This is my friend Christine. She checks in almost every day to our health and fitness team, no matter where she is in the world. I asked her to share her tips and tricks for staying on track while traveling for work. She wrote this for me last year.
From Christine:
I’ve been asked to share how I stay ‘on plan’ and incorporate fitness into my daily living, even when I’m travelling on the road for work or vacation. Over the last few years or so, I’ve travelled to destinations as diverse as: London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Seattle, Las Vegas, D.C., Taipei, throughout Alaska (on a cruise!), So Cal, Atlanta, New York, Chicago (just to name a few destinations).
Battling crazy travel schedules, jet lag and added stress is NOT a recipe for getting and staying on track with fitness – But it IS possible.
I’ve been asked to share how I get this done.
- Make this Vow: I WILL adopt a healthy lifestyle
- Just START, and Have a Plan
- Keep Your Eye on the Prize & Know that Eyes are on YOU
- Check in, Be Accountable
- Just DO it
- Make this Vow: I WILL adopt a healthy lifestyle
This is where it all starts. For me, this is non-negotiable – I will do what I can, when I can to make my health a priority. My family history reads like ‘bad genetics 101’: hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension. I work in cardiology and understand the interplay of genetics and lifestyle on one’s health. I decided early on (early 20s and for the record, I’m about to turn 43 – eek!) that I would control the controllable – eat healthy and keep moving.
So it all starts with that first step – a decision to get and stay healthy. Whether I’m working at home, vacationing in Alaska or travelling to Europe or Japan for work, I stay ON TRACK with my workouts precisely because I don’t view this as “working out” – exercise is just something I do nearly daily. Like brushing your teeth (well hopefully you do that at least 2x a day!)
- Just START, and Have a Plan
I’m a planner – and while having a plan is a great idea, at some point we all just need to JUMP in and “do”. It does NOT matter what your baseline level of fitness is. Just.Start.Moving. You will feel the physical, emotional and mental benefits of movement. Almost immediately. Our bodies CRAVE MOVEMENT. And once I start moving, I tend to stay moving and you will too (sound familiar?). When I travel (for vacation or work), I don’t just throw caution to the wind, however. It all starts with a plan. I pre-identify which workouts I’ll be doing daily – this is where it helps to have a PORTABLE system like Beachbody on Demand. I used to be a gym rat, which is to say, I would go to the gym regularly and crank out 30 minutes on the elliptical followed by 20 minutes on weights. It was taking TOO MUCH TIME. Now I have a portable system that required only 22 minutes (minimum) – 30 minutes to get an effective, results-producing workout. I use this portable library of workouts and plan out exactly which workout I’ll do on a given day. And I tell myself my workouts are non-negotiable. They WILL happen, regardless of anything else I am doing. I set a goal to workout daily, eat well and stay hydrated and then at the end of the day, I assess whether I hit those goals (unfortunately I often fall short on hydration).
So plan – down to the DETAILS.
- Will you work out at the hotel gym?
- When will you start?
- What machines will you use?
I personally favor working out in my hotel room if possible (space and gear permitting). There is nothing easier than rolling out of bed, throwing on my workout gear and pressing “play” on my iPad.
As part of a recent stay in SF (work trip), I found out that the concierge could deliver a yoga mat to my room. BONUS! You *bet* I did Cardio Flow in my hotel room at 6am that morning vs trekking it down to a crowded gym.
Confession: I’ve also been known to bring my own yoga mat, resistance bands, sliders *and a set of weights* on biz trips that do not involve a flight.
- Keep Your Eye On the Prize & Know that Eyes are On YOU
What’s your BIG goal? Why do you want to BE and STAY fit? If you’re reading this, you must have some baseline desire for fitness. “What’s your WHY?”
For me, my “why” is my family: hubby and my three kids. Specifically, I am determined to be the very best version of myself that I can be – for me. For them. It goes beyond the “I want to be healthy so that I can live to see my grandkids” type of sentiment.
I want to be able to show up daily as a mom for my kids, as a life partner for my husband and I simply can NOT do that if I’m cranky or stressed out. Let’s face it, we’re ALL stressed out and there are a variety of ways we can deal with stress – some ways are healthy; others, not so much. For me, working out is my go to.
I know my kids are watching me. To them, mommy setting aside time to exercise is completely NORMAL. “What workout are you to do today,” is not an uncommon question for my son to pose. My kids know that fitness and healthy living is a priority for our entire family, right down to the meals I prepare daily. There are definitely days when I do NOT feel like working out. I’ll tell my son or daughter, “I am tired and don’t want to work out. Make me do it!” They’ll say, “Do it mommy. You’ll regret it if you skip today.” True words.
- Check in, Be Accountable
There’s a reason why the phrases, “No man is an island” or “It takes a village” are clichés – they’re so often quoted BECAUSE THEY RING TRUE.
The concept of needing a tribe, a team to rally you towards the finish line is very much applicable to our fitness journeys. I joined my first ‘accountability’ group ~2Y ago without really knowing what it was. And I lurked in the group for a good month before posting!
When I did eventually dive into the group, fully participating, what I found were like-minded women, in various stages of their fitness journey, who came together to encourage and support one another. There was a TON of learning and self-discovery for everyone. For me personally, while I am generally goal-oriented, self-motivating and self-driven, I found it incredibly encouraging to “check in” daily with the group, BE encouraged by others and, in turn, encourage other women who were equally interested in developing better, healthier versions of themselves. The value of accountability groups and “checking in” was further underscored whenever I was on the road travelling for work or vacation. My group kept me on track because I knew I would need to check in at the end of each day. It’s like having your own personal cheering squad, and who wouldn’t want that?
- Just DO it
Finally, here it is – the HARD PART. At some point in time, you just need to START. You HAVE to want change and results BADLY enough to get up and start. You can start slow, you can start easy. Just START. Know that you’re not alone, however. Surround yourself with positive vibes and healthy influences, take the first step towards a healthier you. Be consistent. Daily (I work out 5 days week). Push yourself. Because “I regretted working out and eating healthy today” said NO ONE EVER.
Fitness on the Go – Travel Tips
- Pack snacks for flights. Here’s a sampling of what I’ve packed on flights that have taken around the world
*Nuts, single serving almond butter packets, hard boiled eggs, carrots, apples, tangerines, deli turkey, string cheese, salad with chicken. TONS of water.
- Here’s what I bring with me to customer meetings to keep fueled throughout the day
*Nuts, string cheese, RX Bar (the latter for ‘emergency use’ only because I generally limit my sugar intake)
- In addition to the above here’s what I brought with me on my last international trip (London, 2 weeks ago):
*iPad with 80 DO and T25 downloaded
*Resistance bands and sliders from 80 DO
Finally ENJOY YOUR TRAVEL. Life is about balance. I couldn’t image travelling to Paris and NOT enjoying croissants; or going to Brussels and not having a bit of Belgian chocolate. I live by the 80/20 concept. Give it a try. It’s incredibly freeing.
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