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We are fresh into the New Year and we all know that one of the most popular resolutions made is to maintain a healthier lifestyle. Now, let’s say you go on vacation and you have no access to a hotel gym — or what if it’s too cold to venture outdoors for a walk, bike ride, or a run? This is a position you may run into when you visit Niagara Falls this time of the year. The view of the Niagara Falls during the Winter months is breathtaking, hotel rates plummet, and there are no line-ups at any attractions, but you may be faced wondering how to keep your resolutions in check.
If the Niagara weather is much too cold to be outside for too long, here are a few hotel workout moves to maintain your fitness while on vacation:
#1. Make use of the hotel pool if there is one available

*Pictured Above: Tropical Pool & Whirlpool at the Clifton Hill Niagara Falls Hotel*
If the Niagara Falls hotel that you are staying at doesn’t have a gym available, see if they have a pool. Swimming is an excellent way to keep fit with several health benefits. It is easier on the joints, therefore there is less impact, making it a great exercise option for most people. If you have health conditions such as arthritis symptoms, it’s one of the best and less painful exercises. 
Most hotel pools don’t have the length you require to do laps without having to turn continuously, and/or you may be sharing the pool with other families that make it harder to manuever around. So here is a good 12 minute set that will make you feel the burn without having to move far from one section of the pool. Repeat this set as many times necessary to get in a full calorie-burn workout tailored to you, or after you finish the first set, increase each time by 1 minute, etc.:

• 5 x 1 minute freestyle kicking, hands raised above head
• 30 seconds rest between each minute, treading water
• 3 x 1 minute dolphin kicking, hands crossed over chest
• 15 seconds rest between each minute, treading water
• 1 minute vertical breaststroke or eggbeater kick

#2. Workout in your hotel room — no equipment necessary 
Here is a workout that will get your heart pumping without any equipment at all and without disturbing any other hotel guests in the room beside you or below you.

THE HOTEL WORKOUT

Squat/Lunge Combo – 10 reps

Sit Ups – 10 reps

Push Ups – 10 reps

Side Lunges – 10 reps per side

V-Sit Ups – 10 reps

Jumping Jacks – 10 reps

Push through this workout continuously until you have reached the desired time or until you simply feel like you can not continue. Aim for at least a 20-minute workout if you have the time.

#3. Make use of the hotel room furniture — be careful! Only use if it’s safe!

Move #1: Off the bed push-ups:

When you really want to make your push-ups a little more intense to engage your core, chest, and arms, try this move. Obviously the further out your body is from the bed, the harder the move will become because you are using more body weight. Want to make it easier? Move back further onto the bed so that your knees are completely rested on the bed. Aim for 25 reps. 

Move #2: Chair squats:

Stand a couple of feet from a chair, extend your hands in front of you and lower your body as though you’re going to sit in the chair behind you. Once your glutes gently tap the chair, then push yourself back up into a standing position. For a more challenging workout, lift one leg off the floor for single-leg squats. Aim for 25 reps.

Move#3: Bicycle crunches on the bed:

This forces your abdominal muscles to work that much harder because of the soft surface which you are lying on. You must fully stabilize your core in order to achieve a successful crunch. Aim for 25 reps.

Move #4: Chair dips:

This is an excellent move to engage your triceps. Using a desk chair, sit upright on the edge of the chair, place your hands on the chair next to your hips. Your arms are straight and your fingers hang off the chair’s edge. Your knees are bent with your feet flat on the floor. The weight of your body is supported in your hands as you slide your hips off the chair. Perform the dip by bending your elbows to lower yourself and then straighten your arms to return to the starting position. Aim for 25 reps.

Move #5: Door pull-ups:

*Only do if it’s stable enough!*

Prop open a door and use the frame to pull yourself up if you can reach a wide enough grip. Aim for 25 reps. 

Do each move as many times over until you reached the duration that you wish for a full workout.

If I Don’t Exercise, How Fast Will I Lose Muscle and Endurance?

According to www.exercise.about.com, if you decide to use your vacation to rest from exercise entirely, you can lose aerobic fitness (as a general guideline) at 5-10% in three weeks. However, how fast you lose endurance and/or muscle depends mostly on your genetics.

All your gains could be gone after about 2 months of inactivity.

Taking a week off probably won’t make much of a difference, but any more than that it may be harder to get back to your previous levels. Finding ways through a quick and easy hotel workout  can help you stay as active as you can, help you avoid weight gain and make the transition back to real life a little easier.

Obviously when the weather is nicer if you are traveling here to Niagara Falls, you can hit up all our beautiful trails, go for a run, go bike riding, and go on a hike. Places like the Niagara Glen are just one of many excellent trails to check out. In the meantime, try out a couple of these workouts when you visit Niagara during these chilly Winter months.

If you are looking to book a trip to Niagara Falls in the Winter months, now is the time to book your stay. The off-peak months tend to be October, and January through to March (excluding Family Day weekend and March Break). Here at the Clifton Hill Niagara Falls Hotel our hotel rates drastically reduce. Visit Niagara and book a stay with us to be in the center of all the action and only a 5 minute walk to the Horseshoe Falls and all of Niagara’s most popular attractions.

Click the image below for details on the Comfort Inn Clifton Hill:

Christine Lynn
clynn@cliftonhill.com
www.cliftonhill.com
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