I spent the last week cruising around the Caribbean living the good life, making stops in Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and a private island off of Haiti. The weather was great, the food was even better, and being on vacation is always a good thing. I know, tough life.

Going into vacation I knew that I wanted to get into the gym a few times. Nothing serious, but just stay active as I know I generally feel better when I do something active. I didn’t know what I was going to be dealing with when it comes to the actual gym, but I knew I would have access to something. When I walked into the gym for the first time the things I was accustomed to were nowhere to be found.

No platforms. No barbells. No dumbbells over 60lbs.

Going into each lifting session I knew that I wanted to make it short and sweet. I was in the Caribbean to enjoy the weather and a vacation, not to spend a couple hours in the gym.

I opted for moderately heavy weights in a circuit style workout. I made sure each session I pushed something, pulled something, incorporated a squat/single leg squat variation, a hip hinge or single leg hip hinge, and some type of core exercise.

Here is what a typical workout would look like:

A1. Goblet Squat x8

A2. 1DB Bench Press x8 each

A3. 1DB SL RDL x8 each

A4. Chin Up x8

A5. Straight Leg Sit Up x12

After finishing a round, I would rest for a minute or two (nothing to specific) before starting another round. I would continue to go through this circuit for a prescribed amount of time, somewhere between 15-25 minutes depending on time, and then move on with my day.

Was this particularly taxing? No, not really. Did I really “push” myself to use weights that I would normally use? No, not really. But what I did do was move, I did something to stay active. Not all workouts need to leave your on the floor gasping for air or sore for 3 days after. Sometimes, just getting into the gym and doing something, whether on vacation or just having a sluggish/tough day, is what you need to stay healthy and continually make some progress.