A train — or a mobile gym?
Two brothers walk into an empty train car — and a pullup competition erupts. “We were running up and down the car before grabbing the luggage rack and noticing how sturdy it was,” remembers Jaron Anderson, a creative director in New York City who was traveling to a ski town in the Alps with his brother, Gregan, when they both lived in Europe. “Suddenly, a contest started.” While train crew members may not recommend following suit, health pros do endorse activity during travel, which can “play a major role in how our bodies react to the stresses of travel,” says Chris Heuisler, a former running coach who leads Westin Hotel’s running programs. Check out these other wild ways people have exercised en route:
Pullups on a plane
As a flight attendant, Sam thought she’d seen it all. “Galley yoga and airport calisthenics are a daily occurrence,” says Sam, who asked that only her first name be used, since she wasn’t cleared by her employer to speak with media. But then a fellow flight attendant began doing pushups in the aisle and pullups from the overhead compartment. “I was floored,” Sam recalls. Walt Thompson, president of the American College of Sports Medicine, says you don’t have to go that far to stave off dangers of long flights like deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms. Ankle rolls, leg extensions, walking breaks and even rolling out your muscles with a tennis ball will promote circulation, Heuisler says.
Pushups on a boat
After three flights totaling 24 hours, Erin Wathen was ready to move. The fact that she was floating down the Mekong river in Laos didn’t stop her. “It was the first day; I didn’t feel super jet-lagged, and my husband and I were the only passengers on a chartered boat,” remembers Wathen, a wellness and life coach in Stamford, Connecticut. “I started doing pushups, and the staff immediately started speaking in a very curt tone of voice.” If you’d rather avoid ruffling foreign feathers, simply move your pushups (and squats and crunches) to your hotel room. “Be creative and use a range of no-equipment [exercises] to get a quick workout in,” Heuisler suggests.
Planks in a lounge
Boat pushups were far from the first time Wathen has gotten funny looks for her “wellness antics,” as she calls them. For example, while waiting to board the plane in Dubai on the way home from that same trip — the 18th flight in 21 days — she claimed a quiet corner of the airport lounge to do yoga poses and planks. But people started staring, and she even attracted the attention of airport security, though her travels weren’t delayed. Not one for attention? Sneak in airport activity by opting for stairs and walking up escalators and on moving walkways, Heuisler suggests. “Little things like that can go a long way and make you feel a little better while traveling.”
Body in a bin
Jennifer Magee was traveling from Croatia to Prague in a chartered plane when a fellow passenger, Greg, announced that a person could fit in the overhead bin. His companions doubted it — so, much to the chagrin of the flight attendant, Greg proved it. “It actually took some acrobatics and upper-body strength for Greg to hoist himself up and actually slide into the bin and back out … without stepping on any of the seats below,” says Magee, a New York City-based architect. A safer (and crew-approved) way to strength-train en route is with a resistance band, which you can use for bicep curls, leg extensions and more, Thompson says. “They can fit into a purse or backpack,” he says. Bon voyage!
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5 Wacky Ways Real People Have Stayed Active While Traveling originally appeared on usnews.com
