Staying Fit While Traveling

I’m a crazy multisport athlete that frequently travels for work and pleasure. Travel, although exciting at times, can be stressful and disrupting to workout routines, especially if you're training for a big race, like an Ironman! I’ve found a few tricks that work for me that help to minimize the fitness loss caused by traveling. Over the years I’ve learned what works when I travel and how to keep myself motivated. Working out and staying fit and healthy while on the road is challenging and difficult, but, hopefully, some of these tips will help. If you have tips or advice to share, please leave a comment. That way we can all benefit!

If you’re training for a triathlon, try to drive to your destination and take your bike with you. If this is an option, it’s worth the hassle, especially if the trip is over two weeks long. I used to travel to Florida for three weeks at a time and I would do the 11-12 hour drive in one day, just so I could take my bike.

OK….you’re at your destination with your bike, now where do you ride? I contact the local bike shops and ask them about routes and safe places to ride. I’m paranoid about getting hit by a car riding, so I prefer to ride on bike-friendly roads. For instance, when I used to travel to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, I went and talked to the guys at Dragon Sports about where to ride. Their website even has maps and information on local rides.

I always bring a yoga mat with me when I travel. I use it for core work, abs, yoga, and stretching. I have a Manduka PROLite Yoga mat that I use for travel; I also have a regular Manduka mat (Black Mat PRO) for home use, but it's a little heavy for travel! I prefer Manduka Yoga mats because they are thicker than typical yoga mats, have a great grip, and last forever! I also bring a resistance band with me when I travel. I used to think resistance bands were silly, but I actually get a decent workout using them.

For workout DVDs, I like P90X’s X Stretch, Yoga X, and Ab Ripper X. I also like 10 Minute Trainer Total Body (need resistance band) and 10 Minute Trainer Abs.

I have a YMCA membership, so I can usually find a YMCA to swim at, but a lot of hotels have agreements with local gyms, like Gold’s or Bally’s. The hotels often don’t really advertise this, but you simply need to ask the Front Desk person. It’s always worth asking! I’ve found that the Hilton chain of hotels typically has the most agreements with local gyms. I used to travel to Colorado a lot and I would stay at a Homewood Suites. They had an agreement with an awesome Bally’s. This information was not really available anywhere, other than small print in the hotel guide book! Also, Embassy Suites typically has agreements with local gyms. I experienced this with extensive travel to Herndon, VA - the Embassy Suites there had an agreement with the local Gold's gym, which was awesome too!

In case you haven't noticed, most treadmills at hotels are in the "workout room" - a converted guest room with a 1980s treadmill, old stationary bike, and, if you're lucky, some random rusty weights!

I hate treadmills, but will run on them if I have to. I’d much rather run outside though. I typically look for parks with trails and will go try those out. You can also stop by local running stores and ask them about places to run. If you’ve got some long runs to do, it’s worth investigating nice and safe places to run - ask the local running stores!

• Take your stuff to work, change at work, and workout on the way home. This was my routine when I traveled to Florida for 3 weeks at a time. I loaded all my stuff in the car in the AM, worked, changed, then immediately went to my run or bike location and worked out. This creates a routine and is better than going home tired, trying to gather all your workout stuff together, and then finding to find the energy to go workout!
• Use a Garmin or another GPS device. Why does this motivate me? I like to log new locations that I travel to on my Garmin profile and I typically send a link out on Twitter about my workout, so I want the workout to be worthy of a tweet - sure, it's not always worthy, but at least it's proof I did something active, instead of watching TV in the hotel room!
• Find people at your work location that are also training for something and workout with them. If you’re an athlete, you can typically spot other athletes…just ask around who’s training for a triathlon or marathon and talk to that person about places to train or go train with him/her or their group of friends! Local athletes know the best places to train and having someone to train with is motivating!