Exercise To Lose Weight

Posts Tagged ‘Travel’

Travel can derail the most dedicated exercise enthusiast. In an ideal world, all planes would be on time and all hotels would have a great gym with everything you need. We all know we’re we’re a long ways from that ideal. Fortunately, it is possible to maintain your fitness anywhere.
First, check to see what facilities your hotel does offer. You may be pleasantly surprised. Most hotel websites list their facilities, so you might even make the availability of exercise equipment one of your criteria when deciding where to stay.
Also, some hotels have associations with local health clubs, and some clubs will let you pay for a day’s use.
Now let’s assume the worst – no equipment, no pool, nothing. Not only that, but you’re schedule is packed.
You answer is body weight exercise done in a circuit. These can be incredibly challenging when done with some of the variations I’ll describe. And you can do an effective workout in 10 to 20 minutes without leaving your room.
First, warm up by stretching and doing slow, controlled repetitions of the calisthenics.
Then do the work out proper.
The simple version is to do circuits of deep knee bends (squats), push ups and sit ups.
You obtain variety and progress by changing the number of exercises per circuit.
For example, beginners might do five repetitions of each exercise and rest between exercises and each circuit. More experienced may increase the repetitions and decrease the rest time.
Also, you may want to perform a different number of repetitions for different exercises.
For example, you might do 8 push-ups and sit ups per round but 15 squats.
One way to increase the intensity as well as tract your progress is to pick an exercise circuit, for examples 10 push ups and 15 squats, then see how many times you can complete that circuit in a set amount of time.
Depending on your fitness level, that time could be from 5 to 20 minutes.
Obviously, you can vary the exercises.
A “tabata” protocol is a very intense, effective approach to exercise. This approach is named after a Japanese researcher who proved the superiority of short intense interval training over long slow training in increasing both anaerobic and aerobic fitness. When I describe it, it may not sound like much. Give it a try before you discount its effectiveness.
A tabata routine involves warming up thoroughly, then doing a given exercise full out for 20 seconds, resting 10 seconds and repeating that interval eight times for a total of four minutes of exercise.
The original study was done with the athletes on an exercise bike, but it can be used with any exercise you chose.
Again, it may not sound like much reading about, but give it a try. The key is full-out intensity during the 20 second exercise period. By the end of the four minutes, those will be the longest 20 seconds you’ve ever experienced.
For the travel workout, you could “tabata” four minutes of push-ups, four minutes of sit-ups and four minutes of squats. This gives you a resistance workout that simultaneously maintains your aerobic fitness.
Challenging body weight exercises you can do are spiderman push-ups (bring your right knee to your right elbow as you lower yourself, then left knee to left elbow on the next rep) and squat-thrusts (squat and at the bottom, put your hands on the ground and thrust your legs out behind you. Bring you feet back to the squat position and stand up).
An advanced modification of the squat thrust is to do a push-up or two in the bottom position and to leap up from the bottom of the squat, actually jumping in the air.
All of this can be done without any equipment at all and without leaving your hotel room.
If you want to bring a little exercise equipment, I recommend a jump rope. It’s light and compact and adds variety to your work out.
With a portable chin up bar, you can work your back and biceps – the only elements missing in the routines above.
But even with out equipment, it is possible to return home fitter than when you left.

Travel itineraries are often so crammed with planned activities that we forget to allot time for relaxation and exercise. When you combine busy schedules with decreased physical movement, lowered liquid intake, and strange sleeping quarters, your system reacts by becoming sluggish. The ultimate negative side effect is a holiday infused with lethargy.

Guess what! Exercise can easily be incorporated into your travel routine.Effective Planning

Be sure to plan physical activities such as walking tours, hiking, bicycling, swimming, or snorkeling.Easy Exercises

The tensing and relaxing of any muscle group increases blood flow to the area. Try the following exercises. Many can be performed while seated or standing in line – i.e., waiting in the airport, on long flights, or while sitting in a bathroom stall. Avoid germy hotel carpets and floors by performing reclining exercises on a bed or Yoga mat.Glutes:

Clench and relax the glute muscles. Repeat several times. This movement will sculpture a rounded, toned posterior.Abdominal Area:

1. Forcibly pull in your abs while you breathe out. Hold for a few seconds, then relax and repeat. You can do this exercise dozens of times daily.

2. Perform leg raises from a reclining position, keeping the small of your back pressed into the bed or mat. Repeat until your abs feel tired.

3. Tense and relax the muscles of the pelvic floor. This exercise tones the lower abs and the muscles that control the bladder and other nearby organs.Calves:

Flex calf muscles while keeping your heels on the floor and raising your toes, then do the same while keeping your toes on the floor and raising your heels.Arms, Shoulders, and Back:

1. Do pushups on the bed, or against a wall.

2. Concentrate on pulling your shoulder blades together while tensing the muscles, and then relax. Repeat often on long flights.

3. Packing a set of dumbbells is not practical when you are trying to keep your luggage light. You can set up an easy weight lifting routine with water-filled weights. An internet search for ‘water filled dumbbells’ will locate numerous online stores. A cheap alternative: save the empties when you buy bottled water and use them as weights instead. A bottle filled with one pint of water weighs approximately one pound. You won’t bulk up with such small weights, but fast repetitions will give you an aerobic workout.Overall Body Workouts

1. Avoid the elevator when possible and use the stairs.

2. Walking alone through strange streets can be intimidating (and even dangerous) in some areas. Instead, park outside a large shopping mall and do a brisk window-shopping tour.

3. Instead of watching TV from a sitting or reclining position, briskly walk in place, pumping your arms vigorously at the same time.Special Equipment

In addition to the water-filled dumbbells mentioned previously, consider packing one or more of the following. They won’t take much room in your suitcase or add a lot to your luggage weight.

1. Exercise resistance bands

2. Exercise fitness ball (with pump)

3. Hand grip exerciser

4. Compact non-slip Yoga mat

5. Pilates or Yoga book

6. Book of mat exercises

7. Mini stair stepper with resistance cordsUse your Imagination

This article has given you a few guidelines. With a bit of ingenuity and imagination you should be able to add to the ideas and produce an individualized system that works well for you. The big payoff will be increased energy while you travel and a brighter outlook when you return home.Important

On long flights, get up and walk around as often as possible. This will keep your circulatory system working efficiently and help to avoid deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Do not attempt to introduce intense exercise during your vacation if you are out of shape to begin with. Check with your physician, physiotherapist, chiropractor, or other health care professional about a pre-holiday exercise routine. Ask specifically about the exercises in this article to ensure that they will not exacerbate any pre-existing problems or back injuries.

©Copyright Kathy Steinemann: This article is free to publish only if this copyright notice, the byline, and the author’s note below (with active links) are included.