It can be hard to sustain the habits that you follow at home, whether you are traveling for business or fun, and no matter how long you may be gone. That said, with a life on the move, an active lifestyle is not incompatible. You’re still going, after all! So, if you want to keep fit but notice that your progress is disrupted by the logistics of travel, you might just need to take a step back and consider a new strategy. There is no reason why it should be an unnecessary pressure on your life to make good decisions, and that’s valid regardless of whether you are at home or on the drive. Eating well and exercise can enrich, not distract from, our interactions.
When you’re out in the world, a little shift of attitude and a more holistic understanding of health could make a significant difference.
As a disclaimer, I am not a guru in fitness. I’m still not a nutritionist or a sports scientist, but I’m a traveler who loves an active lifestyle and has had to learn about my fitness relationship as it has evolved over the years. I hope some of my thoughts on the topic will encourage you to grow yours as well.
Avoid treating Fitness as a Game of Zero-Sum
I’m not certain if the word zero-sum is used a lot in fitness debates, but I’ll clarify what I mean, in any event. At times, my workout schedule irritated me because I saw it as a required commitment to change my less-than-healthy behaviors. I’ll go for a run or hit the gym after a night out or a weekend of comfort food because I feel like I have to, like I’m maintaining some sort of equilibrium. This does not seem like an unnatural way to think of my lifestyle on the surface. I’m at least making an attempt to make up for the negative with the better.
In this train of reasoning, however, there is an apparent inconsistency. Balancing act is a very difficult issue: if we work too hard in our lives to restore equilibrium, it may potentially have the reverse result and throw us off balance even more.
Statistics suggest that shorter periods of vigorous exercise will provide equal health effects in the short term to extended exercises of more modest duration. Normally, making sure you walk, especially after sitting for lengthy periods in travel, is the best thing to do while you’re traveling.
Start preparing and Pack
This might sound obvious, but I can’t count the amount of times I have gone on a trip and neglected to bring proper fitness gear with me. Take the time to set out everything you would need before you leave, with due consideration of the environment at your destinations. I suggest that you do this separately from the rest of your clothing, particularly if you’re like me and prefer to leave the last minute preparing. Seeing your running shoes or fitness clothes in your luggage while you’re traveling could just give you the extra incentive to suit up and go if you’ve made that commitment to a certain level of exercise in your life.
If you use your phone solely to manage your physical activities at home, think about investing in those smartphones whose usefulness would not be compromised by traveling abroad. I’m nuts about my numbers as a distance runner and mountaineer. I really want to see how far I’ve come, and for how long. For this reason, while I’m on the drive, my GPS-activated Garmin watch is a must-have, as it reliably monitors my distance and position around the world at no added cost (i.e. data). Often note that outside of a daily planned routine, rehabilitation is almost certainly more difficult, so investing in a foam roller or a massage ball that will work in your suitcase to complement your stretching is not a bad decision. Another important thing is to ensure you purchase a Visitors Insurance and Travel Medical Insurance from a good insurance company like Visitors Guru that will help protect you when you travel far away from home. Over the course of several years,
Exploring and trying out new stuff
The best thing is this. Travel is all about discovery, the comfort zone extension, and introduced to different cultures, locations, and ideas. We may not think instantly about how these topics contribute to our wellbeing, but a comprehensive approach to our health is better cultivated by introducing ourselves to as many diverse viewpoints as possible on these issues. For example, the top two pillars of my personal approach to wellness are running and meditation. Although I didn’t actually find them by traveling, travel made them more available and rewarding to me.
Eventually, by sticking to remaining safe when on the go, you may feel less daunted after reading this. The key thing to note is that health is ultimately a private thing, and everyone should treat it in the manner that they are most comfortable with. You should do that if you wish to make a difference and to be better. Take your foot off the accelerator a little and regroup your body and mind if you’re dissatisfied with your success and feel stuck. When you are on the move, the most important thing to do is enjoy the current moment, and before you know it, it will pass. The only way to ensure that you do that is to treat yourself with compassion.