Staying fit and living a healthy lifestyle is the key to a long and happy life. It is convenient to start and maintain an exercise routine when you are close to home. Once you have developed a pattern you can stick with the plan and start seeing results. Maintaining that regime can become difficult when you are out of town on business or vacation. Options do exist for the traveler to stay in shape and get a work out in. Whether you use indoor rowing machines or run at your local park, if you do a little research it is easy to find an option that will work for you when you are away from home.
One of the most obvious and easiest ways to keep up on your exercise plan is to use the on-site hotel gym. Most hotels will have some form of exercise facility available with equipment ranging from treadmill’s to free weights. Each exercise room will vary so you may need to adjust your options when using the facilities within the hotel. If you find that the exercise equipment will not suit your needs typically you will find a hotel pool where you can swim a few laps. It is best to swim in the hotel pool early in the morning to avoid children splashing and playing in the pool.
Another option for exercise when traveling is to seek out a local health club. Many gyms will give a free or discounted day pass for you to try their gym as a first time user. This will provide you with a larger variety of equipment to choose from and often, classes that may be similar to those you frequent in your hometown gym. It is also worth checking with the hotel front desk or concierge for day memberships to a local gym. Hotels occasionally have a special reciprocal deal with the workout facility.
A free and easy workout option is to slip on your running shoes and take a power walk around the area. This is a great way to get a closer look at the city you are visiting. Many times a local park will have paved trails or biking paths. Make good use of these and get some fresh air; the new scenery will do your body good. If you find you are in a location where taking to the street is impossible due to pedestrians, traffic or personal safety check out the hotel stairwells. One of the best aerobic exercises a person can get is running stairs, take advantage of this when you are staying in a high-rise hotel.
Lastly, there are additional ways to use your room to do various exercises. A few easy exercises to try are; Stationary body lunges, crunches, push-ups or squats (using a chair for balance if needed).
You can also bring a couple of exercise videos to play on your laptop for some variety in your workout.
It can be difficult to fit in exercise while traveling, but it is important that you try to remain as close as possible to your home exercise program. Many opportunities exist to allow you to maintain your program when you are out of town and by doing so you will find that you rest better and enjoy your time away more. You don’t always need your home exercise equipment to get in a good workout. You may just have to think outside the box a little.