06 Oct Five fitness tips for business travelers

It’s pretty easy to see your fitness level drop while travelling for work. It’s a lot easier to slip into poor eating habits and harder to find places to work out. So if you’re not one of those rare individuals who have many hours a day to train, rest and fix proper meals, here are some tips on how to stay fit on the go.

1. Book a hotel  room that has a fitness room

Do some research to find out what hotels have weight room facilities. Many actually offer treadmills, elliptical and exercise machines. If it’s the summer, bring your swim trunks and swim some laps in the pool.

2. Learn to improvise

If the hotel doesn’t have exercise facilities, you can still get a workout in. Pack some tennis shoes and exercise in your hotel room. Some exercise ideas are: walking lunges, duck walks, leap frog jumps, pushups and sit-ups. You can also do triceps extensions by using the bed or desk as a support to push up and down. If you haven’t tried the plank, then add that great exercise, too. Keep only your feet and forearms on the ground and raise off the ground while keeping your body in a straight line. Hold for 30 seconds, rest and repeat. If you’re a tough guy or girl, go for 1 minute or more at a time. Get good at the plank and then win a bet with a non-working out buddy who likely won’t be able to do it for more than 1 minute, 30 seconds.

3. Don’t skip the cardio

Go for a jog around the hotel, use the hotel’s treadmill if available or swim laps if possible.

4. Buy some healthy groceries

If you’re going to be on the road for several days, buy some snacks that will keep you from calling for the Pizza Hut special. Bottled water, protein bars, dried fruit, mixed fruit, granola bars, oatmeal and yogurt (if there’s a fridge) are better choices than a pizza or Coke and double cheeseburger from BK.

5.  Order smart when you eat out

When the menu is dropped off, try to pick foods that are grilled, broiled or baked in broth over ones that come in creamy white sauces.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com