How To Stay Active While Traveling

Written by Echelon Instructor Marc

You already know I have the travel bug, and love seeing the world, or the inside of a theme park. And I see how hard our echelon members work, squeezing in as many classes as they can on top of all the real life responsibilities. So I agree, you need a little time away, a vacation. But I also understand that your Echelon obsession (can we call this Obsess-chelon?) will make you miss your Leaderboard friend too much while you’re gone. I’m here to give you some tips on how you can still enjoy your vacation to its fullest potential, lay by the pool, drink all the piña coladas, and try every dessert on the menu, without feeling like your fitness routine took its own vacation. Don’t worry—we’ve got your back (and glutes, and core). Let’s talk about staying active on vacation without becoming that person doing burpees in the airport lounge (airport terminal walks are still completely allowed).

I want to divide this topic into two groups; The Active Vacation, and The Relaxation Vacation.

The Active Vacation

Let’s start with the Active Vacation. This includes hiking trips, walking-heavy city escapes that require a strategic snack and sunscreen plan. You’re already logging steps, getting your heart rate up, and breaking a sweat. Your quads and hamstrings are getting a secret workout while you pretend you’re just chasing gelato across town. In this case, you don’t need to go wild with structured workouts—just sprinkle in some light core work, mobility, or a short stretch session to balance things out. Think 10–20 minutes in the morning before starting your day, while waiting for your significant other to get out of the bathroom,  or before dinner using one of our mat Pilates or yoga classes.  And if you packed resistance bands or booty bands (Pro Tip: they fit in your shoe!), you can up the ante without having to find the hotel gym. However if you have the time to give the hotel gym a visit, you can get creative with what they have there, and find a workout on the app to match. Hello Leaderboard Friends!

The Relaxation Vacation

Now, let’s talk about the Relaxation Vacation. This is the "do not disturb" vibe that you’ve been needing. Maybe you're on a cruise. Maybe you’re parked by the pool with no plans except which book to read next. Glorious. But movement doesn't have to mess with the chill vibes—it just needs to fit around them. On these types of vacays, I do encourage you to at least ask the front desk where the hotel gym is for a quick circuit (emphasis on quick, the sun is only out for a set number of hours per day, go enjoy it!) You can also check if the hotel or cruise has any classes you can join in on which is a great way to stay motivated and make some new fitness friends (tell them about Echelon, though) But if you are AirBnb-ing it and have no equipment no classes…No problem. We talked about the resistance band trick, and this also may be a great opportunity to grab your headphones and explore our Audio Guided walks and runs!

And let’s be real: sometimes, the most active thing you’ll do on a trip is shuffle to the breakfast buffet and then aggressively reapply sunscreen. That’s okay. You work hard all year juggling deadlines, workouts, endless to-do lists, and life. Rest is not laziness—it’s recovery. It’s essential. It’s the unsung hero of feeling good. If your body is asking for downtime, give it what it needs and don’t feel guilty for a second. Consider this your official permission slip to lay horizontal with pride.

The key to staying active while traveling isn’t about sticking to a rigid schedule or chasing perfection. It’s about having options and listening to what your body actually needs that day. You paid a lot of money for this time off, so don’t do anything that will deter you from enjoying it to its full potential. Whether you're trekking through trails, sightseeing on foot, or none of the above, we’ve got you covered when you need us. Bodyweight workouts, audio-guided walks and runs, yoga, mat Pilates, and mobility sessions that travel with you. You’ve got this. And if your echelon app doesn’t open that week you’re gone…just know that your leaderboard friends and I miss you, but we’ll be here once you get back home. 

So go out there, explore, lounge, move a little or a lot. Vacation mode doesn’t have to mean all or nothing. Just make it intentional, make it enjoyable, and maybe, maybe, throw in a squat or two between snacks.