Friday Five: 5 Tips for Staying Fit on the Road

It’s Friday, so I am linking up with Courtney at Eat, Pray, Run DC, Cynthia at You Signed Up for What and Mar at Mar on the Run for their weekly linkup. Each week they pick a theme and bloggers join in and link up. This year instead of specific themes, they are letting us be creative with broad themes for each week of the month. This is a “fitness” week. I had a bunch of business travel this week, so I offer you “5 Tips for Staying Fit and Happy on the Road.”

Fit happy road FI

1. Bring your workout gear. I was in NYC on Monday and Tuesday and I brought my running gear to take the opportunity to head to a “happy place” for some runs – Central Park. As my Instagram said, any day that starts in Central Park is a good day.  I always take my sneakers and running clothes even if I only have a few minutes. I always feel better starting the day with a run or walk even if it is a short one. I love to see new places and familiar places that I love, too. As an added bonus, this week I got to run with a great friend and hear about her Boston Marathon experience. Connecting with friends on the road for business is very good for my health and happiness.

2. Scope out hotel gyms and running trails before you book. I have mentioned this before. I stay in hotels with gyms or access to fitness options whenever possible. I use my 7 minute workout app in the room if there is no gym or just do some push-ups and sit-ups (#betterthannothing!)

Walking is easier in awesome places like New York City!
Walking is easier in awesome places like New York City!

3. Walk to your meetings. This is sometimes easy and sometimes tough. This week, I was in NYC for two days which makes walking everywhere easy. Then, I spent a day in Cincinnati out by the airport. The customer site I needed to go to was nearby but there was no way to walk there. So, I walked as much as I could at the site and then took lots of extra steps at the airport.

AB Stairs
This public service announcement at my customer site is so true! (It’s a beer company, by the way.)

4. Take the opportunity to be active when you can. I walk around in airports… a lot. Hopefully, I am not freaking anyone out at the TSA. If I have only a little time when I get up, I run for a few minutes, walk or so a few minutes of body weight exercise. I take the stairs or the long way around when I walk. You get the gist. Like the first lady says, “Just Move!”

5. Know when to take a rest. I got delayed on Tuesday evening and averaged less than 6 hours of sleep per night the previous four nights. Instead of forcing myself to exercise on Wednesday morning and be rushed for my 9:00 meeting. I relaxed, prepped for my meeting and moved as much as possible during the day. (More airport walking!)

How do you stay fit and happy on the road? Have a great weekend!

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