Not so long ago, the very mention of picking a hotel with a gym or portioning your meals while on holiday would earn you appalled stares. After all, aren’t vacations meant to be periods of excess… the only time in your life when discipline isn’t just optional but actively discouraged? A new breed of fitness-oriented travellers is challenging this perception, fuelling a trend that has now come to be described as fitness tourism. Imagine a getaway where workouts are not only part of your daily routine but essential pillars on which your entire schedule rests. The only bars you’ll see are the kind inside gyms, and your fitness tracker will be the app you check the most instead of Instagram. Two health-conscious readers who plan, execute and return to fitness vacations, tell us more about the allure.

Clean, lean and green

For Khar resident and teacher Emma-Jane Kavthekar, fitness is part of her everyday routine — whether in the form of gym workouts, yoga or padel. But when she heard about a camp that blended Muay Thai with yoga in Bueng Sam Phan, Thailand, she was immediately onboard. “I had taken classes for both, and enjoyed them. This camp is located in the midst of lush paddy fields and involves about five or six hours of workouts. We start with sunrise yoga, followed by two Muay Thai sessions. I like this combination because the yoga helps you stretch out your muscles after the Muay Thai sessions. You can also opt for add-ons such as ice baths, massages and CrossFit classes,” she explains.

Travelling for fitness has become the choice for many fitness-oriented travellers. Representation pic

The workouts are complemented by clean, locally cooked food and evening hangouts, where participants can interact and socialise. “You can grab a beer in the evening inside the camp if you want, but we were so tired after the day of activities that we tended to just go to bed early,” she laughs. While Kavthekar and her husband Ashish have visited the camp twice this year, each five-day stay timed to coincide with her school breaks, she says that many participants opt for a month-long retreat or even longer. “People attend camps for various reasons — from weight loss to rehabilitation after an injury or illness, to  even issues with addictions”, she says. Most of the participants are from Europe so the price tag that converts to roughly Rs 2 lakh a month, feels quite affordable.

Malabi Das (extreme right) recently travelled to Kochi for a swim meet 

“You don’t spend more than what you pay for the camp, for the entirety of your stay. The organisers offer free bicycles that you can use to commute between camps or just to explore the area. Many people who are at these camps have also attended other styles of wellness retreats, including Ashish and I — we’ve travelled to Rishikesh for yoga. Even when we went to Bali, the resorts were offering a complimentary yoga class, which let us get some activity in, even if our entire holiday wasn’t focused around fitness,” she concludes.

Family-style fitness

Malabi Das, a Chandivli-based communications professional, describes two kinds of fit holidays — the first is where fitness is central to the holiday, with everything else planned around it. “We typically plan these holidays based on a competition or event. At the moment, we’re really into long distance, open water swims. Our last swim holiday was the Kochi Swimathon that involved swimming in the Periyar River. We’ve also participated in the Ocean Man in Kazakhstan,” she shares.

A dated photograph of Das with her family

When planning such holidays — her next swim event is scheduled for the end of October in South Goa — she picks accommodation that’s located near the venue and has the necessary amenities to support her training. “We will have practice swims in the pool and in the sea. Since the focal point of our trip is the event, we will eat accordingly — healthy, local and on time. In that sense, it is very different from a typical Goa holiday with no bingeing or excesses. We will also spend our downtime driving around, visiting the markets and experiencing the local culture. We tend to follow the same format on event-oriented holidays,” she explains. 

Since she frequently travels with her elderly mother, two children (including a teenager) and husband, Das ensures that the holiday is well paced to accommodate everyone’s needs. “I always advise against trying to do too much. Schedule some down time, with no structured activity, where you can simply relax and reconnect with your fellow travellers. Also, make your workouts a part of your planning and commit to showing up, even on days when you don’t feel as motivated,” she suggests.

The second type of fitness holiday that their family opts for wellbeing and fitness baked into the schedule. This is more relaxed, but has a strong wellness theme, Das clarifies: “For instance, my teenage son and I recently went on a trip to Delhi and Rishikesh. We began our days with a hearty breakfast, followed by yoga and pottery classes, massages and plenty of walking. We made sure to see the local sights, including the ghat and The Beatles Ashram. But our pace was more leisurely. Even if we don’t have a structured fitness component, such as a yoga class, we make sure to get up to an hour of exercise every day. Having a routine with physical and mental activity is important, even on holidays. In some cases, if our holiday has a lot of walking, we skip the workouts and wind down with stretching and meditating,” she concludes.

Get, set, fit

The following guidelines can help you to get the most of your fitness holidays:

>> Schedule downtime for rest and recovery, and to prevent burning out

>> Factor your workouts into your holiday schedule, so you don’t end up skipping them

>> If travelling to a camp or booking via an operator, clarify what the package fee includes, and which activities come with an extra charge. Often massages, ice baths and personal sessions can cost you extra. Make sure to budget accordingly

>> Carry enough gear and pack extras for quick replacements in case of damage. This can prove useful in case your camp is located in a remote area and will ensure an uninterrupted, stress-free experience through the holiday

>> Seasonal activities or events that are based on local culture and traditions can make the holiday experience especially immersive