Olympic Medical Center

Creative Workouts for Travelers

IN ORTHOPEDICS

Trips out of town can be good for your business, but they can totally disrupt your personal plan, whether it's your meals, sleep, or exercise routine. However, investing a little planning, creativity, and discipline to maintain your regimen can help you maintain your health and boost your productivity while on the road and at home. Here are some tips from The Physician and Sportsmedicine (www.physsportsmed.com) to get you started.
  • Plan ahead when choosing accommodations. Choose hotels with good fitness facilities. Call before booking to make sure you will have access to what you need. If a gym is not available at the hotel, inquire about nearby facilities.
  • Commit to doing some form of exercise. When it comes to your health, consistency is key. Don't give up on exercise just because you can't get out for your three-mile run. Be flexible and take a walk instead. You can maintain your fitness with modest exercise.
  • Set the tone for your trip by exercising as soon as you arrive. Working out right away affirms your commitment, helps relieve the stress and fatigue of traveling, eases jet lag, and eliminates the chance that later events will sidetrack your exercise program.
  • Schedule exercise time. Block out an hour in your daily planner for your workout.
  • Seek exercise opportunities in bits and pieces. Avoid escalators and climb the stairs. Walk in the hotel hallways and to you appointments. While you're waiting at the airport terminal, take a stroll instead of sitting.
  • Map out a fun and safe scenic walking or jogging route. Ask the hotel concierge for help. Walking or jogging through a city can give you a great up-close tour.
Remember, the time you invest in maintaining your health and fitness when travelling can pay off in productivity on the trip and when you return. Use these tips as a starting point to help you come up with more ways that fit your style and schedule.

Pick and Pack Food for the Road
Nutritious, low-fat meals are an important complement to exercise on your trip. Just like your efforts at fitness when traveling, eating well may take a little planning and creativity. But it's possible.
  1. Some restaurants make it fairly easy to eat well. You can order vegetarian dishes, as well as broiled and grilled poultry and fish. Ask about small portions and low-fat options.
  2. Carrying some food with you in your briefcase or a small cooler ensures healthful choices and helps you resist skipping meals and snacking on sweets. If you pack healthful snacks such as nuts, bagels, carrots, rice cakes, crackers, cookies, cheese, bottled water, raisins, or fresh fruit, you'll be less tempted to buy unhealthy treats just because they're there or because you've had to skip a meal.
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