Travel is often a necessary component of your daily work and career. And, if not for work, most runners will at some point travel for races.

I travel for work about once a month. A constant fear is getting sick during travel, which is a real concern given the amount of people, places, and germs you will encounter during travel. Over the years, I have implemented a few techniques to help (as much as possible) mitigate the likelihood of getting sick during business travel.

1.       One Hand for You – One Hand for the World

This is a great tip I have applied over the years. When traveling, you are going to be exposed to germs. It’s near impossible to avoid. Even with washing your hands and carrying hand sanitizer, you have to interact with the world. Therefore, I have learned to keep one hand (left hand) for me and my other hand (right hand) for interacting with the world. In this way, I use my right hand to open doors, shake hands, and touch my surroundings. I try to keep my left hand for eating, touching my face, and handling my belongings.

2.       Cope with Stress

Business travel is stressful. You have all the same demands of the workday plus the added dimension of traveling, including logistics, delays, and cramped conditions. The result is an inherently stressful environment. Instead of avoiding stress, I recommend developing travel techniques to cope with the stress.

• Maintain your exercise routine: Best case, get outside and run. Worst case do 10 minutes of pushups, situps, and burpees in your hotel room. You don’t need a lot of space (or even time) to get the positive benefits from exercise.
  
  
• Breathe (or meditate): Find brief opportunities for mini-breaks. Breathe. Or, implement a more formal mediation routine. I have been using the Headspace ap for a few years and highly recommend. The key is to convert mundane travel time and delays into opportunities for brief relaxation.

3.       Hydrate and Antioxidants

Drinking water and hydration should be common knowledge to you at this point. When traveling, you should pay extra close attention to hydration to compensate for the longer hours, stress, and increased demands on your body. In addition, Emergen-C® and others have made big business out of Vitamin C (antioxidant) drink powders. They have been successful because they work. Consider carrying an electrolyte powder with you to add to your drink. Look for one high in Vitamin C (Immunity and Antioxidants) and Vitamin B (Energy) if possible.

I hope these few tips help the next time you travel. With a little preparation and tweaks to your daily routine, you can transform travel into an opportunity to enhance your health and conditioning. Or at least make the experience a little less stressful!

See you at the Finish Line,