Maintaining an exercise routine when you're out of your routine

How to mentally balance your fitness efforts around summer vacations, road trips, family visits, work travel, and anything else life throws at you

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My sister was in Ireland last month for an event with outdoor-focused creators. While her events are always active, she’s out of her morning workout routine, and it was stressing her out. She texted me, “SOS, how do I handle not having time or a place to work out in the morning? I’m having a hard time with it, even though I’m exhausted from this event schedule.”

As someone with a 25-plus year morning workout habit and who thrives on routine, I feel this deeply. Over the years, I’ve had to figure out how to exercise in all kinds of scenarios—traveling for book tours, visiting family, vacations, and more. When I asked you (readers) what kinds of topics I could help you with this summer, this was one of the first topics requested.

What immediately came to mind, however, was not talking about physical hacks, like “pack your own resistance bands.” It was what my sister was really asking me in her 5:04 long voice memo: “How do I mentally navigate being out of my fitness routine?”

Hacks are a dime a dozen. (I’ve posted some myself!) But mentally navigating being out of your routine and less active than usual is the real challenge. Here are my best tips and tricks, born from many years of experience.

Release your expectations

This one is first for a reason. Nothing is more emotionally and psychologically painful than trying to force your routine into an environment that is not conducive to your routine. It’s exhausting, frustrating, and increases the probability that everything will fall apart—your work performance, patience, and maybe even your health.

If your scenario has a lot of unknowns, physical barriers (like no gyms nearby), or a schedule that doesn’t allow me-time, immediately let go of what “exercising” looks like. It might look like skipping happy hour and going for a walk. It might look like 20 minutes of yoga in your hotel room. It might look like getting up 30 minutes early and making the most of a tiny hotel gym—and not drinking at dinner so you have the energy to do so.

It might look like doing nothing “exercise-y” at all for several days in a row, because your schedule is already so packed that trying to add one more thing will leave you dangerously burned out. This has to be okay or you will make yourself nuts. Losing that attachment is a challenging (but healthier) strategy.

Let good enough be good enough

Do I expect 90-minute workouts when I’m on vacation with my family? No, that would be unrealistic (and potentially rude). But can I steal away for 20 minutes for a quick-and-dirty session? For sure! Can I go for a 30-minute run on the beach before everyone gets up? Absolutely! Can I come up with something in my hotel room, with zero equipment? Challenge accepted!

There have been plenty of trips where I’ve let my daily steps be my “workout,” or sprinkled push-ups wherever I’m able. I’ve even done a gymnastics-inspired shoulder “workout” in my hotel room, using the door, bed, and chair for props.

Also, look for opportunities to be active! Can you volunteer to walk the dogs in the evening, take the kids to the pool, or walk to the nearby coffee shop to grab everyone’s order? Even a little movement in the middle of the day can tick that mental box. It is ideal? Nope. But can it be good enough? It can! You just have to let it.

Set boundaries

When I know (or think) the opportunity is there, I tell anyone I’m with or visiting, “I’ll be getting up early and going to the gym.” I’m considerate about it! I tell them what time I’ll be gone, and make sure that works. I tell them not to adjust their schedule around me, even if that means I miss breakfast or have to find my own ride to the event. I get everything ready the night before, so if nobody else is up, I don’t wake them. Then I steal off for an hour for a walk, a park workout, a run, or a workout at the local gym.

Having this conversation up front, whether you’re staying with a friend, on vacation with your family, or traveling with a group for work, is key. In fact, others may be grateful you’re coming right out and saying it! You’d be surprised how many people want some alone time, but are too afraid to say so.

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Reframe “making yourself fitter”

If I’m on a book tour, I’m under-slept, under-fed, over-peopled, and over-stressed. (There is no other way to book tour.) I don’t even try to add hard workouts to this equation, even if mentally I’m fixing for one. It’s one thing to push yourself if you’re on vacation, knowing the rest of the day is relaxing, swimming, and reading. It’s another if you wake up extra-early to push yourself after a stressful 12-hour workday and five hours of sleep.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your fitness is to rest and recover. Go for an easy walk after lunch or dinner. Do 20 minutes of mobility. Sleep in for an extra hour, then eat a hearty breakfast. This is what I told my sister in Ireland, because I guarantee her body needed the break.

Trust your body and routine

If you’ve had a workout, walking, yoga, or fitness routine for a while—especially if it’s a many-year habit—trust that you can take a week, two weeks, or a month off with zero repercussions. You will not “lose” your fitness. You will not lose your sense of routine. You will not lose your motivation. I promise, it comes back fast, if not immediately. (Take it from someone who lost months of activity during my concussion, and more recently, two full weeks after my foot surgery.)

Mentally, I know this is a tough pill to swallow. This is especially true if your exercise routine is your stress-releasing valve. Also, it can be hard not to be resentful of your situation, the people around you, or your schedule. Still, that stress is always around your story—not the circumstances themselves. Your story that you “should” be exercising in a specific way, that you’ll lose all your gains, or that your motivation will crumble after a few days out of your routine.

If you didn’t believe those stories, I bet you’d feel much better about the circumstances you’re in, right? Which brings me right back to the prior points—release your expectations, accept the situation you’re in right now, and let good enough be good enough.

XO MU