Photo courtesy of Specialised Health’s Christchurch based EP, Carmyn Barnes, Table Mountain Hike, Cape Town
A MASSIVE Thankyou to the Rehab Providers, Occupational Therapists, Vocational Counsellors, Case Managers, Injury Management Advisors, Physios, Psychologists, and GP’s we’ve worked with this year! From all of us at Specialised Health we’re wishing you Happy Holidays and a prosperous new year!
🎁Our gift for you…
Passionate about exercise as we are, we got together to share, with you, our personal strategies to keep active during holidays!
“I try to encourage active ways to hang out with friends and family. I’ll coax them to catch up for a swim at the pool, take a ball to kick around at beach days, make use of the activities at hotels like kayaks and tennis courts. Plus I always take my activewear away on holidays for an easy morning workout with whoever I’m holidaying with!”
Chantelle Wardini, Exercise Physiologist & Dietician, NorthWest Sydney, NSW
“I find fun things to do such as taking the kids for bike rides along the river and playing at the park or pool. I’ve also made obstacle courses at home with swing sets, tramps, agility ladder. Oh, and climbing all the stairs to get to the top of the water slides at theme parks, multiple times, carrying a 4yr old and an inflatable tube is a pretty decent workout!”
Leonie Olsen, Exercise Physiologist, Brisbane & Upper Gold Coast, QLD
“I don’t keep my usual routine on holidays, opting to just get into holiday mode. But I do keep active by walking to tourist spots or getting on board the walking tours. Sometimes I’ll use a hotel gym for a short but high intensity workout”
James Danos, Exercise Physiologist, North & West Melbourne, VIC
“I always like to encourage people to treat themselves to activities that they enjoy during this time (sports, swimming, tramping etc) and always emphasise that exercise isn’t a chore! It can enrich your holidays if you find the right type for you. Personally, I do a Christmas Day workout every year where I add to it from the previous year or try and beat my “score”. Then I feel good relaxing (and eating) for the rest of the day. But that’s not everyone’s cup of tea!”
Tessa Nielsen, Exercise Physiologist, Palmerston North, NZ
“For the holidays I recommend walking through the bush or anywhere with awesome views! Love it because it’s easy to do, you can go with great company, you’re rewarded by the views and you feel accomplished by the end of it!”
Tom Hall, Exercise Physiologist, NorthWest Sydney, NSW
“Try to walk to places as much as possible; you see a lot more and stumble across things you wouldn’t see driving.“
Renee Trevarthen, Exercise Physiologist, Sunshine Coast, QLD
“I take mini therabands on holiday with me, they are small and take up no room but really effective to add some resistance to a bodyweight workout. When I go to foreign countries I find I walk everywhere, it’s the best way to see things and get a feel for the place, and get some exercise in.”
Shara Kinney, Exercise Physiologist, Rockdale & M5 Corridor of Sydney, NSW
“I enter events for December and January to force me to keep training!”
Mae Heard, Exercise Physiologist, Auckland, NZ
“I try to move as much as I can when looking after the kids, so organise fun things: early bike rides, paddleboarding, ninja park and obstacle course with kids in the back yard.”
Hilary Anniss, Exercise Physiologist, Newcastle, NSW
“Exercise helps my mood and focus, so knowing this motivates me to find time during the day, any day. When I’m travelling, I love finding the local swimming pool for some laps, or jog by a river, in a forest or I do what I’ve titled “run tours:” It’s an interval run where I check out the tourist sites on google maps, run to them, maybe take a red-faced selfie then jog to the next one! I also have a circuit program I can do in the park, backyard or empty room utilising bodyweight, resistance bands and skipping rope.”
Biara Webtser, Exercise Physiologist & Content Manager
“My partner doesn’t exercise a lot but likes to go on walks during holidays so I will always try and find the hardest/longest walks possible.”
Matt Zappia, Exercise Physiologist, Penrith & Parramatta, NSW
“The thing that helps me the most when I’m on holiday is to make it social! So instead of going for coffee with a friend, we’ll go for a hike or a walk along the beach or a run with breakfast/coffee afterwards. It does help to have friends who like those kinds of things, though! :)”
Carmyn Barnes, Exercise Physiologist, Christchurch NZ
“I try to organise days at the gym with a friend so that we can both train together, so I am not only accountable for myself, but sticking to my commitments that I have arranged with that other person and not let them down. Also, having kids allows me to be more active in the holiday period as we would swim a lot more and go for walks to investigate places we are staying.”
Melissa Mills, Admin Assistant
“Other than hitting the gym, I get in more hikes and hit bike trails”
Anirudh Parthiban, Exercise Physiologist & NSW Team Leader, NorthWest Sydney, NSW
“The best way to explore new surroundings is to do it while running. Also, you can “earn” your Xmas lunch by doing a hardcore workout on Xmas morning, plus there’s the satisfaction of knowing that no-one else would be working out on Xmas morning or on New Years Day, so I will be!”
Brad Domek, Specialised Health Director
Relax! Treat yourself! And have a healthy & happy holiday,
from all of us at Specialised Health!