vacation

I just flew in from Canada and boy are my wings tired... give me a break, I live in the Catskills.  Actually I drove to Canada and canoed on Lake Champlain and east along the Saint Lawrence River in an attempt to follow Samuel Champlain's route along a portion of Canada's north shore.  My arms, surprisingly aren't tired but my quads, after a week of driving and my first day back at the gym, are a bit sore today.
 
My wife and I took our T@B (a small camper or roulotte), the dog and the canoe up to Quebec.  I will spare you the details about close encounters with whales, mosquitoes and chiggers but I would like to share with you the benefits of taking a vacation.  I have discussed the importance of changing routines in past posts but a vacation should be a significant game changer.

If you go on a holiday but insist on finding a local gym where you can continue your routine you are not taking advantage of a new setting.  Vacations provide an opportunity to try something different or regain an appreciation of an activity you used to engage in more often.  Gyms are a training ground and today training for the sake of training is popular, but why not use your improved aerobic capacity, wash-board abs and dynamite calves to go hiking when you are in terra incognita?  Why not alter your diet to experience the pleasures of a new taste sensation or an old forgotten favorite?  And why not use the time to reflect on how you are exercising when you are not on holiday?

Some of the conclusions I reached when I was away are that I need to brush-up on my French,  I love espresso (but I can't drink it every day) and I could eat smoked sockeye Salmon, fresh local lamb chops and halibut until I am sick.  I also learned that I could travel the world sampling micro brews but I would end up like the former Michael Jackson - not "Jacko," the other one and that I need to change my exercise routine.

I like training because it makes me feel good but for the past few months my goals have been vague.  Before vacation I would ask myself why am exercising today? And the answer was usually because I don't want to lose what I have gained and I need my daily dose of endorphins.  Now that my interest in canoeing and climbing have been rekindled I want to train for these activities specifically.

To increase my climbing strength I will perform more pull-ups and climb more.  To improve my rowing (I have a row-rig for my canoe) and paddling abilities I will perform more back and core exercises and get out on the water at least once a week.

Today I am feeling weak in the quads from yesterday's numerous squats I performed at the gym and the thousands of pounds I lifted clearing an acre of quartzite conglomerate boulders from a field.  For me it is more important to train for life and my activities of daily living than to train for the sake of training.