Exercise for Travelers

Traveling is mostly fun, however, the simple act of getting to your location-whether by plane, train, bus or car-often involves long periods of immobility. This time waiting can and will leave you tight, sore, and achy before you even get started!

L. Leiber, from the Univ. of California, Berkeley is offering some great suggestions on how to combat the problem of travel related body stress.

Seated Exercises

What can you do when you find yourself in the captivity of an airport lounge? Try some of these exercises for improved posture.

Place feet flat on floor, parallel, a few inches apart.

Sit up on sit bones.

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 Stretch. Place one ankle on top of opposite knee. Hinge forward at hips, keeping spine neutral. Hold for 15-30 seconds, feeling a deep stretch on outside of hip. Repeat on other side.

Seated twists. While keeping a tall posture reach to the back of your chair and hold without letting your knees or hips rotate. When you exhale, allow your body to go farther into the stretch. Do not perform this move if you have disk issues.

Shoulder Shrug and Roll. Inhale as you lift shoulders up toward ears. Exhale as you roll shoulders back and down, opening chest and letting shoulder blades come together. Continue sliding shoulders down the back, away from ears. Repeat 3-5 times.

Neck Stretch. While your chin tucked in slightly, let your right ear push down to your right shoulder. Hold this for three to four breaths, then let the weight of head stretch other side of neck. Release slowly and repeat on the other side.

Rock a Bye-Baby. With your right hand on your opposite elbow and left hand on your right elbow and with folded arms, draw your right elbow as far as possible toward the right side and feel the stretch on the outside of left shoulder. Repeat two to three repetitions on both sides.

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.

Prancing in Place. Use same start position as in exercise above. Come up onto balls of feet. Lower one heel to floor while keeping other heel raised. Alternately press one heel up as other heel comes down to floor. Repeat 12-15 times.

Thigh Lift. While keeping your hips level to the ground, raise your knee until your thigh is level to the ground as well. Keep your spine neutral and balance in this position for as long as possible. Repeat on the other side.

Roll-Down. Bring chin to chest and slowly roll down, one vertebra at a time until spine is flexed forward, arms hanging toward floor. Bend knees slightly and roll up, stacking vertebrae one at a time, bringing head up last. Repeat 2-3 times.