Vacation itineraries don’t often include time for exercise, but with a little planning and creativity, there isn’t any reason your trip has to derail your normal workout routine. Here are some helpful tips for sneaking in some exercise while you’re away.

1. Pack small, lightweight equipment in your suitcase. Resistance tubing fits easily into any suitcase or carry-on and you can use it tone and strengthen every muscle in your body (even NFL football players use this simple tool – it REALLY works!) Do your workout right in your hotel room, or wrap it around your waste and jog to the nearest park. Trees, fences, and even parking meters make great anchors to wrap the tubing around for chest presses and rows. A jump rope is another convenient, grab-and-go tool you can use for a quick, calorie-burning session.

2. For a more challenging workout, consider investing in the TRX, which is a suspension training system originally developed for the Navy Seals. The TRX made its mainstream debut several years ago and has become one of the fastest selling strength training tools for both novices and hard-core fitness buffs. It is a total body strengthening and conditioning tool that is a snap to assemble. It weighs less than 2lbs, sets up in under 1 minute and you can use it in the hotel room, outdoors, at the gym…options are nearly endless. You can purchase one from FitnessAnywhere.com and can also see instructional “how to” videos on the website.

3. Take advantage of the hotel pool and fitness room. For business travelers, the pool and fitness room are busiest during the week in the early morning and evening. For leisure travelers at a resort, these tend to be the least busy times.

4. If the thought of running on the hotel treadmill is about as exciting as watching grass grow, book a City Running Tour and see the city you’re visiting on foot! Tour guides who happen to be distance runners take you on guided tours that include all of the tourist sites (or anything else you’d like to see). Distances vary in length according to your training level too.

5. Finally, many hotels now have fitness TV, so you can order up a workout to do right in your room. Another option is to pop open your laptop and download a fitness video straight from the Internet. And let’s face it – if you’re on vacation, relaxation is surely a priority too. Check out Yoga Download – you can choose from thousands of yoga and Pilates videos and if the mood strikes you, strike a pose!

Give one of these ideas a try during your next trip, and I guarantee you’ll come home feeling fit and refreshed.

What”s your favorite fitness-related travel tip?

Let me  preface by saying, I am not complaining.

It was 7o degrees today.

In northern Ohio.

In March.

Meteorologists spent the day debating the reasons why winter never really came, the role of global warming, and what this means for spring and summer months ahead.

Meanwhile, I went for a run and thought about none of the above – just, “ahhhh,” as I sunned my legs and arms for the first time since, um, a million days ago.  I don’t give a pig’s arse why it was warmer today than it was all of the days in May last year, combined. That was then, this is now, and I completely understand why people move south: BECAUSE WARMTH IS NICE! Snow at Christmas time is lovely. Any more than that is redundant.  Now that I’ve had a winter with a side dish of snow rather than as a main course, I actually think I could even handle it being a very small appetizer. Sorry snow – I guess you could say it just didn’t work out between us, and I’ve moved on.

Hello spring (wink, nodding), how you doin’?

Training for your first road race and feeling the pain in places other than your muscles? One of the most common complaints among new runners is ankle and knee pain, and while many factors contribute to pain in the joints (biomechanics, weak quadriceps, previous injuries, worn-out shoes or improper fit, weak tendons…), the most common causes can be nipped with a few tweaks of your form.

1. Take a chill pill. Okay, not literally, but try to relax. Running is a great way to reduce stress, but don’t run stressed. Every few minutes during your run, try to notice where you feel tight or are carrying tension. Are your shoulders creeping up toward your ears as the miles pass? Release the tension and roll your shoulders back and down, as though you’re tucking your shoulder blades into your back pockets. I often carry tension in this area, and focusing on spreading the distance between my shoulders does wonders to alleviate tightness in this area.

2. Don’t strike the ground with your heel first. Rather, aim for mid-foot, which will help reduce the amount of stress to the ankles and knees by keeping your feet underneath you as you land, rather than in front of you.

3. Lean forward from the ground up. When I tell runners to lean into their run, the first thing they do is hinge at the hip. A better cue would be, “fall into your run.” By hinging at the ankle joint, you give gravity a chance to assist you. Let it. By leaning forward into your run, your legs will naturally land underneath your hips, right where they belong.

4. Zip it up. Imagine zipping up your pants. Notice how your lower pelvis is drawn in toward your spine? Good. Now try to maintain that level of contraction in your lower abdominals while you run. Right off the bat you’ll notice a slightly faster pace. You can thank your core for that extra boost of power!

5. Keep your chest open and your eyes forward. I was always told to keep my eyes on the ground about 6ft in front of my feet. Not only was this an extremely boring way to run – after all, it isn’ t much fun to look at the pavement – it also forces you to run with slumped shoulders, creating misalignment of the skeleton and over time, a whole slew of mechanical problems. By opening up the chest and running tall, the impact of each foot strike is absorbed by your skeleton, rather than the individual joints, beginning with the ankles. Imagine increasing the distance between your chest and pelvis as you run, literally lengthening your core.

Finally, give it time. Changing running technique will take focused practice. Try dedicating 5-10 minutes of every run to improving your form, then gradually increase this “form focused” time by 5-10 minutes every week until one run every week is dedicated to maintaining ideal form. Those aches and pains you experienced early on when you were a novice runner should gradually disappear. With practice, you can avoid injury and run pain free for many miles (and years) to come!

Warm weather is here (hopefully to stay) and that can mean only one thing: shorter pants! If you aren’t quite ready to don your short-shorts, I have the move for you.

The Forward Lunge

Main Muscles Involved: Glutes, Hamstrings, Quadriceps, Hip Flexors

The Exercise: Use bodyweight, or dumbbells, a body bar or weighted medicine ball if you want added challenge. Start with feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your chest up and abdomen pulled in — take a long step forward. The heel of your trailing leg will come off the floor as you settle into your lunge. The thigh of your lead leg should be parallel to the floor, your shin perpendicular to the floor (assuring that the knee is aligned over the front heel rather than forward over the toes).

Tips: Try to keep your chest high and eyes forward to prevent tipping forward. As you return to the starting position, keep your core tight (this will help with alignment on the return movement and assist with balance). Push through the front heel (you’ll feel your glutes engage here) and return to the starting position. Notice also how the glute of the trailing leg has to “pull” you back (you’ll feel this in the hamstring and glute of the trailing leg).

Repeat with opposite leg.

Gyms have their positive points: they are convenient, house lots of equipment, and often have childcare available to parents who need to tote their tots to the gym (this includes yours truly). Gyms also can offer a range of fitness classes and most  have personal trainers on staff. If you’re not a huge fan of going to the gym however, and would like to try something different, check out these fun alternatives…

Stroller Fit® SF targets the  “mommy muscles” – those muscles used during  labor and delivery, and post-partum, and basically every day thereafter. Moms have a chance to get their bodies fit and healthy and babies have fun in the process, so it is a win-win.
For a complete list of classes near you, visit Strollerfit and click on “find classes.”  Bonus: First class is always free!

Stroller Strides® - Amp up your energy levels, lose weight, increase strength and stamina, and have great time making new friends in the process. The interval-based workouts are 60 to 75-mins long and designed to put you through the paces so that you can reclaim your pre-baby bod. It is recommended that babies be at least 6 weeks old before participating.
To find a class near you, visit Stroller Strides or email info@strollerstrides.com
(866) FIT-4MOM

Adventure Boot Camp – If you are ready for a solid commitment (5 days/week for four weeks), you enjoy working up a sweat outside in a variety of settings, and you want to get fit fast, check out Adventure Boot Camp for Women. In addition to adventurous workouts, you’ll also receive nutritional counseling and decent doses of motivation. To find a class near you, visit Adventure Boot Camp and click on “Find an Adventure Boot Camp near you.”

Zumba® – A blend of Latin rhythms and caloric-blasting intervals, along with resistance training, gives exercise a shot of fun. Zumba® is one of the most popular dance exercise formats today, and for a good reason — it is a high-energy fitness party with no rules (so if you mess up, no one will know!) Zumba® classes are abundant in most major cities across the U.S, so it is likely there is one right around the corner from where you live. To find one, visit Zumba

Nia - Short for “neuromuscular integrative action,” Nia integrates western dance, such as jazz and modern, with eastern practices such as T’ai Chi, Tae Kwon Do and Aikido into a non-impact, whole-body movement class that is ideal for all ages and fitness abilities. Find a class through Nia Now

Improve your ab awareness with BalleCore® – a blend of Yoga, Pilates and Ballet designed to engage your core and improve posture. You need not be a dancer, past or present, to reap the benefits of this fusion class. Improved body awareness, balance, and long, lean muscles can be yours. Check out BalleCore to find out more!