Typically, when you’re traveling for a personal or family vacation, you have control over how you spend your free time. Business travel, on the other hand, can be very different because your schedule is usually not your own. Delayed flights, required meetings and long dinners that go from cocktails all the way through to dessert often make it difficult for you to maintain your health while still meeting all of your work obligations.
While we often have good intentions when we leave for a trip, our motivation to exercise is often lost right along with our luggage. The three main obstacles to exercising are lack of time, stress and fatigue. If you can address these issues ahead of time, you’ll have a much better chance of road trip success. If you fall into the camp of those who think that they might as well not exercise at all if they don’t have a full hour to devote, you are sabotaging yourself. In this case, something is always better than nothing, so break up your exercise into 15-minute intervals that you can fit in throughout the day.
Conquer stress by recommitting to your goals. Remember why you wanted to work out in the first place, and think about how stressed you’ll feel if you continue down a path of not working out. And finally, when you feel too tired to work out, remind yourself that exercise actually boosts energy levels. Once you get started, your body will kick in and do the rest.
The most important thing to remember about fitness on the road is that you absolutely have to plan ahead. Oftentimes, business travel takes us to the same locations on a regular basis, so the good thing is that you may only have to do the upfront research for a couple of cities and then you’ll have your regular game plan in place. If this doesn’t apply in your case because you’re always somewhere new, you’ll soon consider yourself an expert in scoping out the situation ahead of time.
The most important part of your pre-planning process is identifying places and ways to exercise before you actually arrive at your destination. I always give my clients four ways to ensure that they have a place to work out on business trips:
- First, find out if the hotel you’re staying in has a fitness facility. Be sure to get as much information as possible when you call. Is there cardio equipment such as a treadmill, elliptical or bike? What are the hours of the facility? Are there weights in the room, and if so, are they free weights or some type of universal weight machine? The more questions you ask up front, the less likely you are to be surprised when you end up in a dark, smelly room with a broken treadmill and a TV with only one channel.
- If you don’t have control over the choice of hotel and the one you’re staying in doesn’t have a suitable fitness facility, find out if the hotel has an agreement with a local gym where you can work out for free or at a discounted rate. If you travel frequently, you may find it easier to get a membership with one of the major national health club chains. Be sure to sign up for a membership that offers you unlimited access to all of the chain’s locations. Then, whenever you’re leaving home, jump on the Internet and find the nearest facility to your destination.
- The third option for exercising is creating a fitness experience in the privacy of your own room. At Café Physique, our Atlanta personal trainersdo a healthy business at the local hotels that are frequented by business travelers who are requesting personal trainers in their hotel rooms. This is an easy way to get a tough workout without having to think too much. The trainer brings all of the equipment, and all you have to do is just open the door with your game face on and get ready to sweat.If you’re feeling fairly self-motivated, there are also plenty of exercises that you can do on your own. In this case, it’s a good idea to purchase a set of resistance bands, a jump rope and a set of Aqua Weights. I don’t typically promote specific brands of products, but this is an ingenious idea. A set of AquaBells costs about 60 bucks online and they weigh less than 2 pounds before filling. They’re small enough to throw into your carry on, but when you fill them with water in your room, they will provide up to 16 pounds of resistance per dumbbell.With these few pieces of lightweight equipment, you can put together a full body sculpting routine and then use the jump rope to break out a sweat. If you don’t think your creative juices will be flowing after an early morning wakeup call, bring along an exercise DVD and request that a DVD player be brought into your room when you arrive. Most hotels will accommodate this request.
- The final option that I recommend for traveling on the road is to turn to your outside environment for motivation:
- Take a brisk walk around the neighborhood, but just make sure to get a map and take any necessary safety precautions before venturing into unfamiliar neighborhoods.
- Try a running trail or a hike if weather permits. Some hotels offer trail maps of their property or the surrounding areas.
- Check to see if your hotel or a local merchant offers outdoor bike rentals and a bike route.
With all of these options at your disposal, working out on the road is quite manageable if you plan ahead. But at the end of the day, don’t freak out if you miss a workout or two. Be realistic about your goals because, realistically, you will probably not increase your fitness level during a business trip or vacation. Your ultimate goal should simply be to maintain so that you can get right back into the groove of things when you return home.
