More Healthy Travel Tips

I'm taking my high school senior daughter to Chicago to see whether or not that’s the place she wants to bankrupt me. Since I’m gonna be on the road, I thought it might be a good idea to share a few more rules for healthy traveling…

• Always go the wrong way on moving sidewalk at the airport
  
• Paying $7 for a lukewarm can on the plane will make you subconsciously start hating beer a little
  
• Wear the same outfit the entire trip and fill your carry-on with healthy food instead of extra clothes
  
• Window shopping is a good way to burn up excess calories; but remember to carefully wrap any windows you buy before bringing them back home
  
• It's easy to turn a hotel iron into a kettlebell; simply weld a large metal ball to the flat end of the iron. Voilá!
  
• Some fitness centers will let you try out their facility for free if you dress up like that Monopoly dude and say that you’re interested in buying the franchise
  
• Order food from room service, but have them deliver it three miles from your room
  
• Swallow the key to the hotel mini-bar
  
• Don’t forget seeds, soil and rapid-grow light bulbs so you can enjoy farm-fresh veggies while you’re away
  
• If you’re confronted by scary looking would-be muggers, it’s good exercise to run away from them as fast as you can
  
• Practice airplane bathroom yoga
  
• Walk all the way from your hotel room to where you hail a cab
  
• Remember, you don’t have to eat at fabulous restaurants just because they… excuse me… yes, reservation for two for “Sh*t”…

Make Way for MizFit

Simply put, there just isn’t anyone else out there quite like MizFit. She brings such energy and passion to this thing of ours that it makes striving to become a fitter, stronger individual something that sounds almost… plausible. I threatened to leave a bunch of silly comments on her blog convinced her to do a little guest post action here, and I think you’ll be glad I did. You can catch her regular act right chere. -JS


When I was a personal trainer, I found many of my clients were successful when left to their own routine. They tended to eat the same foods and work out at the same time of day and at the same place… and fared quite well.

The panic would set in, however, when they were untimely ripped from their routine (literal allusion anyone?) and thrust into vacation or business travel.

All of a sudden the healthy habits we’d carefully layered one upon the other would go out the proverbial window quickfastandinahurry.

I’m a big believer in taking a clean livin’ vacation if my trip is, indeed, a VACATION, but if it’s for business I tend to stick to, well, BUSINESS.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that I duplicate the eating or workouts that I do at home.
I actually look forward to business travel because I know it will compel me to shake things up and give my workouts an always needed overhaul.

There are a few ways I set myself up for success before I hit the road in an effort to ensure I workout as planned, even if a fitness center or swimming pool isn’t available.

• Exercise DVDS. These are an easy way to squeeze in a workout using only your laptop. My best tip is to be sure and check out the DVDs prior to leaving home. I’ve found it far too tempting to skip or quit a DVD-session when the workout is unfamiliar and I feel I’m spending more time learning than burning (calories).
  
  
• Jump rope. I’m a big fan of tossing a jump rope in my suitcase and using it for some short bursts of in-room cardio during my hotel stay. If you’re anything like I am, a television or music is crucial for this workout.
  
  
• Resistance bands. This is another easy way to squeeze in a fast workout when traveling. As with the DVDs I highly recommend that you practice your routine *prior* to leaving town. That way when you wake up bleary-eyed and hotel-headed, the exercise band routine is already second nature.
  
  
• Stair climbing/city walking. It’s pretty easy to squeeze in a workout during travel simply by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or opting to walk instead of grabbing a cab (it’s amazing how many calories NEAT burns). I also enjoy grabbing a friend and gabbing while hotel stair climbing (I’m too cautious to do this one alone, no matter how (finger quote) safe (unFQ) the hotel is).
  
  
• Bodyweight workouts on the go. I’d yammered eloquently about the various facets of this routine. I’d written about the dips I do and the push ups I crank out. I’d waxed lovingly about the fact you can involve the whole family should you choose to do so. Much to your delight, however, I was caught in the act by O’Hare airport security cameras and you are spared my rantage. The proof, as they say, is in the video pudding.

Please to enjoy….