November 2004 Newsletter

Holiday Fitness

Dear Fellow Business Traveler,

As always, happy and healthy travels!

To Your Health,

Customer Service, Healthy Travel Network

Holiday Fitness

Finding Time for Fitness at Home

• Schedule a joint workout session with a friend, ahead of time. Keeping your appointment with your friend will give you an excuse to escape the family for a few hours!
• Set your alarm for an early morning walk or jog.
• Treat yourself to a yoga or Pilates video that you can pop into the VCR in your bedroom before everyone else awakens.
• Book a tennis, racquetball, or squash court with a friend.

Getting Active with the Family

Look for creative ways to get the family up and moving.

• Bundle everyone up for a walk after dinner to look at the neighborhood holiday lights and decorations.
• Insist on visiting the department store at the far end of the mall.
• If you live within walking distance of a nice café or restaurant, walk to lunch or dinner. If not everyone wants to walk, let someone drive and meet you there.
• Take the kids ice-skating or roller-skating and lace up!
• Park at the farthest corner of the lot at the mall.
• Schedule a family tennis, basketball, or badminton tournament.
• Build a snowman or go cross-country skiing.
• Take everyone for nine holes of golf at a par three golf course.

Staying Fit on the Road

Staying with family over the holidays makes it especially challenging to find time (and equipment) for exercise, as well as eat healthy. Plan ahead and be creative.

• Check online for nearby fitness centers. Most usually have a nominal fee for a day pass. Try www.healthclubs.com.
• Plot out a walking or running route. Check out www.runtheplanet.com for routes in cities throughout the US. Didn’t find anything nearby? Then plot your own route and submit it to the site!
• Bring exercise bands and an “in-room” workout program
• Plan on early morning exercise, before everyone expects to see you at the breakfast table.
• Bring or make a healthy side-dish or dessert to the family dinner.

Planning is the Key to Success

Just as with fitness for business travel, finding exercise time during a family visit requires establishing goals and planning ahead. Use the worksheet provided below to plot your course to success!

For more help with travel fitness goal setting, read our October and November 2004 articles in the North Carolina Journal for Women.

Holiday Travel Fitness Goal Worksheet

• Define your goals.
• Make sure they are SMART and achievable within the constraints of your holidays.
• Schedule specific activities to help you achieve your goal.
• Pack your holiday fitness calendar in your suitcase or tape it to your bathroom mirror!

Thanksgiving 2004

Christmas and New Year's 2004

News Updates

..:: Read tips for healthy eating on the road, by Phyllis Barrier, a nuitrition consultant and coordinator.

..:: Healthy Travel Network was quoted and featured as a resource in a new e-book on women and heart disease, A Woman's Guide to Saving Her Own Life.

..:: Healthy Travel Network was featured in a Business Week Online article about travel fitness.  From the article:

"It's so easy to fall into the trap. You've got dinner with clients. There's lobster bisque on the menu and double-chocolate cheesecake on the dessert cart. Another bottle of cabernet? Sure. Then it's up at six the next morning to finish your presentation. No time to stop in the hotel gym. You work on your upper-arm strength by lifting a cruller and coffee before the meeting."

Read the full article about travel fitness. Note, free registration is required to view the entire article.

..:: Healthy Travel Network was featured in the October issue of the Fitness is Fun newsletter of the President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program.

Resources

..:: Want a treadmill delivered to your hotel room? Check out InRoomFitness to find a hotel that will let you run in your room!

..:: Run the Planet is an online running community that provides free information about running trails and routes in cities throughout the world.