As we all can agree, we have heard and seen a lot about Mexico in news, social media and documentaries.

But, what is Mexico really like and how to combine fitness with exploring?

Mexico, especially the Yucatan peninsula is full of beautiful places, delicious food, Mexican and Mayan culture and history. Perfect for every adventurous fitness fan.

Workout at the beach

The sandy beaches in Progreso are made for a good beach workout.

Progreso is a nice little town at the Gulf of Mexico and just 30min away from the capital city of Yucatan (Merida). Quick and fast beach sprints, high knees, stretching sessions or long distance runs at the nonending beach are every fitness persons dream. Due to the soft sand, it will be always a low-impact workout. Means all the workouts will tend your joints and muscles gentler.

With 365 sunny days and an average temperature over 25°C all year, the beach front of Yucatan has the best conditions for a great workout.

It gets even better. The water temperature will never fall under 26°C. So put your swim shorts on and jump in. It is definitely worth it and absolutely refreshing.

The Yucatan Special Workout

What an amazing feeling to run up the pyramids and ruins of the ancient Mayans.

Built centuries ago, these ruins ones were the homes of the Mayans. And yes, it is still possible after all these years to see and feel the power the Mayans spent in building these towns. And who knows, maybe some of them made a similar workout at the exact same spot you can do nowadays.

The ruins were built by hand with stones the workers found in the area nearby. Means no stone is like the other what gives your ruin workout an extraordinary touch.

It is very important to always have a respectful handling of the monuments and history, without destroying anything what is there for many many years.

From races to find out who is the fastest over a pushup or plank challenge between two amazing blocks of stones till drills with bands and kettlebells to get your muscles to sweat, is everything possible.

Are you ready to sprint to the top of the pyramids?

Have you had Yucatan in Mexico in mind when thinking of a fitness holiday vacation?

What to eat in Mexico

Before and after a good fitness and adventure session, good and healthy food is a must. It does not only give your body and mind power, it also helps you to be happy and delighted.

One way to give your body the nourishments it needs, are for example tacos. Tacos are small round Tortillas -mostly made with corn flower- topped with delicious meet, onions, some herbs like coriander and special sauces (attention! mostly spicy – really spicy).

Another way is Cochinita Pibil.

Cochinita is a traditional Mexican dish here from our home quarter, the Yucatan peninsula. The preparation of the traditional Cochinita involves marinating the meat in strongly acidic citrus juice and adding achiote seeds which gives it its characteristic burnt orange color and flavor.

Cochinita means small pig & pibil can be translated as pulled. Therefore the american pulled pork is very comparable and really similar.

The traditional Cochinita is buried in a pit with a fire at the bottom to roast it for a couple of hours. The high acid content and the slow cooking time tenderizes the meat, this way also more unlikely tough meat pieces of the pig can be used.

A first-hand experience – Travel Diary

Is the news showing us the truth or is there more to see?

This question was stuck in my head for a long period of time until one day I woke up, turned on my phone to check all the unread messages, get updated on Instagram and Facebook, and scroll through twitter.

But wait a minute, what is this? An add popped up and told me about an adventure & fitness retreat in Mexico.

Mexico, the country from the news I heard about? Like the motto: no risk no fun, I decided to get in contact with the agency. After just a few minutes they replied and a couple of minutes later I had my next vacation booked, this time to a fitness retreat in Mexico.

I had every feeling you can think of, I was nervous about the flight, a bit concerned about what I’ve heard so far about Mexico and absolutely excited to get there and see it all with my own eyes. I mean, I am going to an all inclusive fitness & adventure vacation!

This wasn’t your usual trip to Mexico!

The start of my adventure & fitness retreat in Mexico

The day has arrived and I was sitting in the window seat 8K to Mexico. A few flight hours later the plane touched down, the signs turned off, I grabbed my belongings and left the plane. My first reaction was just wow, ‘it is hot‘. I left home during a cold snowstorm and ended up in the Caribbean mid summer.

Once I left the airport hall, someone already called my name and gave me a refreshing cold Mexican beverage. I handed over all my bags, took my winter clothes off and followed him to the car. On the three-hour drive through the Mexican jungle, I could relax and he explained a bit about the Mexican and Mayan history to me. To be honest it felt like 20 minutes and we arrived to Mérida, the capital city of Yucatan. He also told me, that Mérida is one of the safest cities in all America.

Related Read: Visit Merida: The Cultural Hub of the Yucatan

After some delightful Mexican food we went to the hotel where I took a cold shower and fell asleep immediately. After a good night sleep and a powerful breakfast in the hotel, a very nice guy from the agency came to the hotel and informed me about the plan for the day.

What the ‘fitness’ part includes

On our way to the mangroves, we stopped at half way, went a little bit further off the road into the jungle and started with a stretch workout including bands and finished off with a nice and intensive routine with a massage gun to get the muscles loose.

Afterwards I felt really hyped and good for some kayaking. We went back into the car, drove past a beautiful alley close to the ocean with an astounding view over the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and 15 minutes later arrived to the mangroves. The kayaks got unloaded from the bed of the pickup and we were good to go to paddle through the incredible water forest.

A few hours later we headed back to the city, while stopping by the beach for a short beach workout. I found out, the guy from the agency was also a personal trainer. So we had a short workout on the warm and sandy beach with different strength and mobility exercises, depending on my skill level.

What can I say, I was K.O. But also very happy, so we headed back to the city, I took a quick shower and had a little bit of time to relax in the hotel.

In the evening I got picked up again and we went to his favorite authentic Mexican restaurant and ate tacos. The best tacos I have ever eaten, their flavor was unbelievably good.

After a good night of sleep, the plan for the upcoming day was to go and find out more about the Mayan culture with the visit of some of the oldest still existing Mayan ruins.

But this day I didn’t eat my breakfast in the hotel, instead I got picked up a bit earlier and we went for some Cochinita Pibil, a very typical meal you normally eat before midday in Yucatan. From there we headed south for about an hour and stopped at the first Mayan ruins.

Overall, I enjoyed this adventure and fitness retreat in Mexico. What was really cool about it, was the fact that we combined the sightseeing + cultural knowledge and fitness parts. For example we had a small race to find out who could run up the tallest pyramid the fastest and I won.

You get a little bit of everything!

Interested in learning more about the history & culture in Mexico? Check out these posts:

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