For those of you familiar with the Eastern suburbs, Whitehorse Road Blackburn is home to many outrageously large warehouse style shops (and a brilliant little osteo clinic located at number 213. Insert shameless plug right here.) Unlike our friends just up the road, I can’ t tell you much about BBQ’s, but I can tell you we’ve got setbacks galore this week at The Osteopaths!

And by we, I mean I. (Peter and Kylie are most likely feeling fantastic)

Whether they are self-induced or not, setbacks are the absolute pits. There’s no other way to put it. They can be frustrating, painful, un-motivating, hissy fit inducing, snot producing and injury provoking. But no matter which form your set back presents itself in, the most important thing to do is not give up on your training journey

My current situation was a little self-inflicted.

Ok, 100% self-inflicted. Yep, I went on Holiday.

I would love to tell you that I exercised daily to keep up my pre-Bali fitness regime. However, the reality is that I pretty much ate and drank my way through the entire thing!! Don’t get me wrong; there is absolutely no problem with that, as I’m all about relaxing on holiday and experiencing local traditions and cuisines (and in Bali’s case, the $2 beers. Yes.) However, if you have a training goal such as mine, I wouldn’t take a leaf out of my book and write off a half -day of mountain climbing as ‘enough of an exertion’ for the duration of the holiday. Although I returned home feeling very relaxed and a few skin shades darker than when I left, I also brought with me a lazy attitude and a loss of running fitness.

I did spend many days relaxing at the beach/pool, however as much as I would have liked, my derriere wasn’t permanently fixed to a sun lounge! I managed to clock up a large number of km’s walking between hotels, the beach and other destinations without even thinking of it as exercise. Thus, bringing me to my first point: Opportunistic exercise. There are so many ways to incorporate this into every holiday, and the beauty of it is that most of the time you don’t even realize you are doing it!

Examples of opportune exercise include walking to and from your destinations or getting a taxi to drop you 1-2km from your hotel, instead of directly at your door, hiring bikes for the day or swimming a few laps of the hotel pool. You can find many ways to move on your holiday that don’t involve squeezing into compression tights! If you find it difficult to get motivated while away, this kind of activity is such a great way to get your heart rate up and it is so easy to incorporate into your daily schedule. On my trip, we were surrounded by activities on offer such as kayaking, canoeing, hiking, bike riding and swimming. Many hotels also have gyms on offer or classes available to patrons, such as yoga. Doing yoga outdoors is such an amazing, tranquil experience that unfortunately can’t quite be replicated in a stinky, sweaty room in the depths of a Melbourne winter. Next time you’re on holiday, try to find ways to exercise that don’t make you feel like you have to drop and give ‘em 20. The benefits are still plentiful, with seemingly little effort required to perform them!

Fresh off the tarmac and ready to roll, my first run back in Melbourne did not go as planned. As most of you are aware, the first week back at work after some time off can be exhausting and it can take some time to get back into normal routine. As well as bringing home some delightful duty free goods and a cheeky kiss from Ketut, I also stepped off the plane with some one else’s (not as) delightful cold. This in itself was a setback, as sinus congestion, fatigue and headaches placed me inside, instead of on the pavement. When I finally got over the cold, the odds were certainly not in my favour. About 2km into that first run, I was not only sweating bullets (Bintang’s) but I hit a major wall! I was hit with a sore knee, cramps in my back and a nose that decided to run faster than me. Readers please note: Trying to make the best of a snotty situation sans tissue is likely to backfire!! I urge you not to try that at home.

If you find yourself in a similar situation to myself (and arrive back to Melbourne as a congested, well-fed mess) the key is not to give up immediately, but to ease yourself back into exercise. After that first disastrous run, I learnt my lesson! My routine over the past couple of weeks has involved a range of activities including a daily stretching session, circuit/high intensity interval training and shorter runs. I started at 3km, and have been slowly increasing my run distance since then. I am hoping to be back on track within another week! I am also making a conscious effort to keep my fluids up and fuel my body appropriately in preparation for daily exercise. All of which make training easier and more effective.

Therefore, try to keep a baseline level of fitness while on holiday by incorporating easy and simple activities into your day, which get your heart rate up, but don’t feel tiresome and annoying. It’s so easy to do! If my experience was anything to go by, you will feel better for it upon your (hopefully not as congested) return.

Nicole Tuminello, Registered Osteopath