Fifty Plus (50+) - Fitness and hotel exercise options

I spend entirely too much time in hotels (all job related). My exercise choices are generally limited to several treadmills, maybe an elliptical trainer, a stationary bike and maybe a multi-station gym and/or free weights. Sometimes there's a step climber too.

I would like to keep some of the fitness I worked so hard for last year riding my bike. With winter and travel, I have ridden very little since early December.

For my hotel exercise, I have gravitated to the elliptical trainer and spend 60 minutes or so on it. I've found that treadmills tend to cause shin splints with any degree of uphill slope. Stationary bikes are uncomfortable at best.

The other aspect to frequent travel is eating out all the time. With the holidays and travel, I've gained back some of what I worked off last year. I just can't burn the calories on those exercise machines like I can on my bike. Just can't keep at it for 2-3 hours at a time like I can on my bike.

For those of you that travel a lot, what do you do to try to keep your fitness level up? I already know I'm gonna have to get used to my saddle again, so I know there's not much to be done about that.

Believe it or not, the Chris Carmichael column in this months Bicycling Mag addresses just this point. Basically he says if you travel a lot, the best thing to do is to take up jogging or other non-cycling aerobic activity. HE also has some advice if you travel some but not a lot.

Thanks. I'll have to look into that column.

I used to travel a lot more than I do now, but I used to create a game where I was not allowed to eat dinner until I earned it with at least 45 minutes of exercise. If there were lots of people (conference, group meetings, etc) I would skip the happy hour in exchange for my exercise session and then hook up with everybody again at dinner or the bar later. (At least *I* exercised).

One conference in Vegas I rented a bike to ride from hotel to convention center. I did actually enjoy it a lot but the bike was more expensive than renting a car (and they wouldn't let me voucher it -Aarrgghhh!).

Sometimes I work away from home for extended periods and I take my bike and kayak with me. Once when staying at a hotel I rented a bike for 2 days and got in a couple of nice rides, but couldn't expense it. I even asked my boss if I spent less on a bike than others do on meals could I turn it in and he said no. A friend of mine that travels a lot bought a waterford with S&S couplers and it fits in a suitcase that he can check on the airlines for no extra charge. I have read on hear that others have folding bikes that they carry with them. The exercise rooms at the hotels bore me to death. Good luck

I spent some time in hotels in September. I did not sleep well and exercised very little, even though I had promised myself I would exercise. I think the bed was too hard for good sleep and I was exhausted by the end of the week without exercising. One evening I did get a little time on a half-decent stationary bike in the hotel gym. What really helped was a large electric fan blowing right on me. The sound and feel of the rushing air tricked my mind into almost thinking I was on my bike.

I have traveled with a pedometer and tried to walk an hour or more each day. On one trip I awoke about 2:30 AM and went out for a four mile walk. It was a little edgy in a city I do not know well, but the only people I saw were "friendlies." A policeman gave me a long visual once over. When I got back to my bed in the hotel I fell asleep again for a couple of hours.

You can always try to order healthier foods and then make sure you leave some on the plate when you begin to feel sated.

I tend to do my exercising in the morning at the hotels, depending on when I have to check out. My work hours tend to be erratic so there is no normalcy to when I check in, get dinner, etc.

Carrying a suitcase bike is out of the question for me, but it sounds like a nice idea.

Guess I'll stick with my current routine. At least I'm doing something, as David mentioned above. There have been too many trips that I've taken my exercise bag along... and never used it, until biking got me back on the fitness path.

You can always try to order healthier foods and then make sure you leave some on the plate when you begin to feel sated.


Say, isn't that un-American? ;)

I do try to order healthier foods in general... fish and chicken and only occasionally red meat. Yeah, I could leave food on the plate... but it's surprisingly difficult to do that.

As I just got back into cycling recently, I can only reference one recent 4 night/3 day trip: I rode hard the day before I left and then rented a bike for 2 days...it helped a lot....I have another trip coming up soon and I plan on again renting a bike...not sure whether you can find the time on your trips or if the weather will be reasonable, but, look into it by Googling bike shops in an area you'll be visiting or looking for a local cycling team (which will likely have a bike store sponsor)...

Say, isn't that (i. e. leaving food on the plate) un-American? ;)


All of us old enough to remember "duck and cover" nuclear attack drills were also indoctrinated to clean our plates by parents who experienced the Great Depression and learned never to throw out anything. Remember all of those starving children in China? One of the first and most useful things my wife learned when she went to Weight Watchers was to stop eating when satisfied and leave food on the plate without guilt. It makes an interesting game to play as to how much food you can leave on the plate.

A couple of years ago we traveled to Greece for our vacation. I wore a little pedometer and found we walked five to seven miles a day. A lot of it was up and down in hot very weather. It is probably the only vacation on which I did not gain a few pounds.

This post has made me think. The next time I travel I will try to walk 60 to 90 minutes in the evening. I will try to eat my heavier meals earlier in the day and make the evening meal lighter. Even though I much prefer cycling to walking, I can walk anyplace with almost no special preparation. Walking may not aid my cycling, but it may at the least keep me from gaining weight I had lost previously.

When I travel, I try to walk or jog a great deal. I take advantage of whatever meager exercise facilities the hotel offers, and I improvise strength training by using the furniture (chair lift, anyone?).

Two things help me a lot when I travel:

1. I try to pick hotels in "walkable" neighborhoods. In the evenings, if I can, I take a long walk to dinner, or after dinner...or in the mornings I take long walks to breakfast, or just out. I don't like to run, but I do like to walk -- and 30 to 45 minutes of really vigorous walking is more interesting to me (esp. in a new city) than getting stuck in a weight room. (my key piece of walking gear is an iPod loaded w/podcasts that I want to catch up on...).

2. I try to look at menus as "opportunities" to eat healthy instead of "problems." At home, if the family is having a big family meal, it can be tough for me to avoid loading up on too much of a good thing....but on the road, I can order *exactly* what I want -- so, if there are no healthy entrees on the menus, I can order 3 veggie appetizers and call it a meal. It's sort of a game -- how can I find the healthy food at a restaurant loaded w/high-cal entrees and desserts?

I try to look at menus as "opportunities" to eat healthy instead of "problems." At home, if the family is having a big family meal, it can be tough for me to avoid loading up on too much of a good thing....but on the road, I can order *exactly* what I want -- so, if there are no healthy entrees on the menus, I can order 3 veggie appetizers and call it a meal. It's sort of a game -- how can I find the healthy food at a restaurant loaded w/high-cal entrees and desserts?

With resources like Google Maps a person can always search for "restaurants" in the area near your hotel before you leave home. Often these are national chains with known menu items. A person could plan ahead a bit about helpful choices to order rather than sitting down with a menu and letting impulses take over.

The veggie appetizers are a good idea. Restaurants often still find ways to add that rich, creamy taste by means of calorie-laden sauces and deep fried batters. It slays me that in a couple of restaurants we visit (also national chains) the waitress returns during the meal and asks, "Is everything tasting alright?" not "Is everything OK?" "Taste" can come from carefully chosen spices and fresh ingredients or from fats and sugars.

Not sure about your mode of travel- vehicle/air etc?
Consider a Brompton or other folding bike ?
Go for a spin each eve.

Not sure about your mode of travel- vehicle/air etc?
Consider a Brompton or other folding bike ?
Go for a spin each eve.

All travel is by air. Carrying ability is limited.

Oh man! I'd forgotten about that. That's another part of my past life that I don't miss today.

I used to do quite a bit of business travel (100 or so nights per year). Fortunately for me, that was in my running days so I just packed a pair of running shoes and whatever clothes matched the weather. It was a bit amusing riding up the elevator with folks in business suits after completing a 5 or 10 mile run.

Back in those days I used to eat monster portions of rice and potatoes just to keep from losing weight too fast. I don't have that problem today.