Since I’m traveling this week, I made up my own Friday Five topic. Check out the full link up at Eat Pray Run DC, Mar on the Run and You Signed Up for What?!!
I didn’t used to travel as much as I have been lately. Maybe I have more opportunities now that I’ve been a partner for so many years, or maybe I am saying “yes” to more opportunities now that my kids are in college, but I am becoming quite the road warrior. Traveling can make it harder to keep up with my fitness routine, but I have come up with some strategies for staying active while traveling for business or pleasure.
1. Pack workout clothes. I hate packing because I hate deciding what to wear so many days in advance, but I always put a few sets of workout clothes and running shoes in my suitcase. Plus, once I’ve devoted precious carry-on space to gym clothes, I will make more of an effort to put them to good use!
Yep! Those are the new Mizuno WaveRider 18 shoes —
please check out my review here.
If you forget your workout clothes–or can’t squeeze them into your suitcase–and are staying at a Westin, you can borrow a full outfit (including New Balance shoes) for about $5.
2. Go for a run.Taking advantage of a safe and scenic running route is my favorite way to stay active while I’m travelling. Many larger hotels have small maps with running routes, but it’s also a good idea to ask the concierge or receptionist for their suggestions. The running map at my hotel in Toronto would have taken me down the street, but the concierge suggested that I run along the water instead.
Try to upload your Garmin data before your flight home or wear your Garmin through security–I’ve found out the hard way that sending it through the x-ray luggage screen wipes out the data. 🙁
3. Check out the hotel gym.I usually stalk hotel websites for photos of the gym–to make sure they really have one, and to manage my expectations. Some hotel gyms have great views, while others are tucked in a dark back corner of the basement.
view from the Broadmoor gym
Even if the gym is not well-equipped, I can do a workout from The Original 7 Minute Workout App (which has no-equipment routines from 7-30 minutes) that will get my heart rate up and make those gym clothes sweaty.
4. Walk everywhere. When we are on vacation, we tend to walk as much as possible. One of the reasons we like Rehoboth Beach so much is that we can enjoy the beach, boardwalk, restaurants and shopping without ever having to drive anywhere. On our trip to Toronto, we walked to all of the tourists districts, saving what we would have spent on cab fare for more important things–like hand-made chocolates. 😉
5. Do what you can when you can (#WYCWYC). Sometimes there is just no time for a workout, no gym of any sort, or no safe place to walk or run. It’s OK to take an extra rest day, but I always feel better if I can at least take a few minutes to do some stretching and/or short yoga flow sequences in my hotel room, to counteract the stress and strains of traveling.
I’ve download some yoga videos to my Kindle Fire for hotel room sessions.
[Tweet “5 Tips for staying Active while #Traveling”]
How do you stay active when you travel?
Do you have any favorite hotel room workouts?
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Yep! This is great, and I think people make excuses waaaayy too often when traveling. I usually take my dumbbells with me so I can not only do my run, but do my exercises too and not have the excuse of the gym not having any. I think you just have to be creative, and be organized enough to make time for it!
Hmm, dumbbells wouldn’t fit too well in my suitcase, but great idea for a road trip!
All great points!! I have an Alaska trip next summer, been searching for some running trails/paths for when I am there 🙂
Oh, there should be some lovely hiking there!
Wow! The Westin lets you rent workout clothes? That’s awesome.
Great post! I always try to find a fun class to attend in the city I am traveling to. Going to LA in a few weeks any ideas?
I always try and stay active when I travel but traveling for business is a little harder. I do like to run outside if it looks like a safe area, otherwise I am a clutz on the treadmill and I stick to trip #4 and just try to walk everywhere. I figure it is better than nothing!
Definitely! Walking is a great way to explore too — or just get a cup of coffee!
I love #WYCWYC!
Important to remember and do best to stay active. Great list.
Since traveling for my job is pretty much my life. I am always finding a way to be active while on the road. Running is a great way to see the city.
Yes, you often can see sights you might not see just coming into town for work — like the views above or my lakefront run in Chicago today.
excellent tips, especially that last one. it’s important to remember that while traveling. safe travels!
so funny, I always pack my workout clothes and scope out the fitness atmosphere when I travel – before I even get to the work/play clothes 🙂
I like to run but if I can’t for some reason, I always have some Turbo Fire workouts with me (and my laptop!!) – they are perfect for hotel rooms!!!
I too love to pack running shoes and explore places by foot.
This is great advice! Had no idea about losing your data from the X-rays, yikes! I’d love to go to a hotel gym with a view that nice!
Interesting, I’ve never lost my Garmin data by putting it through xray, and I don’t synch it very often. I would have been particularly pissed coming back from the marathon if it had done that! Didn’t know about the Westin, that’s such a cool option. Since I travel to the same cities pretty often for work, I’ve found it’s worth the effort to look up local running groups and times so I know in advance who I can run with, where and on what days. Fun way to meet new people, and most groups run early enough to be done by 7 so there’s still time to be ready for work, court, meetings, whatever.
That’s a great idea! My Forerunner 10 goes totally blank if I send it through the x-ray with my carry-on, but it’s fine if I wear it while walking through whatever it is they send me through. 😉
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