Workout Tips For When You’re Traveling

When you’re traveling, it’s normal to experience disruptions to your regular routine. We tend to sleep less, eat out more and have a busier schedule when we’re away from home.

This can make it challenging to keep up with a regular exercise routine. But with some planning and forethought, it’s totally possible to keep active no matter where you are. Check out these helpful workout tips for when you’re traveling to stay on track and feel great!

1. Be realistic – Whether you’re traveling for work or for pleasure, you may not be able to exercise for as long or as often as you normally would at home due to a busy schedule. Before you leave for your trip, take a look at your daily plans while away. Choose the days that you feel you’ll realistically be able to squeeze in a 15-30 minute workout before starting on your day. Even if it’s not as often as you would be working out at home, that’s okay – the important part is to stay consistent.
2. Exercise first thing in the morning – When we travel, our days tend to fill up fast – whether it’s with meetings for work, or sightseeing and outings for pleasure. No matter which it is, one thing is for sure – at the end of your full day, you will not feel like working out. As soon as you get out of bed in the morning, do your workout right then. You’ll be done with it for the day and feel more accomplished and energized as a result!
3. Increase your workout intensity if possible – Since you will likely be doing shorter or less frequent workouts while you’re traveling, consider increasing the intensity of your workouts if you are physically able to do so. This might mean doing a bout of high-intensity interval training instead of walking, or taking on a more challenging core workout than you usually do. Push yourself a little harder than you might usually, but never to the point of pain.
4. Pack a set of resistance bands – You may not always have access to a fitness center when you’re traveling. Resistance bands are a compact, inexpensive and highly effective way to strength train without dumbbells. They are especially great for upper body toning exercises like bicep curls, tricep kickbacks and shoulder presses.
5. Do bodyweight exercises – Bodyweight-only exercises like pushups, squats, lunges, planks and jumping jacks are great to do while traveling because they can all be done in even the smallest hotel rooms. These exercises are not only amazing at building strength and endurance, but they also don’t require any equipment or extra time going to a gym.
6. Prioritize lower body movements – When you’re short on time, try to prioritize lower body exercises for the legs and glutes. These larger muscles burn the most calories when they’re worked, so they help keep your metabolism high. Squats, lunges, deadlifts and Pilates or yoga routines that are lower-body focused are all wonderful options. And if you want to add a little weight to your exercises, try holding your suitcase while you squat!
7. Walk whenever possible – Walking while traveling is a fabulous way to get in exercise without even trying. Usually, there are ample opportunities to do this. Walking through airports, strolling museums and parks, and hitting the pavement in the shopping districts all rack up thousands of steps without thinking about it. Even if you’re on a tropical all-inclusive resort, you can still walk up and down the beach and navigate the paths throughout the property to log some major steps!

 

For all the best tips on living an active, healthy lifestyle here in San Diego, be sure to read Scripps Affiliated Medical Groups’ many helpful articles.