The holidays can be a challenging time to keep fit, especially if you are traveling. However, read our tips to stay in shape while traveling this holiday season.
Why Exercise and Nutrition Are Important
Whether you are a member of the military or not, staying in shape during the holiday travel season is a challenge. Managing airport food, long flights, and holiday parties, make it hard to carve out time to sustain routines. However, it is important that we make time for our health so we can enjoy the holidays again next year.
Exercise is not only important to military members but a lifestyle that should be important to everyone. Daily exercise is proven to lower blood pressure, increase life longevity, prevent heart disease, and have a myriad of other benefits. In addition to all the listed benefits, exercise can be a fun activity to participate in.
Exercise can also help you build strength and keep weight off. However, it is not only about maintaining an exercise routine. A big portion of staying in shape is also ensuring that you are getting the right nutrients in your body. Traveling can make that difficult. As we travel through the airport, we are tempted to reach for high-calorie and low-nutrient meals. Additionally, staying hydrated during the holidays can also be difficult. Flights can easily dehydrate us and with TSA restrictions on liquid brought on board, we quickly forget to drink water.
However, we are here to help you! Follow the following tips to stay fit during the holidays. We promise that getting back to unit PT will not be hard if you follow our tips!
Keep the Same Routine
We know that it sounds counterintuitive to say to keep the same routine. When we travel for the holidays that is the first thing to get thrown out the window. Flight schedules, time zones, and late-night holiday socializing are great disruptors of our routines. However, you can try to book flights within the range of when you would normally be up during the day. If you are flying internationally try to book a flight that will put you in the natural hours of your circadian rhythm.
Sleep is one of the key components of health and is often disturbed during holiday travel. Three days before you’re scheduled to travel, begin moving your bedtime an hour earlier (or later, as appropriate) than you normally would. Add another hour on the second evening, and a third hour on the third day.
Take Melatonin
What is melatonin? Melatonin is a hormone that your brain produces in response to darkness. It helps with the timing of your circadian rhythms (24-hour internal clock) and with sleep. Being exposed to light at night can block melatonin production.
Research suggests that melatonin plays other important roles in the body beyond sleep. However, these effects are not fully understood.
Melatonin dietary supplements can be made from animals or microorganisms, but most often they’re made synthetically. The information below is about melatonin dietary supplements.
How doe Melatonin Help?
Melatonin supplements are believed to support the body’s natural processes for falling asleep. Experts recommend that travelers consider taking melatonin supplements in addition to getting light exposure to ease jet lag.
The supplement can be beneficial when the destination is multiple time zones to the east. When traveling eastward, taking melatonin around the destination’s dusk time for up to five days after arrival can aid in transitioning to the local time. Short westward travel might not require melatonin. Instead, timing exposure to light may be sufficient.
Book a Hotel with a Gym
It is easy to forget to exercise if you are not in your daily routine. Even more, it is hard to think about exercise when you do not have access to it. To make things easier for you, try to book a hotel with a gym. If you are booking a trip a trip through MilitaryFares, we offer discounts to many resorts and hotels that are guaranteed to have gyms. Even better we offer exclusive military discounts to top hotels and resorts.
Whether it is getting on the bike or on a treadmill make it a point to go to the gym every day. Many resorts also offer classes for you to attend while you are on vacation. They offer classes like Zumba, dance, and depending on your location, more extreme things like surfing.
Make it a point to visit the hotel gym every day. Perhaps make it part of your daily routine as you head to the buffet for meals. If you not staying at paid lodging, consider checking out local gyms in your area. Yelp and Google can help in finding reviews for good gyms. If you are traveling to a warmer climate, consider local trails for daily runs or walks.
Pack Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are an easy way to get a workout. They are easy to pack and you can do many different types of workouts with them. Resistance bands, also known as workout bands or exercise bands, are stretchable bands used for both physical therapy and general fitness. No matter where you are with your body and your fitness routine, there is a resistance band out there that is right for you.
Resistance bands are also easy to fit in any luggage and do not take up much space. They can be used to stretch after long flights, do yoga, or do strength training. They are easy to use and there are many free workouts available online for you to do during your trips. A resistance band is a lightweight elastic band used to induce muscular contraction. This contracting motion builds strength in the muscles as the user pulls against the band. Resistance bands have been around in some form or another since the early 20th century.
Meal Prep
You may be thinking that perhaps we have a typo by recommending that you meal prep before a flight. But you read that correctly. Taking the time to meal prep before a big trip or flight can ensure that you don’t overconsume meals. Meal prepping can also save you money on a road trip or flight. Eating out can get expensive. If you are flying and staying at the hotel this is an easy way to cut costs.
There is no limit to the amount of food you can bring on board, as long as it can fit in your carry-on luggage! You can also pack your food any way you’d like — in a lunch bag, in resealable plastic bags, in Tupperware, etc.
The TSA says, “If you can spill it, spread it, spray it, pump it or pour it, and it’s larger than 3.4 ounces, then it should go in a checked bag” or it will be thrown away. Save yourself some money and pack some snacks and meals as you travel!
Don’t Skip Meals
Skipping meals creates blood sugar swings that can affect your energy levels and mood. If you are anything like that, you might get hangry. Without a fresh intake of nutrients, you may end up feeling lethargic and mopey. Of course, this can affect your judgment and cause you to reach for unhealthy foods that won’t supply your body with key nutrients or satisfy your hunger.
Temporarily abstaining from food and trying to engage in activities is a double whammy to your system since your body will struggle to pull from its nutrient stores to keep up with the increased energy demands. This type of strategy will not help you save calories later on. People that skip meals tend to overeat in their future meals.
Drink Alcohol in Moderation
The holidays are always filled with toasts and occasions to celebrate with your choice of alcoholic beverages. It may be easy to overindulge in beverages. Moderate alcohol use for healthy adults generally means up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men. While moderate alcohol use may offer some health benefits, heavy drinking — including binge drinking — has no health benefits.
Heavy or high-risk drinking is defined as more than three drinks on any day or more than seven drinks a week for women and for men older than age 65, and more than four drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks a week for men age 65 and younger. Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks within two hours for women and five or more drinks within two hours for men.
Engage the Family
One of the fun things you can do together as a family is an exercise! No matter what plans you have for the holidays you can always make exercise a family activity. Activity can be anything from taking walks on the beach to engaging in local activities such as skating, swimming, or skiing. No matter that activity make sure that you carve some time for it on your family schedule. Remember that, exercise does not always have to be an individual activity.
Pick a Destination that Will Force You to be Active
There are many destinations in the world to choose from. While you are picking your destination you may want to keep in mind what kinds of activities are available for you or your family. Going to places that are known for having active lifestyles can help in staying fit during the holidays. We can help you find cheap tickets to places like Hawaii, where you could run on the beach or engage in fun beach activities. If you are looking for a more winter feel, we can also help you find cheap military discounted fares to places like Aspen or even Germany. Aspen is a big travel destination known for its snowboarding and skiing activities. Germany is a great place to visit. You are guaranteed to get many steps in perusing winter markets.
Anywhere you chose to travel, have an activity in mind and then pursue that activity. Try to limit the time you spend in your hotel room and enjoy the local tourist areas and things to do.
Walk as Often As Possible
A study out of Brigham Young University that followed 120 college freshmen found that the more steps participants took per day, the better their physical activity patterns were. Sedentary time dipped for participants who took 12,500 and 15,000 steps per day, and those who took 15,000 steps reduced their sedentary time by as much as 77 minutes per day. This “may have other emotional and health benefits,” says the study.
According to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, adults should do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise per week in order to get “substantial health benefits” from these activities. However, doctors recommend that you get anywhere from 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day.
Walk as often as you can while you’re traveling. If you are at the airport opt to take a walk to your gate. Try to take the stairs at your hotel. Additionally, try to get in the daily recommended steps every day.
Hydrate
Drinking water is not only important during your daily life but it is also important when traveling. Although the air cabins are controlled, at times they can have lower air pressure. Thus, this can cause dehydration. Furthermore, on average most people don’t drink enough water on a daily basis. In turn, when they travel, they are quick to neglect drinking water.
Around 60% of your body is made up of water. Water is required for the proper functioning of virtually every bodily system.
Mild dehydration can happen when you lose just 1.5% of the water in your body. The average 154 lbs human body has around 11 gallons of water at normal levels. This means that if you were to lose the 67 ounces from water loss alone when you fly, you’d be saying goodbye to almost 5% of your fluid volume.
That’s more than 3x the amount of water loss that qualifies for mild dehydration. And that’s not even counting the other sources of airplane dehydration! It’s no wonder you feel so dehydrated when you fly. And when you do, you’re likely to experience a host of side effects:
Fatigue and Grogginess
One of the first symptoms of dehydration is often fatigue, which explains one of the reasons you may feel exhausted after a day of travel even if you didn’t land in a different time zone.
In fact, studies have shown that those who are dehydrated can experience not only fatigue, but also mood swings, brain fog, reduced cognitive abilities, and confusion.
Increased Jet Lag
Your body needs plenty of water to regulate your circadian rhythm, which is especially important when you’re traveling across time zones.
The circadian rhythm relies on hormonal responses, which can be dysregulated by dehydration and electrolyte imbalance (which go hand-in-hand).
Both dehydration and electrolyte imbalance can contribute to insomnia and difficulty sleeping, as well, which aggravates your circadian system and makes jet lag even harder to recover from.
Susceptible Immune System
Water has a big, important role to play in the majority of your bodily functions, including your immune system response.
Having dehydrated mucous membranes (especially in the nose) leaves us more vulnerable to airborne viruses by compromising our ability to filter bacteria and viruses.
Skin Problems
Travel takes a toll on your skin, and while the dry, flaking skin on your face may be uncomfortable, it’s unlikely to be long-lasting.
That said, dehydration aggravates skin issues, and not getting enough water when you travel may contribute to brittle nails, flaking skin, acne, and more.
Can You Bring Water on a Plane?
any other liquids more than 3.4 oz. (well there are some exceptions) through security, but you CAN bring an empty bottle. Just fill it up on your way to boarding your flight after screening.
Plan to Work Out
It may sound silly but you have to make sure that you plan your workouts when you travel. If you don’t plan to stay fit while traveling, you won’t. Research activities, restaurants, and hotels in advance, but let our future selves sort out exercise when we get there.
Do yourself a favor: add exercise to your travel planning. Search for outdoor workout areas and boot camps or classes you can join. If you can’t find any, look for parks or soccer fields for sprints and intervals, and stairwells to jump up and down.
Bring a cool playlist or interesting podcast
One way to keep yourself entertained when you are working out is music. If you dread getting on a hotel treadmill or just activity in general while traveling, bring some entertainment. Music is proven to improve your mood when working out and also helps pass time faster.
If you don’t feel like putting together a playlist, then try searching for an entertaining podcast while you conduct your physical activity.
Eat the Local Food
If you are traveling abroad, don’t be tempted to eat at fast food restaurants. Make sure you try authentic and local food! Eating local food can be lower calories and healthier for you.
