I see it all the time on social media, Facebook statuses, Instagram posts, and even tweets, all from women who say they need to work on their ‘beach bod’ or ‘bikini bods’. This is often due to summer being right around the corner, or more likely in my social circle, a trip they have coming up. Any time they may be seen on a beach, or in a pool I suppose. But I have a different idea of the kind of bod I am working on, though it’s still due to upcoming trips; I am always working on my ‘adventure bod’.
So what exactly do I mean by adventure body?
I simply mean having a body that’s ready to do anything and everything that my head is telling me I need to do on my travels. A body that is ready for all types of adventure that come my way.
At the bare minimum I want to be able to wander around the streets of a new city all day, and not worry about having to stop too much. But what I am talking about goes beyond that.
As I write this I am staying at an Airbnb that overlooks the Old Town of Dubrovnik… which gives me an incredible balcony view; but with an incredible view comes a ton of stairs to walks up and down to get to the centre of town. Many people would see that written in the description and shy away from it because no one wants to have to walk up and down a ton of stairs just to get anywhere worth going. But we all know the best views come from the top, and to get to the top you need to work for it.
What it all comes down to is something I continue to remind myself of: if you want to see the things other people don’t see, you have to do the things other people aren’t willing to do. And that includes keeping yourself in shape.
Many other tourists aren’t in incredible shape. In fact, most are in fairly average shape. And there is nothing wrong with that. But I can tell you one thing, even if there is an option to take a cable car, or drive up the road instead, hiking to a view point is so much more rewarding and involves a lot more things to see than merely the one at the top.
Not to mention when you think of all the activities you can do on your travels when you’ve got your adventure bod active and ready. Depending on your interests, there is always something during travels that is much easier to see or do, when you are in shape. Whether it is merely wandering cities, like I mentioned before, or hiking mountains, or kayaking along the coast.
Keeping yourself in shape makes sure that your body will never be the thing stopping you from having the incredible experiences you want to have on your travels. And don’t get me wrong, I hate working out. I’d rather eat chocolate for breakfast. I am not some extremely healthy person, spending day in and day out at the gym and only eating salads.
I am just a woman who knows what she wants out of her life, and that involves experiences. And the kind of experiences worth having are often ones that are made easier by at least keeping in decent shape.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I wish women would concentrate more on how they feel than how they look. A bikini bod is just any body with a bikini on it; doesn’t matter what size you are. If you feel comfortable in it, rock it girl.
From my personal experience though, after being very inactive for the last few months of my life, I feel much more comfortable with my body on a beach (or in a pool) now that I am active again. I don’t care if I’ve lost weight, or even look better, I just know my body feels better now that it’s moving again. And it’s moving again because I am traveling.
Sometimes that’s all you need – a little motivation. My motivation is travel. What’s yours?
This is a guest post by Sara Alexis.
Sara Alexis is a teacher from Toronto who teaches abroad. She first to Australia for university, but then has gone on to teach and live in Thailand, northern Canada, the Marshall Islands and Niger, and currently teaching in High School English Language & Literature in Vietnam. She enjoys writing and photography, and traveling the world every chance she gets. She features her stuff through her Instagram and her website .
