This past weekend I spent some time watching the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games, held in Los Angeles, Calif. Since its inception in 2007, the CrossFit Games test the world’s fittest athletes with rigorous activities including weightlifting, running and gymnastics. Thousands of spectators gathered at the Stubhub Center in Southern California to watch the top teams and individual athletes from around the globe compete. Challenges included handstand pushups, legless rope climbs, deadlifts, one-legged squats, muscle-ups and other difficult, endurance-style events.

While watching those incredible athletes compete for the crown of the Fittest Man/Woman/Team on Earth, I saw a few ads from travel companies for upcoming CrossFit-inspired vacations to destinations around the globe. Rather than escape to an exotic location to relax on sandy shores, participants on these retreats spend their vacation days doing WODs (“workouts of the day”) on beaches, in pools, at state parks, on mountains, etc.

From CrossFit trips to yoga retreats to health-focused hotels and cruises, fitness-inspired vacations are a rising trend in travel, designed for those wanting an activity-packed vacation emphasizing an active lifestyle. The appeals of this type of vacation include the chance to meet new people who share the same passion for fitness and adventure and the opportunity to return home feeling rejuvenated, stronger and healthier.

My favorite vacations are those spent outdoors going hiking, kayaking and biking, so a fitness-inspired vacation incorporating activities outside is definitely appealing to me. Would you be interested in booking such an active vacation?

— Monique Barrett, advertising and editorial coordinator