Road-Warrior Travel-Health & Fitness Makeovers:

Are You Ready to Change Your Life?

Even the most demanding frequent flyer wouldn't expect an airplane to take off and fly right if it hadn't been fueled and properly serviced. Yet many of these same folks expect, nay, demand, top performance from another piece of well-designed equipment—their bodies—without giving them the proper "fuel" and care they require.

There are plenty of road warriors for whom self-maintenance is a low- or no-priority item. In our "work first" culture, business travelers' lack of commitment to staying healthy and fit is, ironically, a form of self-sabotage that can undermine their ability to bring back the business they've been sent out to win.

If the travelers who have expressed interest in travel-health makeovers are any barometer, many businesspeople are struggling to integrate exercise and healthy eating into their travel itineraries. Highly motivated or admittedly lax, these men and women nonetheless express remarkably similar concerns.

The two makeover candidates profiled here are both mega-mile professionals seeking greater control over their health and well-being. As such, they are representative of many fellow travelers.

No Quick-Fixes or Shortcuts

Because real change is a process that involves more than simplistic "sound-byte" advice and quick-fix approaches, we sought the help of wellness experts who employ a holistic approach. Our team (see "About the Experts") consisted of Deby Harper, founder and a principal of The Fitness Co. and PFSInsights, and author and health educator Robyn Landis of BodyFueling.

Both assess an individual’s values, behavior, and motivation as well as eating habits and fitness routines to help them identify their priorities and guide them in making appropriate choices that support those goals. The relevance of focusing on behavioral styles? "Behavior drives your habits," Harper notes. Understand your habits and you can more easily jettison bad ones and replace them with good ones.

Excerpts of their observations and recommendations, and other suggestions, are included here. Although our subjects' behavioral styles differ, the advice is essentially on-target for both—and for many other travelers.

A Blueprint for Change?

Given the demands of their personal and professional lives, is it realistic for our makeover candidates, Mark and Kelly, to implement the expert suggestions provided after intensive consultations? Some (like carrying food, something both said they had never thought to do), they confirm, are easily adopted. But they were, admittedly, uncertain about others, such as eating breakfast and making time to exercise, particularly if the latter means breaking away from work-related socializing.

Will adopting new habits conflict with work commitments? "I believe there is room in my life for both," affirms Kelly. Bolstered by the awareness gained from their sessions with the experts, Mark and Kelly have already started exercising and rethinking their food choices.

Using Mark’s answers to her PFS (Personal Fitness System) Interactive Wellness survey, Harper prepared a report detailing his behavioral style, fitness characteristics, and recommendations. (Mark laughingly admitted that his analysis was "very accurate.")

FREE: Download a sample PFSInsights Report and Workbook.

Mark said he wanted to lose weight, firm up, and increase his stamina. But Harper, who noted Mark's tendency to focus on quick results (a surefire way to sabotage any fitness effort) and to drop out of a workout program after a few months, knew such goals wouldn't ensure his commitment.

Her strategy: Shift his fitness focus to a more personal goal—getting in shape to enjoy hiking, his passion. With that shift, exercise at home or on the road won't be about shedding pounds, but about having enough energy to enjoy his favorite activity. He'll incorporate stretching and strengthening routines into his workout that can help prevent injuries common to hiking.

To encourage Mark—who skips meals—to eat regularly and healthily, Harper advises him to eat every day as if "he's a hiker setting out on an all-day hike." That means eating throughout the day to stabilize his energy, stave off hunger, discourage overeating at the end of the day, and minimize junk-food snacking.

To reinforce his commitment to working out, Harper suggested that Mark enlist the support of his wife. He can spend more time with her—a key priority—by including her in his fitness choices. He and his wife, for example, could take a yoga class together (something he might not do on his own) or start playing tennis again.

Given his outgoing personality, he can augment his solo exercise routines on the road (which he might be tempted to bypass) by pairing up with a trainer, working out with a co-worker or client, or taking a class.

Begin. "Start with one pushup, one abdominal crunch, one flight of stairs," suggests Harper.

Make time.  What can you do in a half-hour or less? Work out 20 minutes a day, three or four times a week. Hike for a half-hour. Power walk through the airport.

Vary your workout routine. "Repetitive exercise doesn’t work for him; Mark needs excitement, challenge, and variety in his workout," advises Harper.

Do the treadmill for five or ten minutes. Get off, recover. Do some ab crunches or push-ups. Get back on the treadmill. Break up exercise into more than one activity so it isn’t just walking on a treadmill for 20 or 30 minutes.

Seek role models. Mark mentioned a company executive who also travels but manages to stay fit. "Ask him how he does it," advises Harper.

GET-FIT TIP: Can’t get to the heart of your exercise resistance? Need help to overcome excuses? Check out Michael Gerrish’s excellent book, When Working Out Isn’t Working Out. The author, a certified trainer and a psychotherapist, details UFOs (Unidentified Fitness Obstacles) in every area (physical, biochemical, nutritional, and psychological) and provides sound and realistic advice on how to overcome them. This is the book to pick up if you really want to get moving.

Just Tell Me What to Do... "If someone tells me ten things to do, I’ll do them," Mark told Harper. Here are her tips to jump start his—or your—fitness commitment.

1. Slow down. "Mark does everything quickly," Harper notes, which can lead to problems when exercising. "When you are doing crunches, for example, make sure your shoulders are back and down and that your neck is relaxed. If not, you can hurt yourself."

He also needs to slow down when he eats so he'll see how he feels (lethargic and too full, or fine and energized) and eat only as much as he needs to satisfy his hunger.

2. Do the Salute to the Sun (a multi-step yoga posture) to limber up every morning when he wakes up and before heading out.

3. Relax and de-stress. He’s hurried, tense, impatient, and under stress. Use visualization and deep breathing techniques throughout the day to decrease tension, slow down breathing, and improve respiration.

GET-FIT TIP: KSU's Online Biofeedback Training Center offers audio-guided relaxation exercises.  You can also sample guided (and illustrated) breathing and relaxation techniques (and learn more about the benefits of breathing correctly) at HealthWorld.com's Breathing Practices page.

4. Eat breakfast. Even if it’s just a fruit-filled smoothie or a low-fat nutrition bar.

5. Eat lunch. Something quick, even if it’s only a few raw vegetables.

6. Capitalize on your passion. Join a hiking club. Reward yourself with family hiking trips. Incorporate hiking into your work travel: Find local trails and see if any clients share this activity or connect with local club members.

GET-FIT TIP: Take a Hike! If you like walking or jogging along scenic routes, you can find a public path courtesy of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s trail/path locator at TrailLink.com. Search for local trails by area or activity. The results include details on location, activities, and distance.

7. Concentrate on your posture. Keep your shoulders down and back. Contract abdominal muscles. Sit up straight.

8. Make a conscious effort to breathe correctly. When you’re tense, as Mark is, you don’t breathe properly, which impairs respiration and circulation and has a negative impact on the body (increased fatigue, weakness, reduced mental clarity). It’s doubly important for Mark, who also has sleep apnea.

9. Explore workout options such as yoga, which supports overall fitness by increasing flexibility and energy, revving up circulation and improving respiration and posture. Find a variation (perhaps Power Yoga) that appeals to you.

Consider T'ai Chi or Qui Gong, which emphasize breathing and slow movements and don't require any special equipment or extensive training.

GET-FIT TIP: Check out the article links on About.com's Meditation and Relaxation Techniques page to see the variety of options you can explore.

10. Incorporate exercise into downtime. Work out (to stretch, strengthen his weak back and stomach muscles; relieve tension) on an exercise ball or Posture Ball while watching TV. The lightweight-but-sturdy inflatable balls (which are packable) are also a posture-enhancing alternative to traditional seating that you can take along on trips.

Exercise balls (left) from Thera-Band

"Hey, we’re supposed to be talking about food, not my life," clients have told Robyn Landis. "You think they don’t have anything to do with each other?" Landis responds. "They are completely connected.

"Eating is about fueling your body," Landis opines, "It’s based on...the big picture of why you really want your body to feel well and work properly." So her advice to Kelly isn’t about "how much carbs or protein [she should eat]. I’m not interested in getting her on a plan or regimen," Landis comments. "It’s not about dieting or losing weight. It’s about what she wants in her life.

GET-FIT TIP: If you're someone who continues to bypass meals and needs help in revamping their approach to eating, read Landis' BodyFueling: Stop Watching Your Weight, Start Fueling Your Life. Even a quick overview will provide insights into the importance of eating to get the energy you need to enjoy your life and excel in business.

"Right now, Kelly’s choices aren’t influenced by anything beyond the momentary—‘I need to lose pounds and not be so exhausted.’ Those are negative, very short-term, and not very inspiring," observes Landis. "She needs something more positive, richer, and more personal to motivate her to make healthy choices. She needs to ask herself: What is going to make it important enough that there is nothing more important to me than making sure good food gets into my body?"

Landis posed a series of questions (Why do you want more energy? What do you really want to accomplish? Where do you feel stuck?) to help Kelly identify her true priorities. Kelly’s answers will help her to link her eating habits and food selections to her life choices.

"She says she doesn’t feel she has control over choices and she is not sticking to a plan," Landis adds. "That’s significant. Her work life is airtight," Landis observes, so Kelly needs to take the organizational skills from her professional life and apply them to taking better care of herself. "Amen," Kelly concurs.

Harper advises Kelly to focus first on reducing stress and preparing her body before jumping into a slew of activity. (Kelly, who used to do aerobics and regularly ran, walked, and mountain biked, is eager to get back into the exercise routine she abandoned.)

"If you eat poorly or not at all, and you're under stress, your body simply isn't prepared to reap the benefits of exercise and you're not likely to do it properly," notes Harper. She suggests Kelly begin with walking (outdoors and on a treadmill), an activity Kelly enjoys, and some push-ups to help build her upper-body strength.

Harper taught Kelly a quick technique she can use to cope with stress. Defusing stress also will help reduce stress-driven eating, something both Kelly and Mark have in common.

Commit to eating well—all the time. "I can, and often do, go a long time without eating," Kelly notes.

Eating regularly—starting with breakfast— will give her more energy and help curb her junk-food cravings. It also will improve her metabolism and set up her body for losing fat and not muscle ("It’s not about losing pounds," Landis advises.).

Bottom line: "Kelly has to eat, and it has to be a priority," Landis affirms.

Carry food when traveling. Always have something to eat with you. Want suggestions? Check out Landis’s Web site. It includes an updated list of food brand recommendations (most are low-fat or fat-free and tasty) by category, including many snack and take-along items such as cookies, bars, tarts; crackers & chips; bread, bagels, rolls; juices; and beverages.

Stock up on healthy food. "If eating well is a priority at home," Landis affirms, "it will be a priority on the road. If it’s not a priority at home, it won’t be a priority on the road either." Make a list and shop once a week.

"Kelly won’t eat well at home or bring food with her when she travels if she doesn’t have it in the house," notes Landis. "Stopping at the 7-11 on the way to the airport," is not the way to go.

Know your food options. Kelly’s idea of a healthy food choice: a "diet" salad. Perhaps the better choice at a fast-food outlet but hardly representative. "If she’s limiting herself to a salad because she thinks that’s her only healthy choice, she needs to educate herself about the huge smorgasbord of ...good food choices."

GET-FIT TIP: For a crash-course on healthy eating, check out these well-researched tomes: Restaurant Confidential,  Dining Lean: How to Eat Healthy in Your Favorite Restaurants, Fast Food Facts, and Nutritional Healing, (a well-illustrated, compact-but-comprehensive, 60-page guide that's a quick intro to the world of healthy eating).

Eat to increase energy. Landis cites Kelly’s lack of regular exercise, coupled with poor food choices, rather than any excess weight, as factors contributing to her low energy. "She’s running around, she’s busy, she’s stressed. She’s exhausted and too tired to exercise. She needs to fuel her body. She’s either not putting anything in [to her system] or she's choosing the wrong things—caffeine and fat- and sugar-laden items," Landis notes. Eating regularly, and well, will give her the energy to work out and break the cycle.

Do the best you can, when you can. If you can’t control how you eat on the road, make a superior effort to eat well at home. "If she does that, her body will be more forgiving of the times when she’s on the road and doesn’t have the same degree of control over her choices."

Rethink exercise options. Can you skip the cocktail hour and run or work out instead? Ask a client or coworker to run or work out with you.◄

About the Fitness Makeover Experts

Deby Harper is the founder and a principal of The Fitness Co. in Scottsdale, Arizona. A certified personal trainer, fitness instructor, author, and consultant, she has created wellness programs for Fortune 1000 corporations and advises individuals as well as companies on fitness and wellness. With her husband Brad, a psychologist and management consultant, Harper, who is also a Certified Behavioral Analyst, has spent the last decade developing the Personal Fitness System (an interactive online behavioral assessment system that provides a custom report detailing behavioral style, fitness characteristics, and recommendations) and its related technology. Author (BodyFueling; Herbal Defense), health advocate and educator Robyn Landis consults with individuals and companies and conducts BodyFueling Workshops nationwide. The subtitle of  Landis' BodyFueling, Stop Watching Your Weight and Start Fueling Your Life, reveals her perspective on eating. It's not about dieting and pounds, she observes, but about taking in the right foods to give you the energy you need for the life you lead. It's an enlightening and refreshing approach that can help you totally rethink your approach to eating and reclaim your energy.