30 on our Star cruise they ended at 8:30 so you could probably fit some time in after those sessions.

[snorkelman]

I used to go to the gym most days, but after 30+ cruises, we mainly now only cruise where there is a flowrider, and I spend several hours on the wave daily, so I find that lifting at the gym actually interferes with my wave performance.

On the couple cruises we take without a flowrider, I concentrate on weights, with zero cardio since I get plenty walking the ship. i specifically go light on legs because a coupel times I had DOMS on a port day which was not fun.

There are actually a few ships that now have a Smith machine, which is nice for squats and deads if you want to do more than the low dumbbell weights that are typically available.

i eat what I want. i skip breads and enjoy desserts instead.

[CarnivalCruising]

I always train with weights and do cardio at the gym on the ship, eat healthy meals, but have desserts. I don't drink alcohol or eat fried foods.