One of the best parts about being an expat – there are way more holidays to celebrate, but that also means you are constantly trying to control yourself at another buffet or cocktail bar and skipping the gym. Luckily for us, we know three of Beijing’s best fitness coaches and they shared some of their CNY tips for keeping the family healthy and working out while traveling.
Artistic Director and fitness instructor Diva – of Fitness with Diva fame – told us:
“We often slack on our daily dose of exercising when we travel. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are a few exercises that you can do to keep fit anywhere.”
- Steps: If you have a smartwatch or a tracker, counting your steps to reach the minimum of 10,000 is a good start, even better if you add stair climbing to it.
- Jogging: Make sure you pack your trainers and go for a 30-minute run wherever you are. Preferably run on a smooth surface to avoid injuries and choose an inclined road to add intensity and resistance to your cardio exercise.
- Strength and Conditioning (the basics): If you brought your resistance band and yoga mat with you or not, these movements can be easily done on any surface.
- Burpee: Get into a plank, do a push-up, come back up and jump with your hands over head, a great full body exercise.
- Push-up: On your knees or in a full plank, those are great to tone up your upper body and strengthen your core.
- Squat: There are so many variations that you can never get too bored of them.
- Lunges: Forward, Reverse, Curtsy, Bulgarians, etc… those will give you the kick you need to shape up your legs and they improve balance and stability.
- Abs: Finishing up with the six-pack we all dream of …3-in-1, the bicycle crunch will target your upper, lower, and oblique abdominals.
Diva specializes in low and medium-impact high resistance workouts, dance fitness, and indoor cycling. You can also join her 14-day online challenge “FIT & FAB,” or catch her on KEEP for your weekly cardio ride. Scan the QR code for more info.
Von Ng, head instructor at Warrior One x Krav Maga Global suggests getting your kids in on the fun.
“One thing you can do is work on a movement that would involve your child (if he or she is small enough) as resistance. The bear crawl is a fun one, and it’s really good basic exercise for overall mobility, strength, and endurance.
“For the basic bear crawl, you start on all fours on the ground. Your wrists should be somewhere below your shoulders, knees below your hips, and off the ground. Then you just crawl around in this position for about a minute, ensuring your knees stay off the ground, your back and butt stay as parallel as possible to the floor, and your core tight the whole time. Aim for three sets of one minute each, rest two minutes max in between sets…
“An advanced version would be to use a small child as weight. Have your child wrap their arms around your neck (not too tightly so they don’t choke you!) and their legs around your waist. Do the bear crawl with them on you, making sure your core is tight and your back does not droop because of the weight. You will typically do this version for a shorter period of time, aim for about 20-30 seconds for each set.
“Another tip we like to give is for people to use this time to work on a progressive skill and do it right. We like goal-oriented training over random workouts, so we typically have our students pick something specific to work towards and then design the proper progression for it.
“We usually suggest the push-up as a basic goal, because you can learn to do it progressively with just the stuff you have at home. Most people who can’t do a full push-up will do knee push-ups at the start, but if you have the option, the better way to train it is to change the height of the push-up.
“The higher the push-up, the less difficult it is. So if you’re really having a hard time, start with a wall push-up… The basic rule of thumb is if you can do 10 reps of three sets relatively easily with good form (back does not droop, elbows are not flared, chest touches the surface or edge), then you can go down a level. The great part about an exercise like this is that you can do it anywhere, and it doesn’t take a lot of time out of your day to do and see progress.“
If you’re sticking around Beijing for the holiday check out the Warrior One camp by scanning the QR code above.
Last but never ever least, Beijing’s only Jazzercise Fitness Instructor, Certified Nutritionist, and Personal Trainer-in-training Vivienne Rush.
“I’m going to assume most of us will cut ourselves some slack when it comes to working out during the holiday, perhaps due to the whole family being around or just because, you know, it’s a holiday! So let’s focus on the nutrition aspect: Cut back on the sugary drinks and alcohol by setting a limit before you dine. A common standard for acceptable alcoholic intake in a day is no more than two full drinks, though I would recommend cutting back to just one if you’ll be partying for a couple of days in a row! The same goes for carbonated/sugary drinks like soda or even iced tea. Think of it this way, what standards you apply to your kids regarding sodas, you should apply to yourself as well.
If you are going to work out, I suggest doing an incremental plank hold with the kiddos. You can do this anywhere there’s a clean flat surface! Start with 10 seconds on day one, then add five seconds each day. On the final day, you could just challenge the family to see who can hold the plank for the longest time!”
KEEP READING: 7 Things To Remember This CNY Holiday
Images: Diva, Warrior One, Vivienne Rush
