Quarter of Holidaymakers Actively Exercise During Trip
Posted by Sue Anderson, 3rd Apr 2013
Last week, we discussed people checking work emails on holiday and how we thought that was a terrible idea. Today though, we look at another similarly terrible way of spending time on holiday... exercise! Think about it; on your last holiday abroad, did you spot that man on the beach on his morning run, or the diehard fitness fanatic doing lengths of the pool? There's always one.
We polled 1,862 UK adults who had been on holiday abroad in the past 12 months and asked them if they tended to work out whilst on their break. When asked, 'Did you actively choose to exercise on your last holiday abroad?' 26% of those taking part in the poll answered 'yes'.
We thought this was a fairly high number of holidaymakers and wondered what might be tempting so many people to exercise when they're supposed to be exploring foreign lands, lazing on a sun lounger or generally not lifting a finger.
Our suspicions were that perhaps the sun had made people get a bit silly and had made them think exercise on holiday was a good idea. We might have been right, because when we asked the people who said they exercised on their last holiday abroad if they normally did so at home in the UK, 62% admitted they didn't. So, that left us wondering why they exercised on holiday at all.
When we asked, here's what the survey respondents told us:
Good fitness facilities at accommodation - 55%
To balance out excessive holiday eating - 39%
To keep fit - 21%
Helped me to relax - 16%
Other - 9%
We also wanted to find out what the most popular forms of holiday exercise were, so we asked people to tell us all about the activities they took part in, if any, on their last holiday abroad. The most common answers were as follows:
1. Swimming - 22%
2. Running on beach - 18%
3. Gym - 15%
4. Exercise class - 9%
5. Yoga - 6%
Whilst the odd swim never hurt anyone on holiday, we think holidays should be all about 100% relaxation. Holidays can often involve a lot of walking when you're out exploring the resort and local area so, although you may not realise it, you will be keeping fit. If you insist on staying active, look for fun ways to do so with the whole family, like beach volleyball, hiring a pedalo or snorkelling in the sea. There's no need to make use of that hotel gym, as tempting as it might look to some of you!
We polled 1,862 UK adults who had been on holiday abroad in the past 12 months and asked them if they tended to work out whilst on their break. When asked, 'Did you actively choose to exercise on your last holiday abroad?' 26% of those taking part in the poll answered 'yes'.
Three fifths of holiday exercisers don't work out at home
We thought this was a fairly high number of holidaymakers and wondered what might be tempting so many people to exercise when they're supposed to be exploring foreign lands, lazing on a sun lounger or generally not lifting a finger.
Our suspicions were that perhaps the sun had made people get a bit silly and had made them think exercise on holiday was a good idea. We might have been right, because when we asked the people who said they exercised on their last holiday abroad if they normally did so at home in the UK, 62% admitted they didn't. So, that left us wondering why they exercised on holiday at all.
When we asked, here's what the survey respondents told us:
Good fitness facilities at accommodation - 55%
To balance out excessive holiday eating - 39%
To keep fit - 21%
Helped me to relax - 16%
Other - 9%
Swimming Most Popular Form of Holiday Exercise
We also wanted to find out what the most popular forms of holiday exercise were, so we asked people to tell us all about the activities they took part in, if any, on their last holiday abroad. The most common answers were as follows:
1. Swimming - 22%
2. Running on beach - 18%
3. Gym - 15%
4. Exercise class - 9%
5. Yoga - 6%
Whilst the odd swim never hurt anyone on holiday, we think holidays should be all about 100% relaxation. Holidays can often involve a lot of walking when you're out exploring the resort and local area so, although you may not realise it, you will be keeping fit. If you insist on staying active, look for fun ways to do so with the whole family, like beach volleyball, hiring a pedalo or snorkelling in the sea. There's no need to make use of that hotel gym, as tempting as it might look to some of you!
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