Exercise While Traveling: How I Help Patients Stay on Track (Video)

Travel can throw a wrench in even the most dedicated fitness routines. You’ve built momentum at home — your workouts are clicking, your energy’s up, maybe you're finally seeing progress — and then a trip pops up.

Whether it’s for work or vacation, suddenly you're out of your rhythm. Hotel rooms. Airports. Long drives. And before you know it, a week’s gone by, and the thought of getting back into your routine feels overwhelming.

If that sounds familiar, you're not alone.

As a health coach, I’ve seen how easy it is for travel to disrupt consistency. But I’ve also seen how just a few small, intentional actions can make a huge difference.

In this article, I’ll show you how I help my patients stay active while traveling — and how you can do the same without sacrificing rest, fun, or flexibility.

Start With One Simple Question: What Do You Want This Trip to Be?

Before planning workouts or packing resistance bands, I always ask: What do you want from this trip physically, mentally, and emotionally?

• If you’re running on fumes and need to recharge, honor that. Give yourself permission to rest without guilt.

• If you're concerned about losing momentum, let's create a "soft" plan — a framework that keeps your goals in mind without dominating your schedule.

Clarity is key. If you wait until you're already on the trip to make a plan, you'll default to whatever’s easiest, and that usually means doing nothing. But when you enter your trip with a mindset — even a simple one like “I’ll move for 20 minutes three times” — you create a foundation for success.

Real-life example: One patient who travels for conferences sets the goal of walking 15 minutes every morning while listening to a podcast. It's short, simple, and keeps her anchored.

Know Your Triggers Before You Go

We all have behavioral triggers. These are things that make it harder to stay consistent. And travel amplifies them.

Ask yourself:

• Do you lose motivation when your schedule shifts?

• Does unfamiliar food make you feel sluggish and less likely to move?

• Do you tend to tell yourself, “I’ll start fresh when I get back”?

If you’ve fallen into those patterns before, great — now you know. Awareness is a tool. Once we know your common sticking points, we can design around them.

What I often recommend:

• Bring a pair of walking shoes and plan walks after dinner to counter inactivity.

• Schedule your workout in your calendar like a meeting.

• If mornings are your sweet spot at home, don’t abandon that rhythm just because you're in a new place.

Plan Based on Where You’re Going, Not Where You Wish You Were

You don’t need a perfect setup, but you do need a plan that fits your environment.

• Hotel gyms: Take five minutes to look at the photos online. Does it have dumbbells? A treadmill? Just knowing what’s available helps set realistic expectations.

• Remote or rural locations: Bring a set of bands, a towel for floor work, and a short bodyweight circuit you can do in your room or outside.

• Urban destinations: Use the environment. Walk the city, climb stairs, explore neighborhoods by foot or bike.

Tip: I often create "anywhere workouts" for patients with a few go-to movements they can do in a hotel room with no equipment. Squats, push-ups, glute bridges, planks — done in a circuit, they’re incredibly effective.

The Rule of 20: Why 20 Minutes is Enough

Most people fall into all-or-nothing thinking: If I can’t do a full hour at the gym, why bother at all?
That mindset is the enemy of consistency.

That’s why I teach my patients The Rule of 20: If you can move your body for just 20 minutes, it counts. And it adds up fast.

• 20 minutes of walking around your hotel.

• 20 minutes of yoga or stretching in your room.

• 20 minutes of a guided workout from a fitness app.

You don’t need intensity. You need consistency. A few 20-minute sessions during a weeklong trip keeps your habits alive, protects your momentum, and boosts your energy so you come back ready to keep going.

Use What You’ve Got: Simple Tools, Big Impact

You don’t need a packed gym bag to stay active.

• Resistance bands: I love these because they’re light, inexpensive, and endlessly versatile. You can work your entire body with just a few variations.

• Bodyweight workouts: Push-ups, squats, lunges, planks. These classics don’t require anything but effort.

• Apps and streaming workouts: There are hundreds of free or low-cost resources that can guide you through full-body routines, no matter where you are.

Pro tip: I always recommend patients keep a “travel workout” saved on their phone or written in Notes. When decision fatigue hits, they’ve got a plan ready.

Set Yourself Up for a Strong Return

A question I love to ask patients:
“When you get back from this trip, what do you want to feel proud of?”

Whether it's:

• Taking 3 walks

• Stretching daily

• Keeping your nutrition 80% on track

• Prioritizing sleep

Decide on that one thing and let it guide you. That way, when you return, you don’t feel guilt or regret. You feel proud, energized, and ready to jump back into your full routine.

Pro tip: Before leaving, book your first post-trip workout or coaching check-in. That scheduled accountability creates a clear transition from “away mode” to “I’m back and I’m on track.”

Final Thoughts: Your Fitness Can Travel With You

At the end of the day, staying active while traveling is less about perfection and more about intention. When you take five minutes to plan, identify your triggers, and commit to simple movement, you preserve the progress you’ve worked so hard for.

Travel doesn’t have to derail your goals. In fact, it can strengthen them by proving that your habits aren’t location-dependent. They’re part of who you are.

If you want help building a flexible, sustainable plan that fits your lifestyle — including travel — we'd love to work with you. That’s what we’re here for at PartnerMD.