Pat Bailey

Pat enjoys a poolside snack at The Gates Hotel South Beach. Image © Pat Bailey

A Weekend Getaway in Florida

Getting to Miami

Fly right into the Miami International Airport from any direction, depending on where you are staying and what your itinerary is, you’ll want to look into renting a car. Search flights to Miami.

The Gates Hotel South Beach if a clean, modern and beautiful hotel in the heart of South Beach, Miami. Image © Pat Bailey

The Gates Hotel

If you are wondering where to stay in South Beach, you will find that there is no shortage of high-end, boutique and even local hotels. My stay at The Gates Hotel South Beach was perfect for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it is located in the heart of South Beach on Collins Avenue with great access to the beach and many hot spots in South Beach, as well as quick access to downtown Miami. The hotel is also located about nine miles North of the airport.

The lobby at The Gates Hotel South Beach – decorated in beautiful soft pastels and plush furnishings. Image © Pat Bailey

The Gates Hotel South Beach, a Double Tree by Hilton property, is a quintessential Miami hotel.  You are greeted by the trademark smell of freshly baked cookies and welcomed into the modern hotel by way of a beautifully expansive lobby, lounge bar, guest gathering spot and outdoor pool, dining and lounge area. The décor is fresh and modern with pops of pastel colours, clean lines, lots of texture and cheeky local art that feels whimsical and very Miami.

The property has 235 guest rooms, including 17 suites. My room was ample, full of natural light, and I found the king-size bed to be a welcome reprieve at the end of each long day.

The Gates Hotel South Beach happily accommodates corporate guests as well as guests on holiday, there is plenty of meeting space both inside and outside. I particularly loved the rooftop decks at various levels outside.

Related: The Best Places to Visit on Mexico’s East Coast

Our modern, comfortable, light-filled room at The Gates Hotel South Beach. Image © Pat Bailey

Our cosy and comfortable room at The Gates Hotel in South Beach. Image © Pat Bailey

The bright, modern and chic interiors at The Gates Hotel Agaveros Cantina. Image © Pat Bailey

My favourite part about this stay and property was the vintage feel I got from the décor and the space. The pool area spans the entire outdoor courtyard and is flanked on all sides with cozy lounge areas decked in Miami colours. The outdoor bar is the perfect place to grab a drink any time, meals are served from Agaveros Cantina, the restaurant on property, both indoors and outside under stringed lights and poolside. I enjoyed breakfast by the pool one morning and had the pool all to myself.

The Gates Hotel South Beach is warm and welcoming. Image © Pat Bailey

The Lobby Bar at The Gates Hotel South Beach Miami. Image © Pat Bailey

The interiors at The Gates Hotel South Beach feature warm tones with modern strong accent colours. Image © Pat Bailey

Time out for some delicious cocktails at Pool Bar, The Gates Hotel South Beach. Image © Pat Bailey

Wynwood Walking Tour

I wouldn’t even dream of visiting Miami without a trip to the Wynwood Walls art walk. Be sure to carve out a whole day to explore this incredibly inspiring neighbourhood. In visits past, I have wandered the streets of Wynwood solo which has its advantages. This trip, I opted for a guided tour of Wynwood to learn more about the artists, the food, and the culture of the neighbourhood made famous by Art Basel.

Pat taking in some culture at the Wynwood Walls Art Walk. Image © Pat Bailey

The Wynwood Walls Art Walk is a must when visiting Miami. Image © Pat Bailey

I explored Wynwood with an incredibly charming and knowledgeable guide named Mirka from Miami Culinary Tours. We made our way through the painted streets stopping to gaze at the murals. We also experienced the variety of culinary offerings at the Wynwood restaurants including Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, where we tasted really incredible empanadas, GKB, where the ceviche and quinoa salad are amazing. 

Zak the Baker is a must-stop on a Wynwood Walls walking tour. Image © Pat Bailey

Zak the Baker was next up. It’s a bakery you must put on your list, serving heavenly Bourekas (I challenge you to have just one), Jimmy’s Kitchen, where I tried the house specialty Monfongo, and the grand finale, Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop & Cakes, where I feasted on the perfect key lime pie. This tour was a highlight of my trip and I highly recommend it.

Head to Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop and Cafe for some key lime pie. Image © Pat Bailey

Healthy Food in Miami

Joe and the Juice | Multiple Locations

I love how easy it is to be vegetarian in Miami and South Beach, and to eat healthy in general. One of my favourite local chains, Joe and the Juice is a short drive from The Gates South Beach and they serve beautiful sandwiches on a thin, cracker bread that is gluten-free and packed with healthy and organic goodness.

Get your day off to a healthy start by grabbing a fresh juice or smoothie from Joe and the Juice. Image © Pat Bailey

Raw Juice | 959 West Ave, Suite 13, Miami Beach

Before my Youfit workout I stopped at Raw Juice, a beautiful all natural, vegan and vegetarian café with the most beautiful dragon fruit “Papaya Bowl” and delicious fresh coconut water with hearty coconut meat floating in it – these are made fresh daily and I had one at the café and took another one to the gym for after my workout.

Organic Bites | 7010 Biscayne Blvd, Miami Beach

A stop at Organic Bites for breakfast, lunch or dinner is a great idea. This was my post workout brunch choice; I enjoyed a wheatgrass shot, fresh juices, and a delicious salad with an organic vegetable soup.

DIRT Miami | 232 5th St, Miami Beach

DIRT Miami is another favourite of mine, the farm-to-counter concept is casual and the eating is clean and organic. Definitely try the Dirty Vegan Bowl and the Avo-Kale Tostada, these are my favourite and so delicious.

A delicious healthy breakfast at Raw Juice, Miami. Image © Pat Bailey

Plnthouse | 1609, 2341 Collins Ave, Miami Beach

My last meal of this trip included one of the most delicious veggie burgers I’ve had in a long time, at Plnthouse located in 1 Hotel South Beach. This completely vegan restaurant has a menu that I have a hard time choosing from, the décor is Instagram-able and the outside terrace has a spectacular view of the beach and pool.

Related: 48 Hours in Chicago: A Local’s Guide on What to See and Do

Interiors inspiration aplenty awaits at Plnthouse located in 1 Hotel South Beach, Miami. Image © Pat Bailey

Staying Fit in Miami

Staying fit in Miami is easy, and studies show that Florida was one of two states last year that improved the most in the direction of health and fitness.

Youfit Health Clubs

Youfit Health Clubs, founded in Miami, is making fitness accessible to everyone. The community they have nurtured since opening the first gym has become a great testament to what can happen when you make your mission about people.

Learning some simple stretches at Youfit Miami. Image © Pat Bailey

It is impossible to be unhappy and unmotivated when you walk into a Youfit Health Club; by design in large part, the staff smiles, the space glows in its trademark lime green and purple, and every single person working out is happy to be there. This culture is intentional, and created from the bottom up. J.J. Creegan, who was once an employee picking up weights off of the gym floor is now the Chief Operating Officer and biggest champion for the now 113 gyms across 15 states, its members and his “home away from home,” and tribe. He literally has spent his lifetime putting his heart into this company, and you can feel this when you walk into each one of the Youfit locations.

James putting Pat through her paces at Youfit Miami. Image © Pat Bailey

A basic membership starts at just $USD10 per month and includes full access to the gym, making it very accessible. YouGX Group Exercise Classes include Zumba, Pilates, Yoga, Barre, Cardio Kickbox, Circuit Training, Cycle, and more. Members also have access to a personal YouCoach which includes a team of personal trainers that meet with members to assess their fitness level, goals and intentions and concerns and then they create a special fitness plan for the member utilising the gym and services available.

Sunrise yoga with Youfit during our stay in South Beach Miami. Image © Pat Bailey

I spent one morning with James, my YouCoach for the day, and I was so impressed with his patience and his knowledge about the body, various fitness modalities and nutrition. These were all important topics that we discussed during my private session with him. Because I identified heart health and cardio as one of my goals, he walked me through a handful of exercises while he watched me perform each one and made careful notes about alignment, my strengths and weaknesses and how each one made me feel. After our 30-minute session we discussed the plan and James showed me around the gym and shared his expertise for implementing the plan on a daily basis. This personal touch was a meaningful one. I’ve been guilty of joining gyms in the past and feeling overwhelmed with the options or unaware of what I should be doing and the memberships don’t last. At Youfit the goal is to keep members informed and inspired to create a personal fitness journey and stick with it, and the gyms and memberships come with personal cheerleaders to help you do this.

We were also treated to a sunrise yoga class during our stay in South Beach which was a beautiful and refreshing way to start the day.

Pat enjoying some yoga on the beach during her healthy escape to South Beach Miami. Image © Pat Bailey

This escape to South Beach Miami was a welcome getaway, a reminder that travelling can include healthy choices and fitness gains and even eating healthy can be easy and delicious when you are away from the comforts of home, especially in South Beach Miami.

 The Fit Traveller was a guest of Youfit Health Clubs for this trip to Miami. As always, our opinions, words and images are authentically our own.

Pat Russo

Pat Russo is a Mystic, Muse, and Spiritual Teacher guiding women into their hearts with a journey of softening. She is a published poet, a lover of hearts, and a forever student.

Feeling the impossibility of choosing between her two favorite cities, she considers San Francisco and Paris home.

www.patricia-russo.com/

Sophia Lahey

Hit Melbourne’s Bodhi & Ride chamber for a high-intensity full-body workout to vibrant music and neon lighting. Image © Sophia Lazarides

Bodhi & Ride

This ‘aint your traditional cycling class. I haven’t done one of the infamous Soul Cycle classes that everyone’s going crazy about in the US, but I imagine Bodhi & Ride is as close to that as you’re going to get in Australia.

You get allocated a numbered bike and find your seat inside what they call the “chamber”, a small, dark room with neon lighting. Once that chamber door shuts there is no escaping.

Vibrant beats pump out of the speakers and the instructor yells motivational cues through the microphone as you push those legs, but what makes this class different, is that there are arm exercises thrown in there as well.

The instructor will tell you when she wants you to do push-ups on the handlebars or pick up a set of weights and do shoulder presses as you cycle. It takes a bit of coordination, but it really gives you a full-body workout.

Bodhi & Ride

Read Next | 6 Yoga Inversions for Beginners

Sweat it out at Tribute Melbourne where traditional boxing meets high-intensity circuit training. Image © Sophia Lazarides

Tribute Boxing

Former IBO world super featherweight champion, Will Tomlinson, set up this studio in Abbotsford after retiring from professional boxing, last year. There’s really nothing else like this out there, that I am aware of, so it’s great to see something unique hit the fitness scene.

When I went to do my first, private class with Will, he asked whether I’d done much boxing, to which I replied, “Yeah, a bit”, thinking of the free kickboxing classes run in the park by the local council. About a minute into Will’s class I realised I’d never done boxing like that. Like, real, proper, actual, Muhammad Ali-style boxing (except nowhere near as good, obviously).

These guys are really good at what they do and focus as much on your boxing technique as they do on ensuring you get a decent workout.

There’s a different circuit-style class each day, with varying time intervals for each exercise. The exercises range from boxing to treadmill sprints to medicine ball slams etc, so you’re sure to get a resistance workout as well as improve your fitness.

Tribute Boxing

Read Next | Melbourne Healthy Eating Guide

Sum of Us: A beautiful calm space to practice yoga, Pilates, and meditation in Melbourne. Image © Sum of Us

Sum of Us

This gorgeous, little studio located in an old Prahran townhouse, focuses on a holistic approach to health and fitness. You can get your sore, tired muscles sorted with physiotherapy, massage, or podiatry treatments, help your mind stay calm with meditation, or try their yoga, Pilates, and barre classes.

This is where I’ve been going for my meditation, and the teacher, Kasey, is such a calming force. She runs Euonia meditation which isn’t religious or hard and it doesn’t require a mantra.

Sum of Us describes it as “A place where you can come to just be you”, and in their beautiful, leafy surroundings with birds chirping gleefully (but peacefully), it’s actually quite simple to do.

You can even get a coffee or smoothie in the Sum of Us cafe on your way out.

Sum of Us

Read Next | The Ultimate Melbourne Food Guide

Remedy Yoga Melbourne offers the perfect yin practice after a week of heavy HIIT-style workouts. Image © Sophia Lazarides

Remedy Yoga

A light and airy yoga and Pilates studio on the other side of town. It’s run by the same guys who own a few F45 studios around Melbourne, so they really know what they’re doing.

Often personal trainers head to Remedy on a weekend to stretch out their weary muscles after a week of tough HIIT training.

My favourite class here is the Remedy Restore, a medium-intensity class suitable for those newish to yoga. It’s ideal for a deep stretch and to recharge the batteries, but it certainly makes you sweat.

What I love most about this studio is that they don’t play your average yoga music in the background; Kat’s playlist ranges from Radiohead to Sigur Ros.

Remedy Yoga

Sophia Lahey

Sophia Lazarides is a journalist and public relations professional based in London. She is on a mission to live a stylish life.

Brittany Lillegard

These five movements target different areas of your body, allowing you to easily create a balanced total body workout. After a quick warm-up of your choice, pick an exercise from each category. Either choose a set number of reps for each movement and complete 4-5 rounds or set a timer for 20-25 minutes and switch exercises every minute. See below for a description of each category and at the end, find one of my favourite take anywhere workouts that you can try on your next vacation, no equipment needed.

Upper Body Push

The humble push-up is the classic upper body push movement, but you can think of this as any exercise that targets the anterior (or front) part of your upper body. Any push-up variation works well here whether you perform them on your knees, elevate your feet, complete them on a TRX, or change your hand position to a narrow or wide grip. Other push movements include any sort of dumbbell pressing, bench press, and even a handstand hold.

Upper Body Pull

This is any opposing movement to the upper body push and these movements generally target the posterior (or back side) of your body. Common pulling exercises include the pull-up or chin-up, TRX row, any version of a dumbbell row, and supermans or cobras.

Lower Body Squat

These movements target the anterior side of your lower body, but it’s easier to think of these as anything where the movement comes primarily from your knee joint. Examples include any squat and lunge variations, single leg squats and step ups.

Lower Body Hinge

The lower body hinge targets the posterior side of your lower body and these movements are primarily initiated by a hip hinge. Examples include any variation of deadlifts and glute bridges or hip raise variations.

Core

Round out your selection by adding in your favourite core work. In addition to any plank variations, you can play with loaded carries such as farmer or suitcase carries, hollow holds, ab wheel rollouts, or hanging knee raises.

Alternating reverse lunges are a great way to build strength in the lower body while also engaging the core. Image © Brittany Lillegard

The Prone (face down) upper back extension is a particularly great exercise for opening up the chest and upper back. Perfect after sitting for long periods. Image © Brittany Lillegard

A single leg hinge is a perfect alternative to a weighted deadlift and can be done anywhere. Image © Brittany Lillegard

Add your favourite core exercise to finish off the full body workout. Image © Brittany Lillegard

My Favourite Travel Workout

After a warm-up of your choice, complete 4-6 rounds of the following

30 Second Handstand hold (can use a wall, tree, or pole for assistance, or substitute any push-up variation)

20-30 Alternating Reverse Lunges (10-15 each side)

30 Second Prone Upper Back Extension

20-30 Single Leg Hinge (10-15 each side)

30 Second Hollow Hold

Rest up to one minute in between sets

Brittany Lillegard

Brittany is a traveling strength coach and yoga instructor from Chicago. She fuses her travel stories with her coaching background to help inspire and empower women to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, and to take charge of creating their own adventures.

She thrives off of coffee and wine, prefers to spend her days barefoot, and when she isn’t coaching or working on her handstand skills, she can be found plotting her next adventure.

Skye Gilkeson

Los Angeles is a fitness fan’s playground and ClassPass could be the key to getting the most out of your LA healthy holiday. Image © Skye Gilkeson

We rolled int0 Los Angeles with one thing on our minds: training. Having a ClassPass meant we could flirt with the latest fitness crazes around the city, without having to pay exorbitant one-off day visit fees or signing up to a contract (which often you can’t do without a local address). We could book in, take a class and we didn’t even have to call the next day if we didn’t want to follow through. It is perfect for active travellers passing through town. But we also found locals loved ClassPass and had ongoing monthly memberships. Friendly folk in our classes gushed over the flexibility and fun the pass afforded. They were eager to share tips about their favourites studios, instructors and new workouts popping up on to the schedule.

How does ClassPass Work?

ClassPass is a monthly membership based program which allows you to book in for an unlimited number of classes at any of the gyms and studios around the world while the membership is valid. You can simply start with one month to test it out. The membership fees starts at about $AUD79 per month (depending on your country, city and local area). If you compare that price to a one-off visit to a regular gym there is no question ClassPass is more economical for the regular gym goer. The variety of class styles and locations keeps it interesting too, which is ideal for both those who train a lot and have tried most fitness disciplines and those new to training looking for a workout they enjoy. There are tens of thousands of classes at over 7,000 locations in more than 36 markets around the world.

The Hubby relaxing during our ClassPass Normatec Compression session at GESP Brentwood. Image © Skye Gilkeson

ClassPass Los Angeles

It would be difficult to exhaust the classes available in Los Angeles. You really are spoilt for choice. As we didn’t have a car, we simply used the map function to find studios within walking distance from where we were staying and some a little further away so we got a warm up and warm down walk in too. During our week-long stay in LA, we went to Great Earth Sports Performance, Speed X Brentwood, ElliptiFit and Body Wellness in Santa Monica.

Drifting off to sleep during our Normatec Compression session at GESP in Brentwood, LA. Image © Skye Gilkeson

Great Earth Sports Performance

We wanted to book a class as soon as we got our ClassPass so we literally looked at the next available local session and it was at Great Earth Sports Performance. We had been running every day prior, so it was actually an ideal way to start our ClassPass campaign. GESP offers a number of different services aimed to improve performance and recovery, from full body cryotherapy to altitude conditioning. We booked in for a Normatec Compression session. Essentially, two thigh high boots wrap around your legs, they then begin to massage the muscles up and down the leg using a dynamic compression technique. The session only lasts about 10 minutes and I found it quite relaxing. This is one of the clear benefits of the ClassPass; if I wasn’t using the pass, I most likely wouldn’t have sought out a treatment like this while travelling. but I was so glad I was able to try it.

The space age Cyclic Variations in Adaptive Conditioning pods at GESP Brentwood, LA are used for altitude training. Image © Skye Gilkeson

The calm studio before the Speed X storm. Loved this HIIT workout in Brentwood, LA. Image © Skye Gilkeson

Speed X

Speed X Brentwood was our training destination for the following morning. It was a pretty ambitious booking too, as we hadn’t been doing any consistent weight training for the last little while, let alone doing hour-long high-intensity training sessions. Thankfully, the studio staff were really welcoming and they actually all joined in the class alongside the two of us and a group of very fit regulars.

A pre-Christmas killer workout at Speed X Brentwood, LA. Image © Skye Gilkeson

Cleveland, our coach unveiled our optimistic circuit on the board. It challenged everyone in the class. He was extremely attentive and inclusive to both The Hubby and I which is so important as first timers, particularly in such an intense and sometimes intimidating environment. The energy was great throughout the class and we both surprised ourselves at how well we did. If I lived in LA, this would absolutely be a regular workout spot for me.

They Hubby, worn out and ready for a little recovery after a tough session at Speed X Brentwood with ClassPass. Image © Skye Gilkeson

Stepping out of our comfort zone with a high intensity Elliptifit class in West LA. Image © Skye Gilkeson

ElliptiFit

I was skeptical about ElliptiFit when I first saw it listed online. Memories of hours spent on a cross trainer at the gym came flooding back, but curiosity won me over and I had to try it. The studio was illuminated by blue lighting, it was large and clean and beautifully air conditioned. I soon found out why that was so important; the workout was intense but only lasted about 45 minutes. Having spent so much time on a cross trainer in the past I was very surprised to find that there were so many more ways of training on the machine than I had previously tried. I really felt like we had an all over body workout. I would definitely recommend this class to someone looking for a way of getting a high-intensity workout, without the impact of plyometric and HIIT style circuit training.

The light, airy and welcoming Body Wellness pilates studio in Santa Monica. Image © Skye Gilkeson

Body Wellness

LA seemed like a fitting place for The Hubby to try his first ever pilates reformer class. So we booked into Body Wellness in Santa Monica. Reformer can be daunting for a first timer, especially when you are trying to coordinate the machine, the springs and you are the only guy in the class. But he was a good sport and I’m sure sharing the studio with a couple of bubbly and buff local women and our gorgeous instructor Chris wasn’t too tough. I hadn’t done a pilates class in a while and the class certainly pushed me. It also gave The Hubby a better understanding of why I often can’t walk too well after doing a lot of reformer classes in a row.

Why we love ClassPass

• It makes fitness accessible – Trialling a new gym or studio can be daunting, particularly to those who have been out of the ‘scene’ for a while. The pressure is off to commit so it makes it easier to road test a lot of different styles.
• It makes fitness fun – There are so many unique classes, particularly in LA that you will absolutely find something you love.
• It is motivational – There’s something motivational about the prospect of trying something new. It fights the monotony of a strict, repetitive training schedule.
• There is no pressure to sign a contract – Gym contracts can be tricky things and sometimes tough to get out of. It’s also very difficult to know if you want to commit to one training style and one studio when you’ve only been there a few times.
• It is made for The Fit Traveller – For someone trying to stay healthy and fit while travelling, who trains regularly, it’s a great way to see a new city, meet some locals and stay in shape.

Skye Gilkeson

Skye is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Fit Traveller.

She is a journalist, writer, photographer, intrepid traveller and a former personal trainer with a passion for helping others reach optimal health.

As a TV journalist and producer, Skye has worked for household names such as 60 Minutes, Sunrise, TODAY and Nine News. She has also written for Women’s Health, Fodor’s Travel and Yahoo7 Travel, among many others.

Equally comfortable in a 5-star resort or hiking a far-off mountain, Skye loves the unexpected and enriching life experiences that each trip brings and can often be found in a backstreet chatting to locals with her camera in hand.

Skye is based in Sydney, working to master the balance between motherhood and her appetite for adventure.

Read more about Skye’s story here.

thefittraveller.com/

Skye Gilkeson

While there are shuttles the run around the resort delivering guests to their rooms the main meeting point to your villa door is at most about a kilometre away. So if you like to stay active on holiday you’ll relish the relaxed stroll through the rainforest or the boardwalks on the coastline.

However, if you want to push your heart rate a bit higher to balance out those buffet breakfasts, there are plenty of other options too. The Berjaya gym is well-equipped with new cardio equipment and free weights. It’s located in the main building, conveniently just upstairs from Dayana Restaurant where you’ll grab your morning eggs.

 

Seven Wells Waterfall Langkawi

Being big believers in training while taking in the sights we knew a run to see the nearby waterfall would be perfect. We kitted up and made sure we were well-hydrated and hit the road. We were told it would take about 25 minutes to climb the mountain to Seven Wells.

As it can be in Langkawi, it was a very humid day so we took it steady on the short initial road leg. The incline is pretty steep heading up to Seven Wells, but a great set of stairs lead you all the way up (when I say great, I mean solid and safe with viewing platforms at intervals if you need a break – picture hundreds of stairs). We powered it up to the top in about 10 minutes and arrived panting and sweaty but loved it.

Seven Wells gets its name from the seven pools that feed into the falls. We started at the top to check out the pools and peek over the edge. A short run back down the stairs and a quick diversion on to another path and we reached the bottom of the falls. The pools are quite shallow at the moment and the waterfall wasn’t as dramatic as you might expect but I can imagine it puts on a pretty powerful show during the rainy season (September to November).

We took a moment sitting on the rocks to take in the surrounds and catch our breathe before heading back towards the Berjaya. We enjoyed the company of the local monkeys on our run back to the Berjaya. All-in-all it was about an hour round trip and we just loved it.

I would recommend people with a good level of fitness walk to the Seven Wells. There are hundreds of stairs, but you may just need to take it a set at a time. If you are fit, you’ll love the anaerobic hit the stairs will add to your run.

If you’re not super mobile or you have very young children, I would recommend getting a car to drop you up at the road or even that path that leads to the waterfall. There is still a walk down, but the path is paved and fairly level until you reach a set of stairs at the falls. Pack a picnic or some cool drinks and take in the beauty of the falls from a spot of the rocks in the shade of one of the trees.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding in Langkawi

Stand up paddle boarding has long been on my fit hit list. Finally, we took the opportunity to give it a go, while staying at the Berjaya. How could we not? The water was shallow and warm; you almost wanted to topple in. Thankfully though, we didn’t. Given the conditions, it was easier than I expected with only a gentle breeze and very small ripples running across the water’s surface. I didn’t look like a Victoria’s Secret model on a catwalk, but I didn’t belly flop either, so that was good enough for me. The Hubby was the winner though; he took to it like a Bondi boy to water. Cost: About 50RM per hour to hire

Skye Gilkeson

Skye is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Fit Traveller.

She is a journalist, writer, photographer, intrepid traveller and a former personal trainer with a passion for helping others reach optimal health.

As a TV journalist and producer, Skye has worked for household names such as 60 Minutes, Sunrise, TODAY and Nine News. She has also written for Women’s Health, Fodor’s Travel and Yahoo7 Travel, among many others.

Equally comfortable in a 5-star resort or hiking a far-off mountain, Skye loves the unexpected and enriching life experiences that each trip brings and can often be found in a backstreet chatting to locals with her camera in hand.

Skye is based in Sydney, working to master the balance between motherhood and her appetite for adventure.

Read more about Skye’s story here.

thefittraveller.com/

Skye Gilkeson

Image © Kayla Itsines

Kayla’s first steps into the fitness industry followed the traditional; working in a mainstream gym as a women’s only trainer. But after fielding an increasing number of questions from clients on how to develop the perfect physique fit for a bikini, Kayla went her own way. She put together The Bikini Body Guide and nutrition and lifestyle guides soon followed. Kayla is now known as The Bikini Body Personal Trainer.

Social media has enabled the Kayla Movement to sweep the globe. She now has over 3 million Instagram followers and 171,000 Twitter fans, with those numbers climbing daily as her online community grows.

Image © Kayla Itsines

So what is it about Kayla that sets her apart? Well, here’s what I think:

Kayla is a true representation of her brand – She eats, lives, and breaths the the Bikini Body method. That’s honest. It’s also inspirational and aspirational – Her abs are quickly becoming legend and girls just want to look like Kayla; Despite being the Bikini Body Trainer, you will rarely see her post a photo of herself in one. That’s because Kayla Itsines has no desire to become Kim Kardashian. She’s happy being the fit girl, she’s not a fame girl; Kayla keeps it positive. If she cops a bit of bullying online, she stops it and moves on. The Kayla tribe digs that; Her workouts seem to bring results. They are simple, fast (just 28 minutes a day, promising results in less than 12 weeks) and generally bodyweight dependent which means women can work out anywhere from their living rooms to their hotel rooms.

Image © Kayla Itsines

Here’s a little advice from the fitness guru just for you:

Your best advice for those just starting out, or getting back into exercise after a long time off?

Be smart about it, don’t get fed up straight away. Be patient, change isn’t going to come instantly! Try to work yourself back in slowly and your body will soon develop a habit. Poor lifestyle patterns take time to re-write and you won’t see significant results in a week. Stick to it and you WILL get there!

What are your top three tips for getting results from your training?

1.Consistency, 2. Discipline, 3. Consistency. If you wanted a 4th…probably more consistency. The training and eating programs are very simple and don’t require a huge amount of time day to day. Simply do things the way they are listed, do them right and keep them right. The change will come.

The one ‘must-do’ exercise move you’d like everybody to do if they could and why?

Box Jumps, a very fulfilling exercise. I remember when I first started doing these and it’s so exciting when you challenge yourself and can jump higher and higher!

What’s your biggest tip for girls wanting to keep active whilst travelling?

The great thing about my workouts is that they require minimum to no equipment! Not only this but they’re only 28 minutes long, and I have a few blogs outlining a workout that can be done in just 14 minutes! These exercises are perfect for the first thing in the morning when you’re travelling, especially if you’re suffering from jet lag. Exercising in the morning is a perfect way to kick-start your metabolism and get you out of bed and ready for a day of sightseeing.

What inspires you?

My mission is what inspires me. I have a dream to end confusion within the health and fitness industry. Fads and scams in this industry have created so much distrust and insecurity around weight-loss programs. I want all people to understand their body, have a place to learn about health and fitness and in turn feel confident & happy.

Skye Gilkeson

Skye is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Fit Traveller.

She is a journalist, writer, photographer, intrepid traveller and a former personal trainer with a passion for helping others reach optimal health.

As a TV journalist and producer, Skye has worked for household names such as 60 Minutes, Sunrise, TODAY and Nine News. She has also written for Women’s Health, Fodor’s Travel and Yahoo7 Travel, among many others.

Equally comfortable in a 5-star resort or hiking a far-off mountain, Skye loves the unexpected and enriching life experiences that each trip brings and can often be found in a backstreet chatting to locals with her camera in hand.

Skye is based in Sydney, working to master the balance between motherhood and her appetite for adventure.

Read more about Skye’s story here.

thefittraveller.com/