Episode 81Jun 24, 2026· 5:25

Your Body Wants Movement All Day, Not All at Once: Travel Fitness Tips from a Physical Therapist

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About this episode

Episode covers travel fitness strategies from a physical therapist, including taking hotel stairs instead of elevators, carrying luggage yourself, doing a daily 10–15 minute morning walk to explore new surroundings, and performing squats or high knees during gas station stops on road trips. Central claim: the nervous system benefits more from small frequent movement throughout the day than from one concentrated…

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Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You travel frequently for work and your movement routine collapses the moment you're in a hotel or on a long drive because you can't get to a gym.

You have a desk job and you've noticed you feel sluggish or reach for caffeine in the afternoon because you've been sitting for hours without moving.

You're traveling with family and want small, low-friction ways to keep everyone moving without scheduling a formal workout or gym visit.

You're on a long road trip and your only movement breaks are gas station stops — you want something practical you can actually do in a parking lot.

You've been told to exercise more but you're skeptical that a few squats or a 10-minute walk actually counts for anything meaningful.

What you’ll learn

Take the hotel stairs instead of the elevator, even just two or three flights

Carry your own bags and do multiple stair trips to turn check-in into a workout

Do a 10-15 minute 'mental fitness walk' every morning to explore your surroundings

Do squats or high knees at gas station stops during long drives

Spread small movements throughout the day rather than doing one big session

Questions this episode helps answer

What can I do to keep moving on a road trip?

answered

Jen suggests using gas station stops as movement breaks — doing squats, walking around, or high knees while the tank fills, since those small bursts add up across a long drive.

"Well, this can be done. Most of us sit at our gas tank while it is filling. An option is to maybe do a few squats right then and there. Walk around the gas station. Maybe do some high knees."

How do I stay fit in a hotel without a workout plan?

answered

Jen recommends taking the stairs instead of the elevator, carrying your own bags (and doing multiple trips), and going for a 10–15 minute morning walk to explore the area — framing these as movement opportunities built into what you're already doing.

"morning I go for a 10 to 15 minute mental fitness walk. I am combining my mental acuity workout as well as getting some physical movement in."

What are some ways to make movement fun for the whole family while traveling?

answered

Jen suggests turning stair climbs into a race with a small reward — whoever gets to the third floor first gets to order dinner first — so it feels like a game rather than exercise.

"stairs and it becomes a little bit of a race. Who can get three floors before anyone else? And the first person to get there, maybe they get to order their dinner first at the restaurant"

How do I move more when I sit at a desk all day?

answered

Ashley shares that she gets up throughout the day to do squats, a Zumba dance to one song, wall sits, or wall pushups — and that moving this way makes her feel better and more alert than staying sedentary.

"up and I do some squats or I'll do a Zumba dance to one song or I'll do some wall sits or some wall pushups or things like that. Because I recognize now that if I'm moving throughout the day, I"

How do I stay alert during the day without more coffee?

answered

Ashley describes how spreading movement throughout her day keeps her awake and alert, and has helped her stop reaching for caffeine as a substitute.

"me feel more alert. It keeps me awake and it helps keep me from reaching for caffeine just so that I can stay alert throughout the day."

Setting expectations: This episode is not a structured workout plan for travelers or a deep dive into physical therapy science. It's a short voice note from a guest physical therapist sharing small, opportunistic movement ideas — taking hotel stairs, carrying your own bags, doing squats at a gas station — followed by Ashley reflecting on her own desk-job habit of breaking up the day with Zumba to one song or wall sits.

Tone & style

A mix of a physical therapist's practical suggestions and Ashley's personal experience of what makes her feel better at her desk job. The nervous system claim comes from Jen's professional framing but is not cited to research.

toneUpbeat & practical

focusA physical therapist's voice note sharing concrete ways to sneak movement into travel days, plus Ashley's own desk-job habit of doing squats and Zumba to one song throughout the day.

stylesolo_monologue

energymedium

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Textureencouraging, upbeat, casual

Notable quotes

"your nervous system likes a little bit of movement often rather than a lot all at once. I don't"

— Jen Usholt

"We like to say motion is lotion. The other beauty"

— Jen Usholt

"up and I do some squats or I'll do a Zumba dance to one song or I'll do some wall sits or some"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"now that if I'm moving throughout the day, I just feel better. I feel a lot better because I'm not just. sedentary and that makes a big difference. It makes me feel better. It makes me feel more alert. It keeps me awake and it helps keep me from reaching for caffeine just so that I can stay alert throughout the day."

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

Organized into 4 chapters — open any part to read the full text.

0:001. Intro and Guest Voice Note SetupAshley introduces the episode and explains that listener Jen Usholt has sent in a voice note with travel fitness tips, which Ashley is personally excited about given her own summer travel.0:302. Jen's Travel Movement Tips: Stairs, Bags, and Morning WalksPhysical therapist Jen Usholt shares several concrete tips for staying active while traveling: taking hotel stairs instead of the elevator, carrying your own bags, turning stair climbs into a family race, and doing a daily 10-15 minute 'mental fitness walk' to explore new surroundings.3:123. Moving During Long Drives and the Nervous System ArgumentJen suggests doing squats, high knees, or walking around the gas station during road trip stops, and closes with the point that the nervous system prefers small amounts of movement spread throughout the day rather than one big session.3:334. Ashley's Personal Reflection on Moving Throughout the DayAshley shares how Jen's point about spreading movement through the day resonates with her own desk-job experience, describing how she does squats, Zumba to one song, wall sits, and wall pushups at home to stay alert and avoid reaching for caffeine.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

personJen Usholt

A physical therapist who calls herself 'the pain less for life physical therapist' and 'the pain shifter' — she sent in a voice note with travel fitness tips that form the core of the episode.

websitefamousashleygrant.com/fitness

Ashley's website where listeners can submit voice notes to potentially be featured on the podcast.

Key themes

movement spread throughout the day

Both Jen and Ashley argue that the nervous system prefers small doses of movement all day rather than one concentrated session, which Jen frames as the core rationale behind all her tips.

sneaking movement into travel routines

Jen offers concrete substitutions for typical vacation inertia — taking stairs instead of the elevator, carrying your own bags, doing squats at a gas station — framed as ways to move when regular exercise is limited.

the daily mental fitness walk

Jen describes a personal habit of a 10-15 minute morning walk in any new location, which she frames as simultaneously a mental acuity workout and a way to discover activities for the rest of the day.

turning travel inconveniences into exercise

Jen reframes unavoidable travel pauses — filling a gas tank, hauling luggage — as opportunities to do squats, high knees, or extra stair trips rather than standing still.

desk job sedentary reality

Ashley connects Jen's tips to her own home situation, describing how sitting all day at a desk job prompted her to start breaking it up with squats, Zumba to one song, and wall pushups.

movement as an alternative to caffeine

Ashley mentions that moving throughout the day keeps her alert enough that she doesn't need to reach for caffeine, framing frequent movement as something that changes how she feels physically.

making movement a family activity

Jen suggests turning stair climbs into a race where the first person up gets to order dinner first, framing movement as something that can be gamified and shared with family on vacation.

listener voice notes as episode content

Ashley structures this episode around a voice note submitted by listener Jen Usholt and closes by inviting other listeners to send their own voice notes to famousashleygrant.com/fitness.