Healthy Lifestyle

In the last post we learned how to stay fit while road tripping. This one is dedicated to the airport dwellers and frequent plane users. Whether you travel for work or for fun, these strategies will keep you working toward those fitness goals.

Traveling doesn’t have to keep the FitLife out of reach! Here’s how to make it work.

At the airport.

Eating.

Bring some goodies with you. Grab some nuts, seeds, jerky, fruit, veggies, and even boiled eggs. If you have the time, go all out and make some meals to bring with you. You can do sandwiches, wraps, or even from chicken and veggies. If you’re like me, I’ll bring a couple snacks, but I eat my meals at the airport. When looking for food to buy at the airport, opt for ones high in protein and have veggies.

*Breakfast options: egg sandwiches, breakfast burritos (eat the insides and less of the tortilla), yogurt, yogurt parfaits, and hard boiled eggs.
*Lunch/dinner options: sandwiches, wraps, salads (make sure there’s protein and some solid veggies on there), a protein and veggie dish, and soups. Don’t forget that glass or wine, beer, or cocktail!

*Don’t forget to drink your water. I usually bring an empty water bottle through TSA and then fill it up once I’m on the other side. Because no one’s going to make me pay a ridiculous amount of money for water!

Exercising.

The airport is seriously a workout playground. You can do a lot from cardio to strength training.

Cardio options: walking to your gate instead of taking the train between concourses. The Atlanta airport is probably my favorite for this one. They tell you the distance between concourses, and they have cool art and entertainment all throughout. You could also run if you don’t give a damn about what others think. The stairs are also your friend and usually not packed like the escalators. You can walk up and down them, run then, go up side ways, skip 2 steps on the way up, even just up every other step. Stairs are great for the booty.

Give this quick 5 minute stair workout a try. You can even do it at home if you have stairs.

Walk up the stairs, walk back down
Walk up the stairs (every other stair), walk back down
Run up the stairs, jog or walk down
Run up the stairs (every other stair), jog or walk down
Hop up the stairs (every other stair), jog or walk down
Walk or jog up the stairs facing right, jog or walk down
Walk or jog up the stairs facing left, jog or walk down

Repeat 2x and up to 6x

Strength training options: even if you checked a bag in, you’re probably still caring one that has some weight to it. You can use this for lots of moves. Plus you really only need your body to get in a quick workout. All those rows of chairs can be used for dips, pushups, split squats, and squats. Use your bag/suitcase for rows, shoulder press, weighted squats, overhead lunges and get a total body workout before getting on the plane.

Here’s a fun circuit you can do while you’re waiting.

3 rounds
10 rows
10 squats
10 dips
10 lunges
10 leg lifts from seat (for your abs)
10 shoulder press

Time to board.

Now that you’re on the plane, here are 3 things you can do to keep you feeling good.

Bring your own water. Then you don’t have to wait for the beverage service. Usually, I’m asleep by the time they come by and end up missing it.

Take a nap. If you’re like me and somewhat sleep deprived (something I’m really working on), get some zs. I’ll usually nap for part of the flight and then do some work during the rest. Allow your body some down time.

Stretch your legs every couple hours. This will help keep blood flowing in your legs. Ideally you’d get up and walk to the bathroom or something like that, but just standing and stretching those legs from your seat is great too. Walking around for a bit is highly encouraged on those long flights. This is also something I’m working on. For some reason I try and avoid getting up and moving around during flights. I fear that once I get up and go to the bathroom, we’ll get the worst turbulence, and I’ll just be flying around in the bathroom with no seat belt on. My friends think I’m a bit dramatic, but it’s a real fear and only more recently.

What strategies do you use to keep up with the FitLife while traveling? Let me know in the comments.

Where I’m linked up:

Inspire Me Monday | Inspire Me Monday | Totally Terrific Tuesday | Coffee and Conversation | Inspire Me Wednesday | Wild Workout Wednesday & Fit and Fashionable Friday | Healthy Living Link Party | Allergy Free Thursday | Think Tank Thursday | This is How We Roll