TRAVEL EXERCISES YOU CAN DO WITHOUT A HOTEL GYM

From the push-up position, lower your upper body so your forearms are flat on the ground, parallel to each other. Keep your core tight, and for extra challenge, alternate lifting each foot up, or try a side plank.

This exercise is essentially the opposite of bird dog. It’s great for your core and minimally stressful for your spine.

Flat on the floor, raise your arms straight up, fingertips pointing to the ceiling. Lift your legs so your hips and knees are both at 90 degrees. With a tight middle, slowly lower one leg and the opposite arm toward the floor, without arching or flattening your back.

Tone the back of your arms with tricep dips, which you can do off a park bench or even a step.

Sit with your palms on the edge of the bench, beside your legs. Scoot your bottom forward until it’s off the seat, with your knees at about 90 degrees. Slowly drop your hips a bit until upper arms are parallel to the ground (bending your elbows more can strain your shoulders). Return to the starting position.

The farther out you move your legs, the greater challenge for your arms.

“People roll their eyes at me all the time about balance,” Gillanders told me. “But so many things we do –travelling or otherwise – require balance: walking, climbing stairs, hiking.” Just like strength and flexibility, he said, we lose balance with age. But with a little work, it’s possible to maintain mad skills in the stability department. Stand on one leg and engage your core, quad and glute. If you’re wobbly, stand in a doorway for support. Once you can stand like a flamingo for 30 seconds without losing balance, progress to swinging your leg forward and back, like a pendulum, then left and right in front of you. For a more advanced exercise, turn your head side-to-side and up and down, close your eyes or stand on a folded towel.

Gillanders recommends dedicated stretching time after your workout, when muscles are warmed up. “People don’t like the idea of stretching,” Gillanders said, “but think about your non-vacation habits (hunch over a computer screen, anyone?) and areas where you’re prone to tightness, such as your hamstring, back and hip flexor.”

Stop. Listen to waves crashing or birds chirping. Wander. Get lost. Sit in the sand and breathe deeply. “Most folks think of exercise as go-go-go,” Gillanders said. “The practice of mindfulness and meditation demonstrates the upside of slowing down.” He suggests ditching devices and scrapping schedules. “Staying fit doesn’t have to be moving. It can be going into a field and meditating.” – The Washington Post

While keeping fit during a stint of travelling is vital, practising mental fitness, like meditation and mindfulness, is also important, says the author.