When you’ve gotten into the groove of an exercise program, there may come a time when you’ll want to know how to exercise when traveling. Fortunately, exercising when traveling doesn’t have to be complicated or confusing. There are dozens of ways to get in a good workout whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure.
Read on to find out more!
Should you exercise when traveling on vacation?
Let me get this out of the way first.
There’s no doubt that exercising on a regular basis is good for your head, heart, and overall health. But so is being on vacation. Studies show that taking regular vacations can lower stress levels, thereby decreasing the amount of cortisol circulating in your body. Cortisol is a hormone produces in response to stress. High levels of cortisol increase your appetite and cravings for foods that are sweet, salty, and loaded with fat.
The fact is, it’s absolutely okay if you chose not to exercise while traveling on vacation. Believe it or not, your body does need to take a break from heavy exercise from time to time. Not only does it help to prevent injury and improve performance, but you’ll also rekindle your motivation if you feel like you’ve been pushing against the grain to get to the gym or lace up your sneakers for a run.
If the idea of getting no exercise at all when on vacation makes you shudder, simply focus on getting in your 10,000 steps a day. Getting 10,000 steps a day contributes to your NEAT or non-exercise activity thermogenesis. So, while you won’t burn as many calories as your 45-minute weight training session or your 9-mile run, you’re still staying active and keeping your metabolism revving.
Should you exercise when traveling for business?
If you’re traveling for business, I’d absolutely encourage deliberate exercise.
Business trips are known for being hectic and disorienting for your body. You may be keeping longer hours, sitting in meetings all day, getting a poor night’s sleep in a random hotel, eating out a lot, and perhaps indulging in a nightcap or two.
However, getting in some exercise at the start or end of the day can be just the thing you need to help your body maintain a sense of stability. Not only will exercising while traveling for business keep you energized and awake, but it’ll also help you make better food choices and even get a good night’s sleep.
Tips for Exercising When Traveling
If you do plan to exercise when traveling, the best thing to do is work with what you have and do a little planning. Unless the gym you frequent happens to be a national chain like L.A. Fitness or Planet Fitness, you’ll need to figure out where you can exercise and what kind of exercises you can do.
Where to Exercise When Traveling
Even if you have to adjust your normal workout, there are lots of places you can exercise when traveling.
National Fitness Center Chains
If you are a member of a large national fitness center chain, check their directory of locations before you travel. I belong to L.A. Fitness which has over 700+ locations scattered across the country. My membership level allows me to use any of those gyms, so when I’m traveling for business, I try to stay near a location located between my hotel and my office. Planet Fitness by far has the most locations with over 2000 locations nationwide. Chances are there’s one near where you may be traveling.
Look for day passes at a nearby gym, recreation center, or yoga studio
Smaller fitness center chains or local gyms may offer day passes as a way to entice prospective members (you) to sign up for full membership. Even if you have no intention of doing so, don’t be afraid to ask if they will offer a one-day pass to use their facility so you can get in your exercise while traveling. Offer a rave review on Yelp for their hospitality.
Local recreation centers may also offer day passes, sometimes at extraordinarily cheap rates. An all-day gym pass to the local recreation center near my parents’ home in New Mexico was only $2 for adults! Check local listings for YMCA centers too. Day passes for those facilities run about $15.
Finally, many yoga studios have rates for drop-in yogis. Depending on the studio, you may need to book a slot online using an app. The other challenge is whether or not they have loaner mats available and how comfortable you feel using one. Traveling with a yoga mat isn’t often realistic.
Hotel Gyms
Some larger hotel chains have gyms that run the gamut from well-equipped with free weights and weight benches, to Nautilus-type rack systems or just a bike and a treadmill. If you follow a regular workout program, look to adapt some of those exercises to make use of that equipment.
Resort run exercise classes
Resorts are adapting to the active lifestyle of their guests by offering a variety of exercise classes. Some may offer aquatic classes poolside, while others will opt for yoga on the beach (a personal favorite of mine). This is also a great time to try out a class you haven’t gone to before.
In your hotel room
If you’re in your 50s like me, you likely remember the days of doing calisthenic exercises in gym class. Think jumping jacks, sit-ups, pushups, and any exercise that uses your own body weight. Since you don’t need a lot of room, the available space in your hotel room should be sufficient to crank out a couple of these exercises. You can usually work up a good sweat if you vary the intensity and duration.
What Exercises to Do When Traveling
Here’s the key to exercising while traveling: just do something. It doesn’t have to be your regular workout program. Here are some tips to help you exercise while traveling.
Do resistance band exercises
Resistance bands are highly underrated pieces of exercise equipment. They’re compact, making them easy to slip into a backpack, carry on a satchel, or stow in your suitcase. They’re also incredibly versatile and in the absence of free weights, can give your muscles quite a workout. Like free weights or weight machines, resistance bands work both the concentric and eccentric contractions. When using resistance bands, maintaining good form is key, otherwise, you’ll feel like you’re not getting any benefits at all.
If you’re looking for a resistance band workout video, check out this one from Achv Peak on YouTube.
Do bodyweight exercises
Think you can’t get in a good workout using your own bodyweight? Guess again. Many bodyweight exercises incorporate more than one muscle group, making them efficient and effective. Push-ups are a great example; they work the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core abdominal muscles. Other great bodyweight exercises include wall squats, planks, lunges, glute bridges, triceps dips, and more.
At the start of the pandemic, I put together this At Home Bodyweight workout for myself that you can download here for free. And just recently, I found this killer 30-minute workout from Alex Crockford that totally kicked my butt.
Take a hike, ride a bike, or take a stroll
Whether you’re traveling for business or vacation, consider taking your exercise off the beaten path by taking a hike. Sometimes a hike is nothing more than a walk on a well-worn path in the woods or even the desert. There’s quiet and solitude in both which is great if you’re traveling for business, and you need to shake off the grind of the day. Most states or counties have a parks or public works department that publishes trail maps so you can find one near you.
In areas where bike paths and biking is plentiful, you may find vacation rental stores that will rent bikes for half a day or hourly rates. In metropolis areas like Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, bike share stations are set up around the city so you can bike from one location to another. Just Google your city destination and “bike-share” to see what you come up with.
Finally, it’s kind of fun to play tourist and just get out and walk! My friend and I spent a weekend in Chicago and walked a total of 17 miles. Again, cities like Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and obviously New York are ripe for exploration on foot.
Final Words
You don’t have to give up a week of exercising when traveling if you don’t want to. There are tons of options available if you’re willing to try something different and do a little planning. So, make room for your sneakers and an extra set of gym clothes in your luggage, and plan to keep on exercising when traveling.