How Can you Make Business Travel Healthier?
Make your next business trip a healthier one, by fitting in exercise for one thing. Nutritious eating is also important, I’ve covered this concept in my earlier blog, “What Does Healthy Eating on a Business Trip Look Like?“.
Whether you are jumping on a plane to meet your buyers or your team out on the West Coast or you are hopping in a car to drive to Ottawa for your annual fiscal planning meetings, there are ways to get more active while travelling for business.
When I was working in the corporate world, I did my fair share of business travel. I know that exercising isn’t always easy when you find yourself at an airport, on a long car trip or in back-to-back meetings. Stress, a break from routine and a lack of sleep from traveling can sometimes slow us down and make us feel tired, lazy and unmotivated. However, staying active is critical for you to reach your goals and stay on the top of your game!
3 Exercise tips for Business Travelers
Here are the ways that I fit exercise in, manage to get my work done and still find time to enjoy myself while on a business trip.
1. Start the day off right.
Avoid checking your cell phone immediately upon waking. Instead, go for a jog or speed walk to familiarize yourself with the new scenery. Work your stiff muscles out with 10-15 minutes of body weight training each morning. Better yet, pack a light and small resistance band or TRX to add more of a challenge into your workouts. Get your endorphins flowing through exercise, and the rest of your day will feel so much better!
2. Walk it off.
Venture away from your hotel for breakfast, I’m sure it will be better than the hotel’s buffet food. Walk to your business meetings if you can and then walk around in between them. I logged five thousand extra steps a day at the most recent fitness conference I attended, just by walking around in between each session! In the evening, explore the city you are in by foot. The benefits of walking are huge.
3. Stand whenever possible.
If there’s a high counter or a standing desk available, use it! Research shows that those who use standing desks can burn hundreds more calories a day. If standing desks aren’t an option, try standing towards the back of the room during your meetings. Many people are aware of the damaging effects of sitting as much as we do, and they don’t mind if you alternate between standing and sitting during their meeting. If sitting for most of the day is unavoidable, be sure to stand for the bulk of your evening.
Be more active in the office and burn more calories by using standing desks.
To sum it up…
Business travel can feel stressful and rushed. Try getting more active during your next trip, to not only burn more calories, but to feel more alert and present. Exercising in the mornings before the day really begins, walking everywhere and standing when possible, are a few tricks that help me stay more active while on business. Please share any exercise tips that have worked for you, in the comments section below.