Try These Healthy Travel Routines On Your Next Trip!

June 1, 2022

Travel can be fun, but it can also be exhausting and hard on your body. Whether the travel is for work or for pleasure, there are bound to be some glitches on the road or in the air. When traveling, even healthy people with otherwise good health routines can fall off the wagon. But it is possible to minimize the damage that travel can do by following these seven healthy travel routine tips.

Bring A Water Bottle (And Refill It Often)

Dehydration is a nasty fact of travel, and the easiest way to head it off at the pass is to carry your own refillable water bottle. Bring it through Customs empty (because security won't clear any fluids in containers outside the size restrictions) and fill it at every water fountain possible. On the plane, flight attendants will refill it. Not only does bringing a water bottle helps reduce dehydration, during a long flight, it gives a good excuse to get up and walk around, which can improve circulation and help avoid stiffness.

Be Gracious When Things Go Wrong

Being a belligerent, obnoxious customer will not endear you to the people who are having to deal with a crisis. Whether it is a weather delay due to a snowstorm, problems with fueling the plane, an unfamiliar security measure that has just been rolled out, or misplaced luggage, it is important to be gracious. Accept that stuff happens that is beyond your or the airline's employee's control. Be understanding and patient, as much as possible; chances are that they'll return the favor.

Let Go A Little

Travel, at least travel that is related to leisure, is meant to be a respite from the routines of work, home, and family. Do not stress about keeping up with the full-blown exercise and diet regime that you have been doing at home. Let go a little. It's okay to take the daily run in the evening instead of at five in the morning. It is okay to fit in small bursts of activity rather than trying to fit in a full two-hour workout or to hold yourself to doing a full hour of meditation. Relax. And even if the travel is work-related, be sure to take mini breaks to breathe, stretch, and be active.

Body In Motion

Flying is hard on the human body. Not only does it go hurtling through the air at high speeds, it is also confined to a small place for hours on end. Flying places a lot of stress on the mind too. The time spent waiting in the terminal seems to stretch to eternity. Rather than sitting in the terminal in uncomfortable chairs while waiting to board the plane to sit in more uncomfortable chairs, consider taking a walk or doing a few flights of stairs while waiting for the flight. Alternately, think about doing some stretches, pushups, situps, jumping jacks or burpees for a more intense workout.

A La Carte Is The Way To Go

When thinking about food, a hotel is the best place to get a-la-carte meals. This is because their chefs are used to making meals for thousands of people, with a wide variety of dietary restrictions, every day. Making it possible to get something that's made just for you. There is no fuss. Simply examine the hotel menu, and ask whether the chef could prepare something a little different. Remember, though, that hotel chefs are not miracle workers and cannot cook things that they don't normally have in the kitchen. Work with them and their limitations, offer suggestions on items that are okay to eat, and soon there will be a knock at the door with something delicious.

Join In The Class

When traveling, especially for work, it is tough to stay true to a healthy workout routine. Heck, it is tough when on vacation too. That's why, when traveling, consider looking up the local gyms that specialize in the form of exercise you like best. Whether it is yoga, Pilates, HIIT, or Brazilian Jui Jitsu, there is sure to be a gym nearby that has something familiar. Alternately, this could be a chance to try something new like bodyweight training, or even revisit an exercise that you have not done in a while.

Balance Is The Key

Travel is meant to be a chance to refresh the mind, spirit, and body. That means that it is possible to do things on some days that are not so good for the body while doing something that makes the mind (or the spirit) happy. It is okay to enjoy a drink after a long day of walking through the cultural history museum. Likewise, it is okay to sit on the beach soaking up the sun just because you can. Do not try to do all the same things that you have done at home. This is a vacation! It is a break from the same old thing, day in and day out. Find a balance in the things you do, and relax.

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