Fitness Travel Tips from a Blonde while travelling abroad

The most important thing about weight management is sticking to a routine and consistent exercise. So how to manage this if you are a high powered, jet setting super hero? It’s much easier than you think and unfortunately your current excuse list is about to be demystified.

When you, or your personal assistant, select a hotel, make sure it offers access to an on-site gym. Trust me, finding a hotel WITHOUT a gym will take a lot more effort. When I recently went to visit my friend in Doha, I eagerly got on to the hotel treadmill and started increasing the speed. Much to my embarrassment, the treadmill was calibrated in miles, not kilometres. So be sure to take that into consideration!

Fortunately I was alone in the gym and had only myself to laugh at! Hence travel tips from a blonde.

Many of the hotel gyms offer drop in group classes and even drop in personal training sessions. Charge it to your company or the taxman? I’d say it’s a justifiable travel expense wouldn’t you?

Don’t like gyms? Pack your running shoes. Heard of minimalist shoes? Since they weigh next to nothing, there goes that excuse! TRAVELLER TIP: Running is a great way to orientate yourself in a new city and what better way to explore the new environment and get your exercise done. There are so many incredible running apps available on smart phones that you can pre-select your route, distance and time. Sadly this means you’ve just lost another debate. Don’t like running? A brisk walk should never be underestimated. Walking has plenty of benefits. Just increase your heart rate and get your body moving!

Many cities also offer outdoor gyms along beach promenades and even in parks. TRAVELLER TIP: Outdoor exercise has in fact been proven to help resynchronise your body clock faster when changing time zones.

There are three very important times when exercise can help reduce the symptoms of jetlag:

• 1. Exercise before your flight: ideally this workout should be at a high intensity, helping you to burn some pre travel calories and shed any pending travel stress. Worst case, walk around the airport during your dead travel time.
• 2. Stay active during your flight: I’m not implying you need to break out into yoga poses or drop and do push ups every half hour! What you can do is get up and walk around or try squeezing your glutes, contracting your abs or small leg lifts while seated.
• 3. Exercise after you arrive: studies show that jet lag symptoms are the worst two to three days after you arrive, not even in the same time zone for a day? All the more reason to have a simple body weight work out you can do as you get to your hotel room (try not to break anything please!). For a post-flight work-out stick to 20-30min moderate intensity.

All it takes to help your body clock reset itself more rapidly is a little pre-planning and self-discipline. Besides, long term effects of constant travel and high stress environments really aren’t worth ignoring, so stop hitting that snooze button.