I will be going on vacation and may not have time to exercise as much as I normally do. I don't want all my hard work to go to "waist." What should I do?

First, make sure you have a great time.

Vacations and rest enable us to commit to exercise for the "long haul." If you have been working out consistently you can take heart in studies done by Dr. Robert Hickson. Hickson found that a reduced frequency of aerobic exercise resulted in significant losses in aerobic capacity only when training frequency was reduced by a greater than two-thirds of the regular training load.

For example, dropping from 6 workouts initially to a frequency of 4 (about one-third reduction) and 2 (about two-thirds reduction) times per week had little effect on cardiorespiratory training benefits. The same intensity (heart rate) and duration were maintained. Hickson concluded, "Individuals who have reached a pretty good level of fitness can maintain their fitness fairly easily."