Exercise on Vacation? Yup.

If Zach and I went to the trouble to pack vegetables and hummus for our excursion to Austin last week, you know we weren't about to forget about our exercise schedule. The valedictorian of fitness (Zach) has compiled an extensive workout notebook that lists the exercises of virtually every DVD we have. In spreadsheet form, of course.

Austin is a very exercise-friendly city. Our hotel was literally steps from the running/biking trail on Town Lake, a beautiful and well-kept path that is more than 10 miles long.

Our first morning we were on the trail by 6am...and we were far from alone. We did a four-mile jog up one side of the lake and down the other. On the way we saw several boot camps taking place in the parks that line the lake.

That run on Town Lake did more than meet my cardiovascular requirements for the day. It also renewed my faith that people do care about being fit and healthy. Sometimes the view from my particular corner of Texas can get pretty bleak when it comes to caring about fitness. Everywhere I turn it's fast food joints and a great amount of people who only run to the kitchen to grab a snack before American Idol (or as Tony Horton would say, American Idle). So all those joggers and bikers did my heart good.

On Wednesday I went with a friend to Pure Austin, a great gym for people who already looked pretty dang fit.

The "Spinning" Area in Pure Austin

We did a "TNT" (Tighten and Tone) class, which was led by an unbelievably fit woman who I am guessing was in her late 50s. After the class we did a few weights, and then I climbed a rope -- just like elementary school.

Thursday morning Zach and I took advantage of the hotel gym to do the One on One: Shoulders and Arms MC:2 workout. It was cramped and busy in the mini-gym, but we made it work.

Leaving town doesn't mean your workouts have to take a vacation. Use the opportunity of being in a new setting to shake things up and explore the city by foot. If gyms are your thing, many of them will let you buy a temporary pass, or tag along with a friend like I did.

Thanks to our daily workouts, Zach and I didn't lose any ground as we build up to the new workout we're taking on just 5 days from now:

More info on that to come.

Workout of the Day:
P90X Plus: Total Body Plus