Ftness experts from Pro-Fit Preston share their tips for staying healthy while on holiday

If you are looking to make some positive lifestyle changes, may be you should start by thinking like a personal trainer and follow their insider hacks to health and wellbeing:

Step away from the hotel gym

Ally Higham said: “When I am on holiday I make sure I give my body a complete rest. I train six days a week at home so when I go away I like to completely shut off and enjoy where I am live in the moment and only really walk. The reason for this is I like giving my body and my mind a break to make sure when I come back I cannot wait to get back to training and my body is fully recovered for me to give it my all. Pressurising yourself into training all year round, even when you are on holiday, can make you fall out of love with working out – turning it into a chore rather than a positive habit. There are plenty of ways to stay active when you are on holiday – walking, swimming, etc.

“Remember – taking time out to rest is just as important as the days that you train. Your body need time to repair and recover and if you’re pushing yourself too hard you can end up injured or losing enthusiasm with your training plan.”

Make sleep a priority

Alanis Parkinson explained: “Sleep is one of the key factors for recovery, progression in the gym, mental health, focus, and weight loss. It is something that I take really seriously – I am often in the gym working from 6am so it is rare you will find me up past 10pm. I always make sure that I get eight hours of quality sleep – I know that my training would be impacted without it.

“To get more sleep, try working back from the time you need to be up. If you’re up at 7am, and you need 8 hours sleep, you want to be asleep by 11pm. Make sure you set aside 45 mins to wind down before going to bed, so you want to be thinking about getting ready for bed at 10:15pm.

“By getting into a sleep routine, you will naturally start shifting into a routine where your body will fall asleep quickly. You’ll recover well from the day and feel fresh leading into the next day; as a result your mental focus will be sharpened significantly. Sleep can also have a massive positive impact on your eating habits and relationship with food.”

Fail to plan, plan to fail

Dean Flynn said: “I always take the time to plan out my week in advance. This can be for food, it can be for exercise, as well as any other jobs that need to get done.

“If you take the time to decide what you’re going to do and when you’re going to do things, it eliminates the need for decision making on the spot because you’ve already got a plan to follow.

“Believe me, you’ll make better decisions ahead of time than you will at the time, because you’ll always make decisions based on your emotions and how you’re feeling rather than looking at it from a more measured perspective.

“If you’ve had a stressful day you may instinctively want to retreat home and pour a glass of wine or indulge in some comfort food. But if you already have a training session planned in then nine times out of ten you will feel much better having stuck to the plan and getting those feel good hormones flowing through exercise.”

Forget traditional meal times

Ally Higham explained: “As a nation we are very regimented around set meal times – but that doesn’t necessarily work for everyone so set a schedule that is right for you. I am not very good at eating big meals so I focus on small meals and spread them out throughout the day. I eat breakfast then lunch then a snack then tea then a snack. My main priority is to start my meal with protein and then add to that. My food diary is always planned with protein first then I make meals using that protein. A favourite snack which is high in protein is Greek yoghurt and honey but for an easy grab and go snack the Aldi protein mousses are amazing or homemade peanut butter protein bites.”

Stand up

Josh Reilly elaborated: “On average I spend at least 12 hours a day stood up, but this is something I do consciously as well as it being of my job. Away from the gym environment and if I am at a computer programming client sessions then I will always take regular breaks to stand up and walk around. … Never underestimate just how much NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) plays a role in our daily energy expenditure.

“For clients who work in an office environment, I always advise them to increase their NEAT by standing up and walking around as much as they can during their working day.

"Try and spend less time sat down where possible. Are there aspects of your job, like a work call, that can be done on the move? Can you step outside for a short lunchtime walk or could you build extra steps into your day by parking a bit further away from the office?”

Put down that morning coffee

Matt Dewhurst: “Hydration is hugely important when it comes to your physical and mental energy. Just a 2% drop in hydration can have a massive negative impact on those things – leading to brain fog and lethargy which isn’t going to help anyone with getting through the day, let alone motivate them to train.

“When it comes to hydration, I always practice what I preach as a personal trainer. But it’s not just about taking on water – being optimally hydrated also requires salts in our system. So I start every day with an electrolyte tablet diluted in water. This not only means that I start the day hydrated and with an energy boost; but it also means that I am getting essential electrolytes - sodium, potassium, and magnesium.”