How to Stay in Shape While Traveling

Staying in shape while traveling became my jam on two epic road trips I took recently. When my kids became teenagers life got a little, well, complicated. We’d been through the normal ups and downs as well as some not-so-normal ups and downs. After celebrating my daughter’s graduation from university she said, “Mom, you never took that road trip. Wanna go now?” We Thelma-and-Louised everything into our Prius.

One of the greatest challenges to staying in shape while traveling is conquering those seemingly endless periods of sitting, whether on intercontinental flights or road trips. And let’s not forget all the food we’re served or subjected to along the way - maintaining a healthy diet can be a real problem. If you’ve recently gained traction with a workout program at home, it’s usually toast when you travel. Nothing feels worse than coming home from an incredible trip only to face the reality of having fallen off the fitness bandwagon. Keeping your good habits up while you're traveling really isn't so difficult if you prepare properly - you'll be happy you did.

The Stick, by Rogue Fitness, is my little slice of mobility heaven. At every stop from Los Angeles to Mt. Rushmore and back - be it Gold Country, Boise, Yellowstone or the Badlands - I’d reach for my savior stick and massage my long-sedentary, knotted, sore muscles.

The Stick has many other benefits besides the obvious ones like reducing muscle stiffness, loosening knots and just generally feeling so darn good. It enhances blood circulation and eliminates lactic acid buildup after workouts. It also helps compress, warm and stretch muscles and is agile enough to target the specific areas that need the most care. My flight time and road time turned into the perfect time to treat my muscles to a much-needed massage.

Hooping on an exotic beach is an excellent way to get in a little exercise post scuba or snorkel (or post-lying on the beach all afternoon... no judgement!). Besides the calorie burning, hula-ing piques the interest of onlookers, so it's also a great way to make new friends. With all that hooping and gyrating, you won’t have to feel guilty about ordering that Mai Tai. Just keep in mind hula-hooping before your Mai Tai is probably best.

Drink prettier, healthier water molecules and wine molecules, too? I did not consider this a possibility before my trip but...Yes, please.

Vitajuwel makes beautiful, unique bottles that house gorgeous-looking gems - the mood rings of water bottles, if you will. You can pick from an assortment of lead-free gem vials and select the gems with the proper neuropathic traits to meet your mental, physical and spiritual needs. Some of the gem blends offered include cupid’s kiss, inner purity, sunny morning, and even diamonds. That’s right, real diamonds.

You’ll be an instant star (or feel like one, at least) when you whip out your VitaJuwel on-the-go and drink in the water’s healing properties; more importantly, staying hydrated is absolutely essential to staying in shape while traveling.

Apps of Adventure

One of the first things I do when I arrive in a new city is take a walk around the block; I guess I feel stuck in my hazy travel cocoon if I don’t explore right away. Plus, it's a good way to get a lay of the land from the get-go, and it usually leads to me discovering a park, museum or other place that I put on my tourist to-do list. By the time I get back to my hotel, I realize I've walked miles! Walking around is one way to get in some exercise while traveling, but there are also tried-and-true apps that actually help you stick to your exercise regimen:

Power 20. A full-body workout in twenty minutes. Who has time on a business trip to do a real workout? This app will help you maintain your workout travel by serving up a routine tailored to your timeframe. Don’t have twenty minutes? No problem, they’ve got a seven-minute workout. This app won’t leave you any excuses with selections named for the end result: “Better Butt,” “Chiseled Chest,” “Amazing Abs” as well as pre-natal workouts and ones for new moms.

Spring. The app helps put a spring in your step by serving up music that matches the cadence of the kind of workout you want. Enter your activity - run, hike or walk. They’ll not only serve up music to keep you going, they’ll track all your statistics so you can stay in shape while traveling. Created by SpringMoves, they describe themselves as the world’s first musical energy company.

AllTrails. Need a good trail recommendation from the hive mind? Tap into AllTrails and benefit from the travelers who came before you. Three million people have contributed to document 500,000 trails with reviews and even photos to help you find your way. It’s easy to use. Just enter your city and select a route. You don’t even need to be on a trip to enjoy this app. Plug in your city then find hidden gems in your own backyard. Upgrades include access to offline maps.

Yoga Studio. Need some Zen after that big business meeting? Maybe a family vacation has depleted your prana. Either way, Yoga Studio will restore you. It’s plug and play and lots of fun. Order up your practice your way. Need to release the hip area? There’s a program for that. There’s a practice for every level. The app makes your decision effortless, so you can practice effortlessly. Namaste.

Tips and Tricks

You might be thinking that with all of these gadgets and apps you’ve got this whole 'stay in shape while traveling' thing down. Well, yes. And, no. There are still a few choices you can make to help you stay in shape. Don't worry about checking off each and every item on the list below; pick even one item and you’re already giving the green light to your future fitness.

Plan ahead. You know the restaurant where the meeting is taking place? If you want to keep your diet in check, you'll need to employ a better strategy than to contemplate the menu and end up making an arbitrary, even hurried choice. Try looking up the restaurant's website ahead of time and accessing the menu online. Later, you'll calmly state your order worry-free.

Skip the alcohol. Substitute a cocktail for bitters and soda water.

Choose wisely. Steamed, broiled, grilled, poached and roasted are your friends.

Have a splurge day. Pick one day and reward yourself.

Arrange accommodations with a kitchen so you can cook and take better care of your body. HomeAway, AirBnB, and Agoda all provide options that are fitness friendly. Some accommodations come with their own yoga rooms and meditation gardens. You’ll get to know a local neighborhood better and what a joy it is to go to the farmer’s market in your destination city. Live like a local and enjoy staying in shape while traveling at the same time.

Forget your diet while you are away and get moving instead with one of the recommended apps and gadgets. Or choose from the fitness options available at your destination like bike tours, walking tours, kayaking, tennis, golf. Indulge your hobbies and passions for a healthy body.

Combine travel with making a fitness dream come true. Companies like RunFunTravel specialize in seeing fitness adventures come to life.

Don’t get sick. I’ve taken several trips around the world and have never gotten sick while traveling. I’m convinced that this is due to the fact that I take every precaution, putting everything I indicated here into practice. Nothing kills a workout routine or the ability to stay in shape while traveling like getting sick, so take your vitamins. Airborne is your friend. So are probiotics. To protect yourself from harmful germs, use disinfectant wipes to clean your armrest, call buttons, screens, fold-down trays, air vent controls, and any surface you come into contact with around your plane seat and every other public setting.

One of the best parts of my road trips with my girls were our spontaneous adventures, like when we went swimming in the cold Firehole river in Yellowstone, or spelunked down caves in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Moments that were physical and magical and didn’t feel like exercise, but simply arose from our enthusiasm of experiencing these new environments together. These gadgets, apps, tips and tricks will not be the main focus of your trip, but will only help optimize your beautiful journey and make it that much better.