Fit For Travel, Fit For Lifestyle

Have you ever gone on group tours where you overhead callused or careless remarks like: ‘Why do they bring older people on tour?’ This is because some people have difficulty catching up or following the speed of the tour. Mind you, the Tour Directors may be sensitive to such realities and pace the tour (to the slowest moving ones) but they do get questioned, as I have witnessed.

The life cycle of humans indicate strongly that most tend to travel more only during their retirement. More and more, families are traveling in their youth, including bringing their children on overseas vacation at an earlier age (pre-teens). Being fit is an important aspect of your ability to cover more places of interest, as well as keeping up with the main group.

My ex-colleague, Edward who is based in Seattle shared with me last year that, when his colleagues invited him for a hike, it was 4-6 hour tough climbing excursion. He was not ready at all for his first foray into weekend hikes! He is now a fit, budding triathlete and blends well into the strong sporty and outdoors culture.

Executive fitness is as important as being fit for your vacation. Here are some ways to stay fit, year-round, for working trips or pleasure trips.

1)    Maintain basic fitness by doing fast, and long walks, a few times a week.

2)    Do core stability workouts a few times a week. You can do it at home at your convenience (before your shower or meal).

3)    You can do short circuit training sessions that last two to three sets (10-15 minutes long).

4)    If you have a gym, do 2-3 workouts per week as a goal. Weight-training is important for those over-40 as we tend to lose more bone mass then.

5)    Any activity is still activity! A bit goes a long way.

6)    Do some strength training for you may need to haul heavy luggage (yours, and others) when moving from airport to airport, hotel to hotel.

7)    After each business day, head for the gym to de-stress and aim for a 30-45 minute workout. Add variety, and switch order of activities or mix them up (swim, ride, run or strength-training).

8)    When traveling, stay hydrated with bottled or plain water.

9)    Move around when on-board your plane or train. DVT is a potential threat if we stay too still for too long.

10) Bring a small first-aid kit with you on all travels. Your local clinic can provide you with the basic set that includes medication for traveller’s sickness, fever, flu, cuts, stings and abrasions.