Do you travel for your job? Don’t think you can keep up your exercise routine while you are on the road? Not true…

Just because you are traveling for work doesn t mean that you don t have time to stay fit and keep in shape. Excuses do not help your heart or body nor do they allow you to able to keep up with the demands of your life. If you use a bit of imagination or the resources readily available to you, you can maintain your fitness routine no matter where you go.

Health Club Members
If you are a member of a health club, getting in a workout could be very simple. Many clubs allow

you to use their facilities in other cities as a part of your membership or for a small fee. You could also ask your club if it participates in any programs that offer privileges at other facilities. Guest passes to certain spa and athletic clubs are sometimes free for one day — check with the front desk. Often these clubs will give guest passes to the hotel for the hotel’s guests to use.

Hotel Gyms
If your health club does not have arrangements with a club near your hotel, check out the facilities in your hotel itself. Ask at the front desk alert about the hotel gym. Lots of hotels at least have treadmills or similar machines, which

are much better than simply laying in bed and watching TV during your stay. Then there is the pool — which almost every hotel has. You could always take a swim. Swimming is definitely a workout that will work every muscle in your body.

The Y-M-C-A
Also remember that almost every town has a YMCA or YWCA. Find the contact information in the yellow pages in your hotel room or ask the front desk and give them a call. You should be able to go to the “Y” for a small daily fee or perhaps be able to obtain a weekly pass.

Using Your Imagination
If necessary you may need to get a little creative, by using your hotel room

as the gym of the day. Exercising in your hotel room is an easy and very convenient way to make certain that you get in your workout. Before you leave for your trip, pack some collapsible hand weights or elastic exercise bands or other equipment that is made for travel, and turn your hotel room into an indoor gym. Elastic bands are great for getting resistance without lugging around big dumbbells everywhere. You can also use chairs and other pieces of furniture to your advantage for exercise. Body weight exercises are enough for a great workout. Combine crunches, pushups, and legups. You won t exercise a large variety of muscles using only body weight, but you will at least be able to work on your heart and your endurance.

If Time is Tight…
Working out on the road is not as easily done when you are in route to your next destination or if your trip is only an overnight trip. If your time is extremely tight and you don t have time for a complete work out, there are other alternatives to not working out at all. Stretch in your room, take a long walk. You can jog in the park or take a few trips up and down the hotel stairwells to increase your heart rate and get a bit of a workout in.

With all of these ideas for a good work out — even if not

the best work out that you ve ever had — you should no longer have any excuse for not continuing your fitness routine while traveling. Just remember that it doesn t really matter where you are when you do your work out but that you do your work out where you are. And if you can t do the exact routine that you are used to, just take solace in the fact that you are getting a workout.

Dominique W. Brooks, MD, MBA offers articles, e-books, and e-courses to improve the health of you and your family — from nutrition and exercise to better work habits. For more information, please visit http://www.totalhealthrevolution.com