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Business travelers know to stay on top of their exercise game, it pays to bring along the right gear

Staying fit on the road means bringing along the right gear

There is nothing worse for an exercise regime than a business trip stuffed to the gills with a full itinerary. In fact, one of the elements of a successful workout routine is the routine itself. The Department of Health and Human Services suggests that adults need at a minimum of “150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and should perform muscle-strengthening exercises on two or more days each week.”

Thus, since the average length of a business trip is about six days, in order to keep on par with one’s exercise best practices, business travelers need to take the workout along with the work.

The plot thickens when one sprinkles in a bit of leisure with the business. This mashup yields the latest business travel portmanteau – "bleisure" – which can be described as multi-tasking on a grand scale. Bleisure often extends business trip, adding experience and Instagrammable moments to the trip, making it even more important that proper exercise routines travel alongside the businessperson.

Knowing their usual gym bags will be swapped for attaché cases throughout the journey, exercise enthusiasts should be asking the right questions to decide which essential workout tools yield the highest return on their exercise investment.

• Do the items allow me to maintain my normal exercise routine?

• Are the items lightweight (an important factor considering airline restrictions)?

• Are the items compact or can fold easily?

• Will I be able to utilize the fitness items in small spaces, if necessary?

Here are some of our top picks in six specific categories of take-along exercise equipment: