Being busy and trying to balance all of life’s stresses makes it difficult to stay fit even during your normal routine. However, when you break from this and head out on the road, maintaining fitness becomes an even greater challenge.
When traveling, constant changes, new environments and new distractions are all standing in the way of your fitness, but there is hope. With some effort and preparation, it is more than possible to stay fit while on the road. To help you with this, I’ll be going through some methods and techniques I’ve found useful for keeping up an exercise routine while away from home.
Spot Opportunities for Exercise
One of the keys to keeping up an exercise routine when on the road is to develop an attitude of “whenever and wherever.” It’s easy to think you need your gym or your running route to exercise, but try to free yourself from this so you can take advantage of free time to work on fitness.
One way to do this is to make the most of downtime, which tends to be plentiful while on the road. Instead of sitting around in your hotel room watching TV or killing time in the local town, take advantage of this free time by going for a run to explore the local area or even look up and join local exercise classes – maybe even a BollyX class! You’ll meet some new people, see a little more of the local area and, most importantly, get some exercise.
Use Apps
Just because you’re on the road doesn’t mean your smartphone won’t be right there with you. The great thing is that you can use it to help you find time for fitness. For example, apps such as FitStar Personal Trainer offer 10- to 15-minute daily workouts. These workouts are easy to fit into your schedule and mean you can get a workout in almost anywhere. Also, apps such as this provide in-depth metrics to help track progress. This can keep you in touch with your workout routine from home and will help you stay focused on fitness despite being on the road.
Remember that while traveling you will be connecting to many unknown networks and WiFi hotspots, so it’s important you secure your devices to be sure your information and activity is completely protected. Many of these fitness apps require you to enter in personal information, which you need to protect from hackers.
Watch Your Diet
It’s easy to slip up on your diet while on the road. Uncertainty in your routine, not having access to a kitchen and the temptation to try new foods can lead you to high-calorie options. Try your best to plan ahead. If you see a supermarket or fruit stand, stop and get a few things for the coming days. It’s much better to go for a banana when you’re hungry rather than a bag of potato chips, so try to have healthy snacks on hand. Building this habit while on the road will help you stay fit during your trip.
Another good way to help you stay on track is to make a plan. If you are going to a new place with lots of exciting new foods, prepare yourself by making a list of what you might want to try and then make sure to stay healthy the rest of the time. This way you will know when you can indulge and when it is time to resist temptation.
Overall, maintaining your fitness levels while on the road isn’t such a tall task. By taking advantage of free moments, using helpful apps and planning ahead, fitness is well within your reach, even if you are traveling and out of your routine.
The benefits of taking these steps go even further, though. Knowing that you didn’t break your routine while on the road will empower you to keep this effort up back at home. This goes a long way toward making fitness a way of life instead of something you need to work extra to maintain, which means prolonged success and improved overall health.
About the Author: Faith is a health and tech blogger. She loves aerobic workouts and talking about the benefits they provide for people with busy lifestyles. Learning Bollywood dance routines is one of her passions since she loves the films. She travels for work and pleasure, and finding time for fitness is always a struggle, so she’s always looking for effective ways to stay in shape while on the road.