Regular business travel can leave you feeling stiff, lacklustre and wobbly on your pins. However, if you take time out to focus on your strength, balance and mobility you’ll quickly become more flexible, energized, and able to move with ease.
Hip Bridge
The hip bridge is excellent for waking up sleepy glutes when you’ve been sitting down all day and is an essential exercise for runners. Your glutes are a group of three muscles in each buttock.
- Lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Drive down through your heels to engage your glutes and slowly raise your hips. Return your hips to the ground with control.
Repeat 12 times.
You can increase the difficulty by working on single leg bridges.
- Lie flat on your back, right leg bent and foot flat on the floor.
- Hold your left leg in towards your chest.
- Drive down through the right heel to engage the right glute and raise your hips. Return to the ground with control.
- Repeat 6 times each side.
Click here for video instruction
Dead Bug
The dead bug is a simple exercise to stabilize and strengthen your core. Regular core work leads to better balance and stability whether you’re tying your shoes, reaching for something from the top shelf or swinging a golf club.
- Lie flat on your back with your arms reaching directly towards the sky and legs and knees bent to 90 degrees.
- Engage your abs and push your lower back to the floor.
- Take three slow, deep breaths and on the final exhale extend your opposite arm and foot away from each other a few inches above the floor.
- Return to the start position and replicate the other side.
- Repeat 12 times.
If you feel your lower back arching away from the floor try bending your legs. Click here for video instruction.
Cat-Cow Stretch
This simple stretch is brilliant for spinal mobilisation especially if you’ve been sitting for a long period of time in the car, on a flight or at your desk.
Kneel on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.- Exhale and slowly arch your spine and tilt your head to look up.
- As you inhale tuck your chin and round your spine one vertebrae at a time.
- Move through this cycle 8 – 12 times.
Click here for video instruction.
One Leg Balance
Good balance is essential for just about everything including walking and standing from a seated position; it also helps prevent injury.
- Stand feet together, arms by your sides, back straight and weight in your heels.
- Gaze straight ahead.
- Lift your left leg until your hip and knee are at 90-degree angles and hold for a count of 10.
- Repeat 6 times and then switch to the other side.
To increase the difficulty close your eyes or try to raise up onto your toes – it’s harder than you think!
Click here for video instruction
Staying fit whilst travelling for business is about looking after your body and remembering that it’s your home for life. Our bodies aren’t designed to stand still for long periods or sit for long periods either. Regular movement and exercise incorporating a whole body approach is critical to your physical and mental health and your business success.
© 2018 Executive Travel Vitality
