​Traveling can make it hard to keep up with your exercise routine.
 
Whether you’re hauling bags through terminals, sitting for hours and hours on a plane or bus, or sleeping in different (and sometimes uncomfortable) beds — the toll that traveling can take on your body can be significant.  It’s not uncommon for frequent travelers to experience back and joint pain, neck strains, and tension headaches.
 
Some hotels have gym areas, but not all do, and quality and availability of equipment can vary greatly. Add to that the fact that you’re usually away from a kitchen, are probably eating (awesome) calorie-packed foods, and are totally out of any normal routine, and it’s easy to see why so many travelers return from trips feeling a little sore and maybe less than healthy.
 
So how do you stay strong and pain-free while away from home?
 
The thing is, we tend to make working out an event. If you belong to a gym or studio, you pack your bag, drive there, find your locker, get dressed, go to a class or do your workout. You might shower afterwards if you have somewhere to go directly. All of this takes time. Our workouts start to feel like a 2-hour commitment, because that’s what we do when we’re at home and have that time.
 
The truth? You can work out your whole body in about 20 minutes, anywhere, with zero exercise equipment.
 
All you really need is your own body to provide the resistance and the bag you brought with you. Here’s a super-simple 2-step hotel room workout developed by fitness expert Steve Kamb that you can take anywhere (even outside!) and even tweak as you progress:
 
Step 1: Warm up (3-4 minutes). Get your core temperature warmed up, get blood flowing, and loosen up muscles by doing the following in rapid succession:

• 25 jumping jacks

• 15 body weight squats

• 10 push ups

• 10 lunges (each leg)

• 10 hip raises

• 25 more jumping jacks

 
Step 2: Work the circuit (15 minutes). Now set a timer for 15 minutes. Go through these exercises as many times as you can in succession until the timer goes off, ideally without breaks — although it’s fine to build up to that over time. The most important thing is to keep proper form for each one, even if you can’t do all of them or if you need to take a break.

• 20 Body Weight Squats (see this guide (link name to this ==> https://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Squat) for the best form)

• 15 Incline Push Ups (have your feet on floor and your hands on the edge of your bed or desk)

• 10 One-Arm Luggage Rows (each arm (link name to this ==> https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/fix-your-form-row_n_1546174.html), use your suitcase, carry on, or backpack as your weight)

• 10 Reverse Crunches (here is a guide (link name to this ==> https://healthyliving.azcentral.com/perform-reverse-crunch-hurting-lower-back-2031.html) for doing this while protecting your lower back and strengthening your core, which will help fend off low back problems)

 
And…that’s it. 15 minutes, and you’re done. Finish up with a few minutes of stretching and deep breathing, and you’ll be set. Imagine the difference that doing that even just three times a week would make on your trip.
 
What would it be like to come back from vacation stronger and in better shape than when you left?
 
Some travelers take on this challenge for longer trips! It’s been done — people do this routine on the beach at sunset, in beautiful parks, in the hotel gym. Once it’s just part of your travel routine, you’ll find all kinds of new (and sometimes hilarious) places to take 15 minutes to care for yourself.
 
As always, if you need help finding the perfect spot to do incline push-ups — or maybe relax with a book and a drink post-workout — I would be thrilled to help you get there. You can get in touch with me today by clicking here. I look forward to hearing from you!
 

There’s something so defeating about carefully packing for a trip, only to arrive at your destination with a suitcase full of wrinkled shirts, pants, or skirts.
 
While no packing method can be 100% wrinkle-proof, there are a few things that can affect the way your clothes move around in your suitcase, and can therefore have a direct effect on how wrinkled they get en route.

1. Reduce friction. Clothes get wrinkled essentially because the fibers stick slightly to one another, and then when the clothes shift around — especially when combined with a warm or humid environment in the suitcase — the “sticky” fibrils (tiny pieces of fibers) crumple up against each other. If you can reduce friction, you can reduce wrinkling.
2. One way to do this is to choose fabrics that have stronger polymers. Polymers form the basic structures of fibers, which are what fabrics are made of. The polymers in 100% natural fibers like cotton, linen, and hemp break down at a much lower temperature, which makes them wrinkle much more easily. Fabric blends (like a cotton/Spandex blend, for example) and regenerated polymers like bamboo, Tencel, and Modal keep their shape at higher temps, helping them resist wrinkling.
3. Another way to reduce friction? Plastic. If you have dress shirts or blouses that you want to keep looking pressed, wrap them in thin plastic dry cleaning bags as you pack them. This keeps the fibers from sticking to one another, allows some airflow, and will increase the chances that your garments will arrive looking great.
4. Avoid over-packing. Cramming clothes together crushes the fibers and causes wrinkling. Clothes, like everything else in life, need a little breathing room.
5. Avoid huge spaces in your suitcase. This might sound like it contradicts #2 — but the key here is balance. You don’t want a suitcase too jam-packed, but having random open spaces in your suitcase also can cause heavier items like shoes to shift around and crumple clothing. What you want is a suitcase that is evenly packed with heavier or unwieldy items secured enough so they don’t tumble around.
6. Find a folding method that works and stick with it. Jeans and t-shirts respond well to rolling. Tutorials like this one (link name to this ==> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-right-way-to-pack-a-dress-shirt-2014-6) on how to fold dress shirts abound on the Internet.  There’s more than one way to banish the wrinkle
7. Try something totally unconventional. There is a packing method that involves layering clothes out flat in your suitcase, with the sleeves and legs hanging over the edge to start. Next, you create a soft “bundle” of your socks and underwear in a fabric bag, which you place in the center of the flatly layered items. Then, like shuffling a deck of cards, you begin to fold in the sleeves and pant legs one at a time, laying them gently over the cushion in the middle. The theory is that this creates the optimal environment — not too crammed, not too loose, room for air circulation, and minimizing friction — so clothes arrive looking great. When you arrive, you simply unwrap the items in your suitcase and hang them up as needed.

Check out additional wrinkle-free packing suggestions here (link name to this ==> https://www.smartertravel.com/2016/03/11/wrinkle-free-packing-secrets-put-to-the-test/).

A few wrinkles with each trip are probably unavoidable. But understanding how fibers interact and how space, heat, and humidity affect fabrics can at least help you get to your destination with only minor ironing needs. After all, the goal is to spend more time enjoying your trip and less time ironing out the wrinkles!
 
Are you gearing up for a dream trip and have questions? I’d love to work with you and help you make the most of your next amazing vacation. You can get in touch with me by simply clicking here.