Life on the Go

It is one of the biggest challenges many people face in regards to their personal health and fitness goals, and unfortunately there is quite often no way to stop it: Traveling can cause many obstacles in the quest for optimal health and fitness. Over the last fifteen years, I have worked with many people who constantly travel for work and I have learned first hand from them how challenging it can be to remain consistent with exercise and proper nutrition. Quite often, these people are never in the same place for any consistent period of time. As I have mentioned before, consistency with exercise and healthy eating is critical when it comes to seeing results in personal fitness. Throughout this article, I will be offering advice and giving tips on how to remain consistent even when your schedule is disjointed and even when you never seem to be in the same place. Some of the ideas that I will be discussing include: conscious preparation, taking specific advantage, and being obnoxious.

Conscious Preparation. This is probably the most important tool an avid traveler will need when trying to maintain or improve his health and fitness level. If you are someone who travels a lot, you need to be prepared to exercise and eat healthy while you are traveling. I understand that this can quite often be very difficult, but rest assured, it is not impossible. One thing I strongly advocate to my clients who travel is that they prepare their own food and take it with them. Eating out while traveling can be a huge obstacle in maintaining healthy nutrition. By making your own food (and making sure it's healthy of course), you are in complete control over what goes into your body. I understand that this can seem tedious and takes up more precious time, but by making your own meals and packing them up along with your clothes, you are in fact making a commitment to your health and wellbeing. This will then make you a leader in health and fitness among other travelers. One tip that seems to really help people utilize this tool is to cook in bulk: Take one day out of the week and make a lot of healthy food that will last for the entire week. Put it in Tupperware and invest in a portable cooler that you can take with you. Trust me, this makes an enormous difference! Also, I recommend that you call ahead to whatever hotel you are staying at to see if there is a refrigerator in your room. Quite often there will be, but if there isn't, you can request to have one put in. Most hotels should be able to do this.

Conscious preparation means that you must also be prepared to exercise. Exercise must be scheduled, and just like any work event, it is a commitment that must be honored. Schedules can be hectic, especially for those who travel a lot. Because of this, many people may not "feel" like exercising. This is yet another major obstacle in maintaining consistency and it also leads me into my next point.

Taking Specific Advantage. Exercise while traveling can prove to be challenging for a host of different reasons. As I already mentioned, many people may not have the motivation to exercise. Looking for a gym or health club in every city one travels to can also be a daunting task. However, the simple truth is that most hotels have fitness rooms. They may not be luxurious and sometimes the equipment may be dated, but they are still there as a necessary outlet. Most hotel fitness rooms have at least one treadmill, one bike, one elliptical trainer, some free weights, and a few machines. This is all that is really needed to have a sufficient workout. Another great idea that I have always recommended for my clients who travel is to purchase rubber band tubing as a viable method for resistance training. Rubber tubing is relatively inexpensive and very portable. You can train the entire body in the comfort of your own hotel room just by using these bands. Until each traveler makes this kind of commitment, motivation will continue to suffer. Once consistency with exercise is maintained, motivation will increase and the traveler will no longer be weary; he will be active and healthy. But this is still not enough. What happens when you need to meet up with fellow colleagues or clients for a business lunch or dinner? What happens when everyone around you starts ordering the unhealthiest items on the menu and possibly even orders it for the entire table? Uh oh.

Being Obnoxious. I know, I know. No one ever wants to be that obnoxious person at the restaurant who is always asking for things to be specially made. Whether it's substituting steamed veggies for French fries, asking for dressing on the side, or requesting no oils or fats added, sometimes it really is necessary to be obnoxious. I have had so many people tell me that they feel pressured to eat what the rest of the table is having, or that they feel they are being rude if they turn down an appetizer that someone else ordered for the entire table. Well I say rubbish! There is nothing rude about making wise health choices. Simply explain to the rest of the table that you are following a certain healthy eating plan. They should understand, and you may even inspire them to start making healthier choices themselves. Before I mentioned that travelers need to be leaders in regards to health and fitness. Once one of them starts making healthier choices, other people are bound to follow.

People who travel often have challenges that others do not. It is considerably more difficult to maintain a consistently healthy and active lifestyle. However, it is indeed not impossible. I hope this article gave you some tools to at least think about when you are away on your next business trip. You get one body in this life. You need to take care of it no matter where you are.

Thanks for reading. Be healthy!

Michael Elder has been working as a fitness professional in Chicago for the last fifteen years. He comes from a background in gymnastics and is certified as a personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise (ACE). He can be contacted directly through his website, www.MichaelElder.com.