Travel exercise, Working out and being healthy when out of town on business can be very difficult. Just ask anyone that does a lot of traveling and you will hear the not so glamorous story or too much fatty restaurant food and no exercise while working in a hotel room in the evening.
I still remember how exciting it was to stay in hotels and have the company pay the restaurant food bills but by the time I go home a week later I was not feeling very well.
I really took this memory to heart for my trips from then on. Here are a few tips that may help you even with travel exercise even if it is for going on holidays.
Travel Exercise and Health
Pack workout gear for travel exercise
Before going out of town make sure that you pack some workout clothes, not many just a shirt, shorts and sweats.
When I travel I actually bring my running shorts (I am not much of a runner) and then I can workout in the shorts and let them do double duty as swim trunks for after my workout.
Choose accommodation wisely
When booking your hotel you will likely have a few options. I have always booked into one of these business convenient hotels with a small indoor pool, hot tub and basic exercise room. The price is never any different and you still have all you need for exercise.
I also make sure there is a basic free breakfast so that I can have a fairly simple breakfast to start the day. I hesitate to write this but one thing you can check is whether your gym or health club has a deal with another one where you are going, if there is a deal and it is more than just a few blocks away it will probably do you much good though.
Are you really going to leave the hotel and go very far to workout…don’t take the chance of giving yourself an excuse not to have travel exercise.
Buy portable food
As soon as you get checked into the hotel make sure you find a mall or health food store or gym and buy some protein or energy bars.
These bars are the single best way to avoid eating too much food in restaurants and still allow you eat on a better schedule than just breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Exercise a schedule
The best way to get your travel exercise in first of all is to get up a little early in the morning and have a cardio workout. Getting that biking or treadmill time in will force you to get something done in case the day gets away from you later on.
Usually when out of town I feel a little out of sorts and this gives me a good time as well to kind of figure out my schedule for the day in my mind.
Also when out of town try to set up that morning schedule that you have a light breakfast most days as your business lunches and dinners will likely weigh you down more than they do at the office.
Stay off the road when running
This is a little bit of a tough one. Running is a great form of travel exercise. If you are a runner then you probably do like to run outside in new cities and although that can be a very nice way to get your exercise you should find out about the area beforehand.
In most modern cities it is not very far from the downtown to the skids. You do not want to get lost on the bad side of the tracks and at the same time you definitely want to be aware of the traffic and pedestrian flows.
Grab a bottle of water
Flying and staying in hotels is a killer on your skin and body because of the dryness more than anything. Pay attention to the air conditioning and be aware of your fluid intake.
It is always easier when you are away to drink more coffee and soda but you really need to drink a lot of water. During those hotel workouts you will probably notice that you are much thirstier than you would be at home so drink up.
Follow these tips and plan how you are going to treat your body out of town and you will feel much better when you get home.