6 STEPS TO TRAVEL FITNESS

Fitness is very important, especially for enjoyable & sustainable travel! There were days backpacking Mexico when I was walking for 8 hours a day and covered 10 miles! I walked across entire cities by myself and it was amazing. It was one of my goals to be walking 10 miles everyday through the cities and towns. You can actually experience more that way than by riding in a car or bus. Below are some tips and exercises for staying fit while being a traveling gypsy! Your body is your spaceship, and you should take care of it!

1. Get a Yoga Mat. I bought a small one for $5 from Walmart. I cut the sides off to fit it into my suitcase. I used it to stretch at night after walking all day. After 8 hours of exercise, you’re going to want to stretch. I developed back pain from doing a year of backpacking and not stretching at night. Yoga is amazing for the back and mental & emotional wellbeing!
2. Go Walk Outside. Be in the sunshine (but don’t get sunburned – wear a hat and breathable shirt with long sleeves). Listen to music, a podcast, etc, while you workout. I would run around the block at night wherever I was staying and I always ran within a short distance from my host’s house.
3. Do Floor Routines. These are great basic moves for combined strength training and cardio and you don’t need any equipment! Repeat this cycle 5 times, or until you feel tired, or until 45 minutes – 1.5 hours has passed! You’ll be sore the next day but feel so good, energized and amazing!
4. Pushups X 30 Burpees X 10 To do a burpee, get on the floor and do a pushup, hop your feet under your chest, raise your upper body in squat position, and then raise your hands toward the sky. For an easier version, do a pushup and then put your feet underneath you and back again, but don’t get up!
5. Squats X 100 Keep your knees behind your toes. Put your arms out in front of you for balance, if necessary. Feet can be angled at 45 degrees. Feel it in the glutes. You’ll have the gluteus sexiest! Ha!
6. Jumping Jacks X 10 Pelvic Thrusts X30 Lay your upper back on a couch or bed and put your feet on the floor. Lower your pelvis toward the floor and then then use your glutes to raise it back up. Squeeze the glutes on the way back up. Lunges X30 – bend one knee in front and one behind you at 90 degrees – and squat – to get the gluteus sexiest!

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