Stay HIT fit during travel assignments
HIT consulting certainly has its perks – new challenges, locations and environments – but some consultants may have trouble staying healthy while traveling. Unfamiliar territory and long hours often mean you might be too tired to look for a gym, and the only exercise you have in mind is to fall exhaustedly into your hotel bed. Whether you want to drop a few pounds, shape up for long walks down hospital corridors or practice what your healthcare colleagues preach, there’s hope for staying fit on the road.
If you find yourself devoid of all energy at the end of the day, consider waking up earlier to exercise, or visit the gym on your lunch break, three to four times per week. Then your evenings will be free for relaxing and catching up with your family.
Follow these additional quick tips to maintain a fitness routine while on the road:
- If you don’t have time to go to the gym, walk everywhere you can. Park far away from your hospital’s door. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk more briskly everywhere you go.
- Bring along an exercise DVD or two, advises Joe Decker, “The World’s Fittest Man” and contributor to Active.com. Most hotels have a DVD player in each of the rooms, so you can work in a yoga or aerobic workout right in your room.
- Pack lightweight exercise equipment, such as a jump rope and exercise tubes, says Leanna Skarnulis of WebMD’s Fitness and Exercise Center. As a bonus, purchase portable dumbbells you can fill with water once you’ve arrived at your destination.
- If your job requires you to sit for long periods of time, get up every hour and walk around the building for five to 10 minutes. Over a 12-hour shift, you’ll burn 300-600 calories.
- Run outside not only to exercise, but to sightsee, make exercise time pass quicker and get some fresh air, says Brett Blumenthal, founder of The Healthy Road Warrior travel and fitness blog.
- For those staying in hotels without gyms, check out area parks to run or walk in, see if your hospital offers a gym for its employees and consultants or find a fellow consultant to occasionally walk with you around your hospital campus. MapMyRun.com is a great resource to find recommended running paths in travel cities.
- In your hotel, sneak in push-ups, lunges, squats, sit-ups and calf raises during commercial breaks for every hour of television you watch.