Workouts while on the Road

Fitness for Travelers

Excited about your vacation? Even though traveling is fun, getting to your vacation destination-whether by plane, train, automobile-often involves lengthy periods of sitting. Hours of sitting associated with air travel-first in the airport lounge & then on the plane can leave you tight before your vacation has even started!

To help combat potential problems associated with traveling, try these suggestions below from L. Leiber, who earned her master’s degree in public health from Berkeley, and teaches Pilates in Oakland, CA.

Exercising while Seated

What can you do when you find yourself in the captivity of an airport lounge? Try some of these exercises for improved posture.

Place feet flat on floor, parallel, a few inches apart.

Sit tall.

Tip your hips so that your pelvis is vertical.

Drop shoulders away from ears and lengthen back of neck.

Breathe in, exhale, and while exhaling pull your abs in. Return to this position after every move.

Figure four stretching. Do this by placing your ankle on your opposite knee. Lean forward until you feel a deep stretch on the outsie of the hips. Repeat on the other side.

Seated twists. While keeping a tall posture reach to the back of your chair and hold without letting your knees or hips rotate. When you exhale, allow your body to go farther into the stretch. Do not perform this move if you have disk issues.

Shoulder Shrugs & Rolls. Inhale and lift shoulders up to your ears. Exhale as you push your shoulders back and down, open your chest & let your shoulder blades move together. Continue to push your shoulders down and back. Repeat this exercise three to five times.

Neck stretch. Gently press your right ear toward your right shoulder while maintaining good posture. Keep your chin tucked in slightly while you perform this stretch. Feel the stretch on the left side of your neck. Release gently.

Rock-a-Bye-Baby. With arms folded out in front of your body, place your hands on opposing elbows. Pull one elbow to the side as far as possible, feeling a deep stretch on the opposite shoulder. Repeat this exercise 4-6X on each side.

Standing Exercises: You will be standing in line very often while on your trip. Airport security is just the first stop. Why not make the most of these opportunities with some of these moves?

Footwork. Stand, feet side-by-side, two or three inches away from each other and balance your weight evenly. Raise your heels off the ground slowly and evenly. Repeat eight to ten repetitions.

Prancing in Place. Use same start position as in exercise above. Come up onto balls of feet. Lower one heel to floor while keeping other heel raised. Alternately press one heel up as other heel comes down to floor. Repeat 12-15 times.

Knee Lift. While keeping your hips parallel to the floor, raise your knee the femur is level with the ground. Be sure keep your spine relaxed. Balance like this for fifteen to thirty seconds. Put your foot back on the ground and repeat for the other leg.

Spine-Roll. Bring your chin toward your chest and slowly roll come down one section of your back at a time until you’ve rolled forward, back arched. Keep your knees bent slightly throughout the movement and slowly come back to a full standing position. Repeat for 4-5 repetitions.