My Favorite Exercises for Staying Fit While Traveling

I recently returned from a 5-week road trip to Florida and Cuba.  One of the greatest challenges I face while traveling is having an exercise routine.  Of course, one is often walking but maintaining upper body strength is also important.

During this trip I made a concerted effort to exercise at least every two days.  Here are my favorite moves for staying fit on the road:

1.  Good old squats or chair yoga position

Be sure you have good form – like going to sit in a chair.  I did 2 reps of 50 (work up to that, I have tree trunks for thighs)

2.  Push ups/planks

If you’re in really good shape go ahead and do sets of push ups.  I’m in pretty good shape but have cervical problems and prefer planks. You can shake it up by going from plank – to side plank – and keep alternating.  I will also throw in some leg kicks to keep boredom away. DO as many as can or hold plank as long as can and try to increase over time.

3.   Crunches

You can alternate head to knee and be sure to have good form.

4.  Leg kicks

This is my favorite any where exercise, even while waiting somewhere in line.  Stand up tall and kick one leg toward the 12 o’clock position, then change to 3 o’clock, then 6 o’clock. Start out with 15 in each direction, work up to 100 as I do.  Really great quad strengthener.

I also do some yoga – you can buy a travel mat or just do it on a towel as I did this trip.  I also bought some elastic exercise bands and enjoy doing some different exercises as well.  Check this link for some exercise ideas from Greatist.

Another fun way to get exercise is to engage with the community around you.  I found a couple of opportunities to exercise with locals.  During one of my casa stays “my family” was playing some really great dance music.  I started dancing and next thing most of the entire family was too.  Great for your mind and body! We had a blast.  My “family” also offered to take me to listen to music one night.  We ended up dancing for an hour or two to American and Cuban music – FUN!  One day, I even started some yoga in the main area of the house and many family members joined in as well!

If you are all by yourself and are carrying a backpack – use it as a hand weight and do bicep/tricep curls.

So, next time you are traveling, be creative – there’s always a way to fit in some exercise.