Today’s business environment is both energy and time intensive. If you’re part of a small company, you likely wear many hats. If you’re part of a large company, odds are you’re involved in global business development. Whatever business you’re in, time is at a premium. Throw in the responsibilities of family and caring for a home, and that leaves precious little time to think about things like fitness. Fortunately, a few simple tweaks to your day can go a long way toward fitting fitness into our busy lives.
Fitness Lunches
Studies have shown time and again that eating lunch at your desk contributes to weight gain. Even worse is the ubiquitous business lunch, which generally consists of an over-abundance of wasteful calories. Break the mold. Pack your lunch and fit in a quick workout instead. Sure you’ll miss out on the latest gossip, but its a small price to pay.
If your employer has a locker room/shower, a 30-minute walk, run, or bike ride is very manageable on a one-hour lunch break. If you’d rather hit the weights, look for a nearby gym. A 10 minute one-way trip to the gym still leaves 30-minutes for weights with room to spare. No gym nearby? A medicine ball, your own body weight, and a handful of basic core strengthening exercises make for a mean workout.
Road Warrior Workouts
Business travel can be particularly tough on fitness goals. Options for healthy eating dwindle rapidly when you’re traveling, and hotel workout rooms leave a lot to be desired. While being away for home is tough, there can be one positive — the option to explore new places. In particular, the opportunity to visit them in a fitness-friendly manner. When you have to be on the road, look for ways to see the area that include fitness-related activities.
Certainly, the most business-centric way to work outdoor activities in your travel routine is golf, but don’t limit yourself. A customer visit to another part of the country provides a chance to hike a new national park, and an overseas visit is an opportunity to see new vegetation and wildlife during a run. Viewed this way, the drudgery of business travel takes on a whole new meaning.
Business Meals
When you’re traveling on business, the temptation is to consume an excessive number of calories. Combat this temptation by taking the time to plan ahead. Skip high calorie lattes and fancy coffee concoctions to keep a handle on how much sugar per day you’re consuming, and pack a few light snacks to carry around in the airport. You can even carry along meal replacement bars instead of eating hotel fare. Finally, check out restaurant menus online before heading to dinner. Research shows that knowing what you’ll order ahead of time helps reduce calorie consumption.
As the global business environment continues to heat up, the odds become greater that we’ll have to become ever more efficient with the use of our time; both personal and professional. With so many competing interests, its easy to push fitness and health to the back burner. But fortunately, it usually only takes a few tweaks to incorporate these into our daily routine, making them second nature, rather than yet another bit of drudgery to manage.
Related Reading:
Going Home for Lunch: A Recipe for Stress?
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