Best Exercises for People who Travel
Exercise 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!
To help combat potential problems associated with traveling, try these suggestions below from L. Leiber, who earned her master’s degree in public health from Berkeley, and teaches Pilates in Oakland, CA.
Seated Exercises
What can you do when you are virtually held captive in boarding lounges at the airport? Perform these exercises that all begin with the following sustainable seated posture:
Place your feet solidly on the floor, about 4 inches away from each other.
Sit tall.
Tip your hips so that your pelvis is vertical.
Lengthen your neck, like a giraffe. Do this by pushing your shoulders away from your ears.
Breathe in, and on exhalation, draw in abdominals, engaging the core. Return to this position between each 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 Shrugs & Rolls. Inhale and lift shoulders up to your ears. Exhale as you push your shoulders back and down, open your chest & let your shoulder blades move together. Continue to push your shoulders down and back. Repeat this exercise three to five 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.
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 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.
Spine-Roll. Bring your chin toward your chest and slowly roll come down one section of your back at a time until you’ve rolled forward, back arched. Keep your knees bent slightly throughout the movement and slowly come back to a full standing position. Repeat for 4-5 repetitions.
