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Workouts for Travelers

Excited about going on vacation? While traveling is fun, simply getting to a vacation destination-whether by plane, train, bus or car-often involves extended periods of immobility. Hours of inactivity associated with air travel-first in the airport waiting lounge and then on the plane may leave you achy and sore before your vacation has even begun!

L. Leiber, from the Univ. of California, Berkeley is offering some great suggestions on how to combat the problem of travel related body stress.

Seated Exercises

What can you do when you find yourself in the captivity of an airport lounge? Try some of these exercises for improved posture.

Put your feet on the floor, just a couple inches away from each other.

Sit up straight.

Take your hips to the neutral position. Do this by bringing it vertical.

Push your shoulders down, away from your ears.

Breathe in, then exhale. When you exhale, be sure to pull your abs in. Do this after every seated exercise.

Figure four stretching. Do this by placing your ankle on your opposite knee. Lean forward until you feel a deep stretch on the outsie of the hips. Repeat on the other side.

Seated Twist (Not for People With Disk Problems). Keeping knees and hips facing front, reach around to one side with both hands and hold onto back of chair. Breathe in. On exhalation, rotate rib cage and look over back of chair while keeping as much length in spine as possible. Hold stretch for 10-15 seconds. Return to start position and repeat, twisting to other side.

Shoulder Shrug and Roll. Inhale as you lift shoulders up toward ears. Exhale as you roll shoulders back and down, opening chest and letting shoulder blades come together. Continue sliding shoulders down the back, away from ears. Repeat 3-5 times.

Neck stretch. Gently press your right ear toward your right shoulder while maintaining good posture. Keep your chin tucked in slightly while you perform this stretch. Feel the stretch on the left side of your neck. Release gently.

Rock-a-Bye-Baby. With arms folded out in front of your body, place your hands on opposing elbows. Pull one elbow to the side as far as possible, feeling a deep stretch on the opposite shoulder. Repeat this exercise 4-6X on each side.

Standing Exercises: You will be standing in line very often while on your trip. Airport security is just the first stop. Why not make the most of these opportunities with some of these moves?

Calf Raises. With your feet side by side, slowly roll up on to the balls of your fee. Hold for a count, then return to the starting position. Repeat this exercise 10 times.

Prancing. Use same position as described above. Come to balls of feet. Lower a single heel toward the ground and be sure to keep the other heel elevated. Repeat this exercise twelve to fifteen times.

Knee Lift. While keeping your hips parallel to the floor, raise your knee the femur is level with the ground. Be sure keep your spine relaxed. Balance like this for fifteen to thirty seconds. Put your foot back on the ground and repeat for the other leg.

Back-Curl. While standing upright begin curling forward one section of your spine at a time until you are bent over at the waist, arms hanging forward. Be sure to keep your knees slightly bent during this exercise. Come back up to a full standing position one vertebrae at a time. Repeat 3-5X.

So there you have it. For more information visit Orange County boot camps and try our Orange County boot camp now.

Fitness for Travelers

Traveling is mostly fun, however, the simple act of getting to your location-whether by plane, train, bus or car-often involves long periods of immobility. This time waiting can and will leave you tight, sore, and achy before you even get started!

To help you prevent some of the problems associated with inactivity while traveling, L. Leiber, has been kind enough to offer some tips.

Non-traditional Exercises

What can you do when you find yourself in the captivity of an airport lounge? Try some of these exercises for improved posture.

Place feet flat on floor, parallel, a few inches apart.

Sit up on sit bones.

Tip pelvis to bring it vertical (neutral spine position).

Lengthen your neck, like a giraffe. Do this by pushing your shoulders away from your ears.

Breathe in, then exhale. When you exhale, be sure to pull your abs in. Do this after every seated exercise.

Figure-Four Stretch. Place one ankle on top of opposite knee. Hinge forward at hips, keeping spine neutral. Hold for 15-30 seconds, feeling a deep stretch on outside of hip. Repeat on other side.

Seated twists. While keeping a tall posture reach to the back of your chair and hold without letting your knees or hips rotate. When you exhale, allow your body to go farther into the stretch. Do not perform this move if you have disk issues.

Shoulder shrugs and rolls. Inhale and lift your shoulders toward your ears. On the exhale push your shoulder blades back and down into your back pockets. Continue and repeat this exercise for 4 to 6 repetitions.

Neck stretch. Gently press your right ear toward your right shoulder while maintaining good posture. Keep your chin tucked in slightly while you perform this stretch. Feel the stretch on the left side of your neck. Release gently.

Rock-a-Bye-Baby. With arms folded out in front of your body, place your hands on opposing elbows. Pull one elbow to the side as far as possible, feeling a deep stretch on the opposite shoulder. Repeat this exercise 4-6X on each side.

When You Are Standing: Waiting to get passed security at the airport is the first of many times your will stand in line on your trip. Make the best use of your time with some of these exercises.

Calf Raises. With your feet side by side, slowly roll up on to the balls of your fee. Hold for a count, then return to the starting position. Repeat this exercise 10 times.

Stationary March. Come up to the balls of the feel like the exercise described above. This time alternately lower one heel to the ground at a time. Repeat this move 15X on each side.

Knee Raise. Keeping hips level, raise one knee until thigh is parallel to floor. Maintain neutral spine, and balance in this position 15-30 seconds. Place foot back on floor and repeat balance on other side. (You can also balance on standing leg, slowly raising and lowering knee, touching toe to floor.)

Back-Curl. While standing upright begin curling forward one section of your spine at a time until you are bent over at the waist, arms hanging forward. Be sure to keep your knees slightly bent during this exercise. Come back up to a full standing position one vertebrae at a time. Repeat 3-5X.