Working out while in Cancun

Working out while on vacation is important to do, yet sometimes we neglect it. Do you have to go all out? Absolutely not, but getting in a good sweat will boost your mood, give you some time to yourself, and keep you on track. Plus it helps if you’re like me and you eat every delicious thing in sight :P

Zach and I visited Cancun last week and we stayed at the Royalton Riviera Cancun. This isn’t the first time I’ve been to an all-inclusive, but it’s hands down the best one I’ve been to. Although I’m going to touch a lot on their fitness offerings, this is NOT a fitness resort. It’s a luxury resort that just so happens to offer everything you need.

THURSDAY EVENING - ARRIVING AND DINNER

We arrived on a Thursday night just in time for sunset. We shuttled from the airport to the resort with their service called Nexus. When you pull up you’re greeted with a non-alcoholic drink, your bags are taken, and you’re walked to the check-in room. From the moment you walk-in until the moment you leave they have exceptional service. There is only one person that I didn’t care for the entire trip, but one bad egg didn’t effect or discount the SEVERAL other people we had the pleasure of experiencing. We stayed under Diamond Club status which meant a little more privacy and other add-ons. Check this link to see what all it includes.

Once we checked in, we were taken to our gorgeous room that included free snacks and drinks in the fridge, a balcony that looked over the beach and pool area, a shower, jacuzzi bathtub, and two very comfortable beds. You are given a bracelet that serves as your room key, FYI - SUPER convenient. We quickly settled and went down for dinner at Agave for some Mexican cuisine - this is one of the 9 restaurants they have on the property. I highly recommend sitting outside at night because we had perfect access to the Pop show that was happening by the pool area. It was literally dinner and a show. Also, the shows they have are LEGIT. It’s not some cheesy, half attempt. It’s full blown costumes, lights, fog machine, etc. After dinner we walked around the different parts of the resort. It has four sections- kids, main, diamond, and hideaway. That evening the hideaway section, which is only for adults, was having a chocolate party. It featured a half-dressed man and woman covered in gold paint in front of a large chocolate display. As a chocolate loving woman - I WAS OBSESSED. After that we turned in for bed since we had an early start the next morning.

FRIDAY - YOGA, AQUA FIT, + TRX

The following morning we woke up for sunrise yoga. It was outside the main pool area and was a relaxing way to start the day. We ate breakfast at the GIANT buffet they have called Gourmet Marche. It features ALL kinds of food - including vegan and gluten-free options. After breakfast we changed into our swimsuits and the main pool was having Aqua Fit. This was led by Isis who was also our instructor for yoga and taught all of the classes we took that weekend. SHE IS AWESOME. Anyways, back to Aqua Fit. It’s done in the pool and you’re given these gloves to wear. It’s low impact and all done to the beat of the music. You get wet, get in a workout and laugh because it’s totally unusual and fun at the same time. We grabbed lunch at Gourmet Marche again, took some photos, relaxed on the beach, and headed to TRX. So, here is the deal, I had never done TRX before and out of all of the workouts I did, this was the most challenging for me. TRX class is held in the upstairs part of the gym with is through the spa area and into a two-story gym that also features an outside area full of tennis courts - it’s insane. After a much needed showered we had dinner at ZEN for some Japanese cuisine. They were incredibly accommodating as we had a few vegans and a gluten allergy in our party. The chef took his skills to the next level and created a very fancy and special dish for these people. If you have special dietary needs you know that most people give you a sad excuse for options or have no clue how to even accommodate you. We were blown away with their service and culinary skills! Because we had done three exercises that day I could barely stay awake and called it a night. However, I sadly missed the silent disco that I heard was SO fun. So next time I need to make sure I leave some party energy in me, lol. I ended the night by ordering Saturdays breakfast from my TV.

This is the special vegan curry dish the chef made look like an egg. It was apart of Zach’s three-course meal.

SATURDAY - BREAKFAST IN BED, KICKBOXING + STRETCH PILATES

After a busy Friday we woke up to room service on Saturday morning. We ate and had coffee together on our balcony while the sun came up and heard waves crashing the whole time - it was so peaceful. We took our time and chilled out until it was time for kickboxing class. Again, this class was held in the upstairs of the gym. It was so much fun but wore us out so we spent the afternoon chilling in a bed on the beach with cocktails brought to us. THE LIFE, lol. After some much needed recovery and lunch at Gourmet Marche, we headed to a stretch pilates class. It was a slower paced stretch class with a little small challenges here and there - perfect speed for a relaxing Saturday. We freshened up and ate at TAJ for some Indian cuisine. After dinner we passed by the stage for some unexpected live music and dancing. I swear, there is ALWAYS a party happening somewhere. We hung out with some new friends while they played giant chess until it was time to head to bed. Other people went out to continue on partying and a few of them won $1,000 that night at the casino - so crazy!

SUNDAY - BOGA BOOTCAMP, SUNSET YOGA, + FAREWELL DINNER

Sadly Sunday was our last full day so we woke up to have coffee on the balcony, eat breakfast, and head to Boga Bootcamp. This was the one class I was unsure of leading up to it. I was like, “what the heck is Boga Bootcamp?” Turns out it’s a workout on a special “Boga” board done in the pool. The board is huge and features straps and bands and you legit do a workout on it. Several people fell of course, including myself, which just made it more challenging and fun. It is top of my list of favorite workouts though. So unusual and not sure if I’ll ever find a class like it again. After that we went to the roof to take some photos, ate lunch, walked past a raging pool party (I clearly missed all of the partying some how), and enjoyed our last day on the beach. We always sat in the adult area which was so peaceful and always included a drink and towel service - so fancy. We ended our last amazing day by doing yoga on the beach at sunset. It was a challenging class and the wind was kicking so it made for quite the balance struggle. After yoga we headed back to dinner at ZEN - this time for their dinner hibachi show upstairs. They were just as amazing this time as they were the first time we went. Zach and I headed back early to pack as we had to be up at 3:30a! We did facemasks, and had a sing-a-long to the famous Royalton jingle that they play on your TV, lol. It was an amazing trip and I can’t recommend the Royalton Riviera Cancun resort enough. I hope we go back soon and if you have any questions please let me know.

Also, if you’re more of a visual person, I have an Instagram highlight for our trip that you can see called “Cancun.” My IG handle is @MaeElizabethG

3 REASONS WHY I'M NOT YOUR AVERAGE FITNESS FANATIC

“I DON’T USE FITNESS TRACKERS”

Back when I was training to race outside, my Garmin was LIFE and if I didn't cross post my workout to Strava than I felt like it didn't even happen. I was obsessed with how far I had ridden, how many feet of elevation I had climbed and how many hours I had been in the saddle that week. One day I received a pretty nasty message from someone who had gone through and stalked out my race results, my workouts, etc. They used it as a personal attack to make me feel like I was undeserving of any sponsor I had earned and any recognition I had received. Clearly this person didn't follow my blogs on the Specialized website or actually take the time to read my Instagram posts because my entire journey was about starting from nothing, never claiming to be the best, but rather sharing the ups and downs with other people in hopes that they would get out there and try riding, too! Not too far after that incident I pretty much stopped posting my workouts. I went back and forth deciding if I stopped because I wanted to or if I stopped because someone made me feel bad about it. I didn't want to admit that someone actually got to me. Hate happens allllll of the time and most times you can let it go - sometimes you don't. Regardless of whether or not I stopped because of this person, I will say the silver lining is that when I did stop, I finally found balance in my life. The pressure was gone and I was finally working out for myself, not for the likes on Strava or to appease what I thought I "should" be doing. It's now been around a year and a half and I haven't looked back since. 

“I DON’T COUNT CALORIES OR MACROS”

Listen, I am a definite rare bird in this scenario. Most people will not relate to this, but if you do, know that you aren't alone. I fully appreciate that tracking food intake helps A LOT of people and to be totally honest, I WISH it had that effect on me. Unfortunately, every single time I've ever tried using an app to track my food it has the reverse outcome. Instead of eating better I end up only thinking about food, absolutely obsessing over it, and after awhile I lose my mind and binge eat...bad. By the end of it, I will have eaten WAY worse than if I had just went about my day eating what I wanted. After several tries of monitoring my food I had to accept that it just didn't work for me. I would rather be aware of what I'm putting in my body and try and make good choices rather than flipping a switch and completely losing control of myself. Again, most people I tell this to think I'm nuts, but if you're anything like me - I FEEL YOU. I will say, even though I don't use things like MyFitnessPal anymore, I did learn a lot about what I was eating when I was using it. I still think it's a great tool for a lot of people, just not me. 

“I EAT (admittedly) TOO MUCH JUNK FOOD BUT I’M NOT AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT IT”

Look, I grew up eating terribly. The only spinach I ever grew up eating came from a can and was cooked in a pot with loads of butter and salt. It's amazing I don't weigh at least 100 pounds more than I do and even more amazing I was able to get where I am now. However, sugar is still a massive addiction of mine. It's my HUGE personal battle, but rather than cutting it out 100% (probably not possible) or pretending that I eat salads on the daily, I use it as a means of balance. Now, do I eat 3-4 donuts for breakfast anymore? Absolutely not, but if I want one than I will have one. It took a lot of trial and error to find what works for me and a lot of feeling guilty that I wasn't the perfect health specimen. In the end I finally found that balance was king and my balance will not be the same as your balance. If you can cut sugar out than by all means you go Glen Coco, but for me, I'd rather have one donut than lose complete control of myself and end up eating that donut, plus a pie, plus fried food, plus literally whatever else I can find. IF the day comes where I decide I want to be shredded, I am fully aware that I will need to do some major adjustments, but until that day comes, I'll take my small daily food victories and accept that although I'm not perfect, I know that I've come a LONG way in my eating habits. 

I'd love to hear your journey with food. Did you grow up eating healthy? If not, how do you think that's influenced how you eat now?

Outfit by the amazing Largo Drive. Check out their blog post where I did an interview and talk about my journey in becoming a fitness instructor.
Interested in buying something from them? Use code MAE20 from now until November 11th to get 20% off all regularly priced items.

I'm wearing the Lanston Sport Slit Bra and the Lanston Sport Slit Leggings. 

Remember to Trust the Process

At one point in my life, before I was cycling competitively, I would go to yoga a few times a week - in fact, there was a point where I was going everyday. For whatever reason, I haven't been in months. I've barely been stretching and I've done at home yoga fewer times than I'd like to admit. I'm so tight, I've lost a lot of flexibility, and I can see how it has negatively affected my cycling. 

So this week I took some time to myself and I got on the mat. I've remembered what I've been missing and now I have documentation of where I'm currently at. Maybe I can't stretch as far, hold poses or bend like I used to, but today is a new day to turn that around.

If you too have been neglecting a positive habit, remember that it's never too late to bring it back. Be good to your body, it's the only one you have. 

Oh, and don't be afraid to fail (or in my case - fall), figuring it out is the best part of the journey. Remember to trust the process. <3

Have a good weekend!

xoxo,
Mae