The fun is missing here

Not recovered even after weeks in a deckchair?

It doesn't always have to look so professional, it should above all be fun: Beach volleyball is the ideal vacation sport for this

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/[e-mail])

Relaxation is of course the top priority in your free time, but also use the summer to boost your fitness and mental strength. Because you'll need them again on your first day at work at the latest.

Your vacation has already lasted two weeks and you don't really feel rested. Your neck hurts, the scales are off, your legs are tingling. The quality of your sleep is poor and it's getting boring . . .

This usually happens when you fall into a deckchair from sheer exhaustion and can't get yourself up to be active for days afterwards. It's no wonder that fun falls by the wayside and well-being and health suffer. Carrier circulation and metabolism then inevitably lead to a bad mood. Our well-earned free time is clearly too good for that!

The simple solution: a ball, a walking stick, flippers, hiking boots, ping-pong rackets, a trampoline. There are no limits to your imagination. Whatever you like best - as long as it gets you off the horizontal plane.

Why mental and physical fitness belong together
Exercise promotes blood circulation and oxygen supply to our brain, leads to the release of dopamine (dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that triggers feelings of happiness) and stimulates the networking of nerve cells.

Snorkeling, swimming, walks on the beach - every unit of exercise counts.

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Studies have shown that even a half-hour walk three times a week is better brain training than solving Sudoku. Nordic walking and swimming have a similarly positive effect. This is also confirmed by Prof. Dr. Rainer Wirth from the Clinic for Geriatric Medicine and Early Rehabilitation at Marien Hospital Herne, Bochum, Germany.

Cycling and water

For 60 percent of Austrians, cycling is their favorite sport, followed by swimming (53 percent), hiking/mountaineering (35 percent) and running (34 percent). The results of a statista opinion poll published at the beginning of the year also show that more than two thirds of the population do sport at least once a week, preferably in the afternoon or early evening.

Carinthians and Styrians are the most active. The proportion of those who exercise five or more times a week is highest in these federal states. In Vorarlberg and Salzburg, most people only exercise twice a week (or slightly more).

What's more, any extra calories consumed from the all-inclusive buffet or tempting drinks are quickly burned off again without the need for special training. Spending a long time on a sun lounger is not only often accompanied by reddening of the skin and even sunburn, it also makes it more difficult for the veins to pump blood. This causes the blood to pool in the legs, they feel swollen and the ankles become thick.

Treading water and splashing around activate the circulation and vein pump.

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Long journeys, most of which are spent sitting down, are a further burden. Take advantage of the sports activities on offer at the vacation club, outdoor pool or wellness hotel. Take part in beach volleyball, grab a frisbee, a beach tennis racket or boules balls. Kick your feet in the pool, do aqua gymnastics to music, play water polo with your child and dog, dance the summer away!