Staying Fit While on the Road and Traveling
One of the biggest challenges with travel, outside of finding your luggage and your way around the airport, is maintaining your healthy lifestyle. However, with some creative ways, you can still take care of yourself while traveling, regardless if it’s for business or pleasure!
This past year, I had the pleasure of coaching employees of a large corporation. This was a new niche for me; not my typical client. A glimpse into corporate life showed me that individuals working for corporate America face a wide range of challenges quite different than those of us who are in business for ourselves. One of those challenges is sticking with healthy habits while traveling for business. When you need to be on the road two, three or even four times a month, sticking to a regular routine is not the norm.
This month I am finding that I will be getting a taste of a lifestyle that involves business travel. I will be on the road twice this month, and neither is for a vacation or fitness conference. So, this has me thinking about how to incorporate some of the strategies my corporate clients and I brainstormed during our work together. I hope some of these tips will help you stay fit on the road, regardless of your reasons for travel. Happy trails!
Tips to Stay Fit While Traveling
- Whenever possible, book a hotel with a fitness facility. No doubt about it, convenience is key to fitting in fitness. When you are only an elevator ride away from the gym, the chances that you’ll use it increase. Check meeting schedules and appointments, and plan your workout time in advance.
- Wear your sneakers while traveling. Airports and train stations always include long corridors and long waits. Use them to include brisk walking. Avoid moving walkways, and take stairs rather than escalators. Make sure your carry-on is on wheels so that it won’t hinder your movement. If driving, take a break every 90-120 minutes, and walk around the parking lot of a rest stop.
- If your travels include long layovers in the airport, find out if there is an airport fitness facility. Most large airports in major cities have areas to work out and shower. Some even have spa amenities such as massages or nail services. To find out if the airport you will be passing through has these facilities, check out www.airportgyms.com/.
- Ask the hotel concierge for a map of walking/running trails that are nearby and safe. Ending a long day of back-to-back indoor meetings with some outdoor exercise is rejuvenating, and a great way to burn some calories before a business dinner.
- If your hotel does not have a fitness facility, ask if they have a relationship with a nearby health club. Most hotels without fitness facilities have established a relationship with a club where hotel guests can go for free or for a nominal fee.
- Pack resistance tubing and a jump rope and turn your room into a mini gym. Even a 20-minute routine including push-ups, crunches, squats, and lunges, will help maintain your fitness level while away.
- Rather than a business meeting at breakfast, or cocktails at the end of the day, suggest talking while working out. Your business associate might be thrilled with the chance to get in his/her workout as well.
- Be determined and committed to maintaining your fitness, but be flexible with your routine. Don’t allow your travels to be an excuse to stop working out, but recognize that even if you need to shorten your workout, some activity is always better than none.