Tips for the business traveller on how to keep fit while away from home

I’m away on a business trip, so I can’t exercise this week right?

Wrong! Just because you’re on your travels and away from home and your normal routine, it doesn’t mean you can’t exercise. If you’re away for a deserved break then I don’t expect you to exercise, take the rest. But if you’re a regular traveller for business purposes who spends a lot of the week in hotels then you do have some options if you’re willing to explore them. The truth is if you really want to train you will. When I travel away from home for long periods whether its for work or pleasure, I always research a place I can train. So I guess it comes down to whether you really want to or whether you are happy with just using your situation as an excuse not to.

So what are your options? If you’re in a city then there will be a gym within walking distance. Most gyms will do day rates, some weekly passes so enquire with the places near you and see what they offer. If the private gyms are charging what you would consider too much then look into the local council gyms which will likely be cheaper.

If going to a gym isn’t your thing then pretty much every big park in every city across the country has military style boot camp classes most nights of the week that you can book into quite easily at affordable prices so explore the possibility of joining an outside class. Training with others in large groups will be a motivating experience and getting outside rather than cooped up in your room will be an added bonus.

You do also have the option to exercise within your room and I suppose the benefit to this is its convenient, cost effective and if you’re a little self conscious then you have nothing to worry about, as nobody will see you. You’re going to be limited to bodyweight exercises, but that is ok because firstly, bodyweight exercises are great, and if you’re a beginner and your goal is to get fitter, feel healthier and lose some weight then bodyweight exercises are the place to start – just make sure they are at a level that you can handle. Most bodyweight exercises can be scaled back or advanced and there are a vast amount of variations and movements that could be included in your session so it may be worthwhile getting a one off appointment with a PT who can prescribe something suitable for you to get you started. Whatever you do, go for quality over quantity as this will help you progress more safely. Even if you choose 4 exercises such as a push up, squat, plank and lunge and did 4 rounds of 40secs on each exercise with 20secs rest between with a further 2mins between rounds that’s a total of 24mins training time including rest periods with an elevated heart rate. Better than sitting watching corrie.

It’s not easy when you’re away from home but the most important thing is to try fit in something. Something is better than nothing, and the key to any training programme is consistency.