When in Rome

Returning to a city that you lived in for six months to come home rejuvenated and go on a blind date to then meet your future husband will mean that Rome will always hold a special place in my wife’s (Grainne) heart.

We recently spent a few days in Rome visiting the sights, eating all the amazing food it has to offer and making the most of the time off but its what I got reminded of that had a reassuring effect on me. As we strolled around the city with Grainne as our guide I noticed how I’ve changed in my attitude towards all the aspects to this thing we call fitness.

Years before I met Grainne and in the early stages of our relationship when holidays were mentioned there was a compulsory order on ensuring there was going to be a gym available to use. Hotels were chosen based not on their location, rooms or service but on the quality of the gym! Travel bags were packed with measured amounts of protein powder, fish oils and multivitamins just to ensure that the routine could not possibly be disturbed.  

While on holidays I needed a fully equipped gym nearby or in the hotel or I couldn’t train right or worse still I would spontaneously lose all my fitness and strength from missing a few days of training. (Yes, we are still married 😊).

To my eternal regret long holiday workouts were completed away from my family when 15-20mins of something completed close by with next to no equipment would have been sufficient.

The movement coach Ido Portal once said - “The more expensive the tools the cheaper the mover”. This has been my mantra over the past few years as I prepare for holidays now. I bring a massage ball and band with me and if the opportunity presents itself to get a bit of structured movement in then I’ll do it otherwise the 45,000 steps (yes you read that right) myself, my wife and our 9yr old girl too in Rome over the course of about 3 days was probably sufficient enough exercise.

If the training you’re doing in the gym isn’t allowing you to lead a better life outside of the gym then you’re doing it all wrong. It was a mistake to think I couldn’t survive without the right snack, right facilities etc and to forgo time and opportunity to enjoy certain foods or experiences for fear of what would happen.

In the past I was a little bit defined by my fitness, applauded for my aesthetics and drove with my ego. Today my fitness and nutrition habit just affords me the ability to take the opportunity to eat, drink and enjoy a holiday in the knowledge that time away is time to appreciate what you’ve worked hard to build and it doesn’t disappear overnight and if it does then that tells me more about what’s going in your training and nutrition outside of holiday times or you’re not just having “a little of what you fancy” you’re having too much of what you fancy.

So , when you are on holidays, enjoy the time with friends and family, the new experiences, the sun and fresh air on your face, the evenings playing Hang Man with your daughter - those are the things you will remember for years to come, not whether you still got a workout in every day while you were away.