I used to stress about not working out while on vacation, but now I take the break knowing it won't hurt my gains

• I used to worry I'd "lose my gains" if I went on holiday and didn't work out.
• The pandemic taught me that I wouldn't lose progress or muscle quickly, and a break can help me recover.
• Now I travel with resistance bands, but consider them an option, not a necessity.

A few years ago, going on vacation would come with a side of discomfort about being away from the gym for a week or two.

Part of it was because I genuinely enjoy training, but there was also the fear I'd lose my gains.

However, I now take a much more relaxed approach to keeping fit on holiday because I now know that a break from the gym won't cause my muscles to shrivel up, and it actually helps my body and mind recover.

A break from workouts can help the body recover

At the start of the pandemic, I found myself, like many people, facing the challenge of how to workout at home without any equipment.

I'd previously been strength training in the gym five to six times a week, and I was worried I'd get significantly weaker without heavy weights. But that didn't happen.

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Taking a break, whether for a week or longer, can actually be really beneficial and help people make progress because it allows the body to recover fully - this is why many fitness professionals recommend "deload weeks," which is where you significantly reduce training intensity and volume, sometimes doing nothing at all.

"Recovery is just as important in the process of improvement, and a stressed body can hold you back from your goals," personal trainer Connor Minney told Insider.

I always find that after a little time away from the gym, I come back ready to go and have extra enthusiasm for it.

If after a vacation, that first workout back feels a little more sluggish, I know that it's mainly because of all the extra pizza, chips, and cocktails I've inevitably consumed while away, not because I didn't train.

I travel with resistance bands

Last week I went abroad for the first time in a year and I packed a couple of resistance bands - one long-loop, one short-loop. They take up next to no room in my luggage, and I like to know I have the option of using them if I want to.

But I see them as an option, not a requirement. They're also great because they're so versatile, and combined with bodyweight exercises like planks and push-ups, I know I can get a good workout in.

I ended up using my bands for about 15 minutes over my five-day vacation, and I don't feel any guilt for not using them more.

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Personally, I'm not going to plan my holiday around working out. Some people like to, and that's fine, and if I were staying somewhere with a gym, I might have used it, but my primary goal on a vacation is to relax and de-stress from normal life, so I don't want to worry about fitting workouts in.

I much prefer keeping active by walking and swimming in the sea.

Keeping fit is an important part of my life, but a healthy relationship with fitness means knowing when working out can sit on the back-burner - and not feeling any guilt about it.