Cuba Fitness

See a short summary of my incredibly relaxing trip to Cuba here.

Starfish Varadero had a gym with weights, exercise bikes, an erg (rowing machine) and very friendly staff. My travel buddy and I made plans to go to the gym every day and spend time doing at least one other activity (kayaking, beach volleyball, walking along the beach etc.)

Day 1: Woke up for breakfast at 7 AM and went to the gym, only to realize it wasn’t open yet! So we went to the beach to enjoy the sun instead. After a few hours at the beach, we went to the gym. Our workout included a 10 minute warm-up (bike for me, erg for my friend), a 20 minute workout (jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups, squats, calf raises and planking) and 10 minutes of stretching. We were hoping to play some beach volleyball in the afternoon but at 35C it was way too hot so we lounged by the pool.
Day 2: Since we knew the gym wasn’t open until later, we went kayaking for 30 minutes in the morning while down by the beach (there was a maximum time limit of 30 minutes). Our workout after lunch was much of the same as day 1: a 10 minute warm-up, same 20 minute workout and 10 minutes of stretching.

Day 3: Switching up the workout, I did 10 minutes on the bike followed by a 20 minute workout of vertical leg raises, push-ups, tricep dips, jumping jacks, crunches, planking, lunges and calf raises (OK, not that different from the first two days!) followed by 10 minutes of stretching.
Day 4: Another 10 minute warm-up, 20 minute workout and 10 minutes of stretching followed by some pool volleyball (much cooler than beach volleyball).
Day 5: My travel/workout buddy got up to workout for a fifth day but I slept in! We spent the afternoon by the pool and played pool volleyball later in the afternoon.
Day 6: We went for a walk on the beach for 20 minutes. We took the rest of the day to relax by the pool and the beach.
Day 7: Our last day in Cuba, we had to be out of our rooms by noon so we packed up and checked our luggage in at the front desk. We didn’t manage to get a workout in but instead enjoyed our last day relaxing (because we clearly didn’t do enough of it the rest of the trip!).

It’s good to note that except for the 10-minute warm-up on the machines the 20 minute workout can be done anywhere and without equipment! It was incredibly hot in Cuba the week we went so we made sure to drink lots of water while working out to stay hydrated. It was much needed. Food wise the buffets were fantastic but I definitely didn’t eat as many vegetables as I should of so the workouts made me feel better about it. Overall, I feel great about the fitness I got in while on vacation.