Transcript: Your Body Wants Movement All Day, Not All at Once: Travel Fitness Tips from a Physical Therapist
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Ashley Grant introduces the episode and frames it around her own summer travel, then sets up Jen Uschold's voice note on travel fitness tips.
Your nervous system likes a little bit of movement
all throughout the day rather than all at once.
What's up you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here.
Welcome to More Movement Please, the podcast
where I hope to inspire you to move your body
more. Today I have another voice note for you
and this one comes to us from Jen Usholt and
I'm excited about it because it's directly related
to some of the things that I'm already thinking
about because I'm doing so much traveling this
summer. So Jen has sent us some travel tips.
Let's listen in to them. Hi, I'm Jen Ashold,
Jen Uschold shares tips for sneaking movement into hotel stays — taking stairs instead of the elevator, carrying your own bags, and doing a 10-15 minute 'mental fitness walk' each morning to explore new surroundings.
the pain less for life physical therapist. I
also refer to myself as the pain shifter. Excited
to bring you a couple of ideas for staying fit
and on the go and moving even while you are on
vacation. The first one is many of us stay in
hotels and opt for the elevator. Well, how cool
would it be if you chose to take the stairs?
Even if you just take it for two or three flights,
that's so much better than doing nothing while
sitting on the elevator. And if you're in a bigger
hotel, a lot of times they have the lobby level
and then they have a grand type of rounding staircase
that goes up to the second or third floor. That
way you can take in more of the sights of the
beautiful hotel that you are in. Another idea
for you is to move your own bags. Well, don't
we all love the convenience of the bellhop or
the cart that we can just roll around? True.
However, if you know your regular exercise is
going to be limited on this glorious vacation,
why not take your bags yourself? You could even
get a little bit of a longer workout in if you
do several trips up and down the stairs while
you get yourself to your room. How do we make
this a family event? Maybe everyone takes the
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
that night. Something I like to do no matter
where I am is to explore the new area. Every
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.
We like to say motion is lotion. The other beauty
of the mental fitness walk is that you get to
explore your new surroundings and maybe you'll
be inspired to do an activity with your family
later in the day that maybe you wouldn't have
seen in the magazine or talking to the concierge.
Jen suggests using gas station stops as micro-movement opportunities — squats, high knees, walking around — and explains that the nervous system prefers small amounts of movement spread throughout the day rather than one big session.
How do we get movement in when you're on a long
drive and all you're doing is driving, stopping
to get gas, filling up, stopping for the bathroom?
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.
There are ways that we can incorporate little
bits of movement throughout the day. And honestly,
your nervous system likes a little bit of movement
often rather than a lot all at once. I don't
Ashley connects Jen's tips to her own desk-job reality, describing how she breaks up sitting with squats, Zumba to one song, and wall pushups, noting it keeps her alert and reduces her caffeine reliance. She closes with an invitation for listeners to send voice notes.
know about you guys but I really like the tips
that Jen shared and I really like the fact that
she said that your body actually likes to have
movement throughout the whole day rather than
all at once because it's something that I've
actually been thinking about a lot lately especially
since I do have a desk job and so whenever I'm
at home I'm doing a lot of sitting and that's
why I've tried to like throughout the day I get
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
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.
So Jen, thank you so much for sending your tips.
I really appreciate them. I hope you guys enjoyed
them as well and I hope you will use them to
start thinking a little bit outside the box about
what you can do while you're traveling to keep
your body moving. So if you would like to send
a voice note to have on this podcast, I would
love to hear from you guys. I absolutely get
such a kick out of it when y 'all send me voice
notes. It's just one of my favorite things in
the whole world. So please head over to famousashleygrant
.com backslash fitness. Again, that's famousashleygrant
.com backslash fitness. Onwards and upwards,
my friends. Have you worked out today?