hen you’re away from home and your normal routine on business travel, it can take a toll on your fitness regimen. Recognizing travel-related obstacles to your fitness allows you to plan accordingly.
Jim Rohn, famed entrepreneur, motivational speaker and author of Take Charge of Your Life once said, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” If you want to stay fit, you must be disciplined. Travel doesn’t give you an excuse not to work out; at most, it presents an obstacle to be overcome. Getting your mind right is where it all starts.
Maintaining your workout plan on the road starts with identifying resources.
Does your regular routine include running or walking? Nearly every hotel worth the cost has fitness facilities with treadmills, even if the weather is inclement. This goes for weightlifting, as well.
If for some reason your hotel doesn’t have a fitness center, many local gyms, community centers, and YMCAs offer drop-ins. Before you ever set foot in the airport terminal, you know exactly where you’re going to be sleeping. The same should be true for knowing where you’re going to work out.
There will be times you’ll have to adjust your workout routine. You might have to work out in the early morning so that you can get to a client meeting at 10 a.m. You might need to break up your daily five mile run into a couple of shorter sessions. In the grand scheme of things, these small adjustments still contribute to your overall fitness.
Educating yourself on alternate exercise methods can also help you be prepared to keep your fitness regimen on the road. If you’re staying at a remote cabin in the Rocky Mountains, you might not have access to equipment. Familiarize yourself with resistance training options that don’t use weights. Lunge dips, burpees, bodyweight squats and planks are all resistance exercises that will help tone and build muscle. Add in a resistance strap and you open dozens of other strength training options. Likewise, you can achieve your cardio workout with jumping jacks, running in place, or even streaming cardio workout videos.
A little forethought and preparation will mean your fitness regimen doesn’t have to suffer when you’re traveling.