Staying Fit on the Road: It's All About Planning

For three years, Neil Gussman traveled overseas for business every month. On almost every trip, his constant traveling companion was his bike. A master racer, Gussman was committed to keeping up his fitness level even with his grueling travel schedule.

Another way Gussman stayed fit while on the road was limiting his work schedule to 10 hours a day. “Many business travelers think once the wheels go up on an airplane, you work 24/7,” he says. “But I exercise, read, and sleep on business trips … just like at home.” As Gussman found out, keeping as normal a routine as possible is an important element in maintaining your fitness program on the road, experts say.

Beth Shaw, president and founder of California-based YogaFit, travels frequently for both business and pleasure. Because of her job, being out of shape is not an option. To keep up her fitness level while traveling, Shaw incorporates exercise into her day by walking everywhere she can, finding a gym at least every other day, bringing along workout DVDs, or downloading fitness videos onto her iPod.

Sports psychologist Craig Kain, PhD, says keeping fit on the road is as much psychological as physical. His advice? Set goals and plan ahead. “All too often when we travel, we leave things to chance—‘I’ll work out if I get the chance,’ ‘Maybe there will be a gym there and I can work out,’ etc,” says Kain. “One of the best ways to make sure that you work out when you travel is to make a schedule for yourself before you go. Put it in writing—if it’s not in writing, you really haven’t committed to it. We are much more likely to work out on the road if we’ve committed ourselves to doing so.”

Certified personal trainer Jennifer Jolly follows her own suggestions for what she calls the business of traveling fit. For starters, says Jolly, add to your packing list:

• an exercise band;
• a jump rope;
• good shoes;
• good workout clothes (keeping in mind the weather where you’re going);
• a good sports bra;
• a swimsuit, goggles, and swim cap (if you’re going anywhere with a place to swim); and
• healthy snacks like baby carrots, nutrition bars, and a cut-up apple or two. (The fact that they’re in pieces helps when you’re munching just for boredom.)

Before leaving home, Jolly adds, find out:
• if the hotel or location where you’ll be staying has a fitness center;
• if there are personal trainers available (It’s a fun way to pamper yourself on the road!);
• if there are safe and secure parks around the hotel;
• what destinations are available that can be activity friendly; and
• if you can get an aisle seat on an airplane. That way you can get out of your seat more often without bothering other passengers. You’ll need to get up more if you’re drinking a lot of water (which you always should be). You should also be as physically active as possible on your flights. It is also a good idea to ask the concierge for a map of the city you’re visiting to find out how many of your destinations can be reached by foot, says Jolly. Walking will increase your fitness and decrease your taxi fares.

Every city, no matter how big or small, has a great place to exercise. All you have to do is look for a public park, stadium, monument, beach, tall building with stairs, or any kind of path or trail where you can stretch your legs and exercise your spirit. “Once you do this,” says Jolly, “you will never look at a park bench or curb the same again. You will realize that the world is your gym.”

That’s certainly true for Vicki Bendure, owner of Bendure Communications in Middleburg, Virginia. When at home, Bendure takes part in an intensive boot camp at her local fitness club, but she also travels frequently. When she’s out of town, Bendure misses the intensive workout she gets at camp. But the upside, she has found, is that she doesn’t need a gym to get a good workout.

“If the hotel I’m staying in doesn’t have an adequate workout facility, I know that as long as I have my running shoes and gear, I can still get a good workout,” says Bendure, pointing out an array of outdoor scenarios that offer possibilities for a gym-quality workout. For instance, short walls (1 to 1.5 feet) are great spots to do step-up exercises. (“Better than a stairmaster!”) You can also do dips on the wall that will work your upper arms—sit on the wall, keep elbows in, and lower yourself almost to the ground and back up. Running backwards, particularly uphill, is another great leg exercise. “If I can find a hill, I do those five or six times, alternating with sprinting up the hill (and I always walk down),” says Bendure.

Wall sits are great leg (and core) exercises that can be done anywhere there’s a fence or wall, Bendure adds. Place your back against the wall and lower yourself until your legs are at 45-degree angles and you look like you’re sitting in a chair. Then hold that for 1 to 1.5 minutes. Find a fence or something to hold onto and you can do leg lifts. Additional cardio can include running, jumping jacks, football drills, mountain climbs—place your hands on the ground, alternate jumping each leg up while your hands and arms remain steady—and squat thrusts. “And if I’m in a city area without much area to do anything else, I run,” she explains.

Push-ups and abdominal work can be done anywhere you find a grassy area or put a towel on the floor of your hotel room, Bendure says. For abdominals, she does crunches and bicycle reaches—start out flat on your back, hands touching head, shoulders off the ground, legs lifted off the ground. Leg bicycle as you reach alternate elbows to alternate knees—reverse crunches, and front and side planks (hold for 1 to 1.5 minutes). Follow with a good stretch.

“Once you get into a good exercise program, you get hooked and you don’t want to break the rhythm, even when you’re traveling,” Bendure says. No matter how hectic your life is on the road, staying fit should be an important part of it.

“You should have—and if you don’t, you must make—some time for yourself every day,” says Jolly. “Your friends and family don’t need you to spend it buying them souvenirs. Dedicate that time to improving your health.”

— Carol Sorgen