7 hacks for staying fit on the road
Gaining or losing weight to a level where you’re uncomfortable with your physique is something that is much more likely to habit when you can’t stick to your routine. Away from your gym, your treadmill and your workplace, you might have a hard time maintaining a healthy body weight or even start losing some of that hard-gained muscle mass that you’re so proud of. Fortunately, where there’s a will there’s always a way and here are some tips to help you stay fit on the road. First of all you need to have Body Fat Calculator with you.
1. Jump rope
One of the main tips for staying fit on the road lies in your ability to provide a steady cardio exercise no matter where you are. The simplest way to pull this off is to pack a jump rope with you. There’s one study according to which just 5 minutes of jump rope (120 to 150 jumps in a minute) can replace running for 3 miles. Due to the fact that your journey may also consist of a lot of walking (even swimming), your cardio game should remain strong while on the journey. This powerful exercise may not require other equipment but you must not forget to consider getting yourself a good pair of jumping rope cushioned shoes. As what Lilly Harvey from ShoeAdviser have mentioned: “having a strong grip and plenty of padding is essential for lots of physical activities, and jumping rope is no exception”.
2. Watch out for what you eat
This will become a lot more difficult, seeing as how the amount of food you’ll be able to bring will be quite limited. Still, with some effort, a lot can be achieved. First, you can bring your own supplementation. Proteins powder and similar food supplements can be brought in the luggage, mixed in the morning and then consumed wherever you are (in your bus seat or behind the wheel). Nonetheless, you need a good protein shaker in your luggage. Also, even if you can’t predict every meal, keeping the number of junk food stops is a minimum you can do.
3. Exercise mat
Some light stretching is incredibly important on road, seeing as how feeling back pain during a long voyage (while away from home and your physician) is a big deal. With this simple piece of equipment, you’ll be able to successfully practice Yoga Asana, which is a known back pain relief. Other than this, an exercise mat can help you do sit-ups and crunches in order to work on your core on a hotel floor, without any downside. Add to this some pushups and pull-ups and what you have is a holistic callisthenic workout to fall back to.
4. Bring your bicycle
Some regions are known to be amazing cycling tours and it would be a shame for you not to experience things this way. While some may assume that this is something that you can just figure out once you get there, renting a bicycle is not the same thing as getting your own bike (the one that was hand-picked and tuned by you). Other than fitness and sightseeing, you need to focus on the safety of your cycling adventure, which is why you need to include all the additional cycling gear to your luggage. You should even consider the probability of an accident and think about the insurance and possible public liability claims. Staying fit and active on a journey is not nearly as easy as it seems.
5. Have a routine
The very point of going on a journey is breaking your routine, as well as seeing, experiencing and trying out things that you wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to. However, fitness requires a routine and there are some aspects in which you have to honor it. Try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day (this will affect your tiredness levels), eat at approximately same hours (this will help tune your metabolism) and include some small fitness habits into your schedule.
6. Stay hydrated
Eating properly while on a journey is not easy either. First of all, it will be so easy to try and fight exhaustion and sleeplessness with energy drinks, which further dehydrate you and use coffee as your fuel. This is not a good idea and if you do need caffeine, your main source of it should be tea. Other than this, always carry a bottle of water. Just because you’re no longer home, this doesn’t mean that you still shouldn’t try to drink 2l of water every single day.
7. On-foot traffic is a must
The very last thing you should focus on is the on-foot traffic, which could be a huge part of your itinerary. Namely, it will be quite tempting to use Uber, taxi or public transportation (if you haven’t brought your bike as we’ve suggested) yet walking is so much better as a solution. It will help you get to know the place, as well as save money on the urban commute.
In conclusion
One of the greatest challenges that staying fit on the road may bring is a disruption in your positive habits. Jumping back into your old fitness efforts, after being inactive and glutinous for two or three weeks, is not an easy thing. This is why, in order to stay fit on the road, you must always consider how your short-term actions are affecting your long-term goals.