7 Ways to keep your body fit during plane travel?

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:55:36 +0000

It is always important to keep your body fit and healthy even during travel or vacations. Air travel brings some stresses and may expose you to some health problems. This article will discuss to you how you can prevent these problems from happening.

One of the stresses your body gets is not on board but before the flight. Most of the time, airports require the passengers to arrive 2 hours earlier the departure time. This brings stress especially if we are rushing to catch the check in time. To avoid this, leave your house early to avoid rushing. Wear comfortable shoes or sandal also because most terminals are huge and it would require a lot of walking just to reach the gate for boarding. Don’t give too much stress to your body by carrying your backpacks and luggage. There are free trolleys that you can use inside the airport. Dehydration can be avoided by taking lots of fluids. Small walks can prevent deep vein thrombosis which may happen especially during long flights. Nervousness can be avoided by relaxing and distracting yourself by reading.

Travel through air is not always advisable for those who had a recent surgery. Change in air pressure may compromise the speed of tissue healing. Cabin pressure may also worsen sinus infection and common colds. Bring all your important prescription drugs and medical history as well. Travel insurance is also an option if you don’t want to spend on unexpected health problem during the trip.

Here’s a list on what you can do during the flight:

1. Alcoholic and caffeinated drinks can add up to dehydration so you must stay away from these drinks.
2. Long flights will lead to long hours of immobility which can cause upset stomach. To avoid this, you should not eat a very heavy meal prior to the flight.
3. Immobility can affect digestion and can also cause muscle and joint pains and edema. During a flight, you may stand and move around to prevent the effects of immobility to your body.
4. Do some ankle pumping exercise by moving your ankle up and down. Compressive stockings may also help in preventing blood pooling and ensures good blood flow.
5. Prevent sinus and ear pain by swallowing sweets or pinching your nose, especially during take-off and landing.
6. Wear protective mask if you just recently got ill and have low immunity. Infection spreads easily inside the plain because of high humidity inside the craft. This is due to dehydration and drying of the oral and nasal mucosa due to high humidity.
7. If you have a history of motion sickness, it is helpful if you’ll take anti-motion sickness drug before boarding. Always bring all your important medications and consult your doctor for additional emergency prescription for the trip.

It is very important to follow the precautions above to avoid health problems during flights. This is always true for frequent travelers and to those who travel rarely as well.

5 Exercises that can Performed inside a Plane

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:01:39 +0000

It sounds a little bit weird to perform an exercise while on the plane but it is really effective if you will give it a try. The long hours of travel is the best time to do something that can boost your energy and will keep you fit. But doing it in the plane is like crazy and you’ll catch the attention of your fellow travelers, right? Ah, not really if you’ll do it in a subtle way.

Here are some techniques that you can do while sitting on the plane.

1. Whilst seated, straighten you legs and put some tension on your anterior thigh muscles by lifting your foot until it clears the floor and your shin touches the seat in front of you. Maintain the tension for a couple of seconds then relax, do it again for 5-10 repetitions.

2. You can also exercise your abs while sitting down. Contract your abdominal muscles. The action should be like, the lower ribs are moving towards the thigh. Relax for a couple of seconds and repeat the same action for 5-10 reps. If unsure if you’re doing it correctly, just imagine what happens when you are straining when you’re in the toilet.

3. Neck stretching can be done also in the sitting position. Move your temple towards the shoulder on the same side, hold the position for a couple of seconds, then relax. This stretches the muscles on the side of the neck. To stretch the back muscles, move your nose towards the ground as if looking at your feet. Again, maintain the position for a couple of seconds then relax. Do this for 5-10 reps.

4. Exercise your ankles by rolling it with the legs straight and the feet raised from the floor.

5. To workout the muscles at the back of your thigh, you can push your feet against the floor with your knees at 90 degrees. This will help improves the body’s blood circulation and will prevent blood pooling and swelling due to immobility.

If you want to exercise without anyone noticing you, the plane bathroom is the best place to do it. You’ll have privacy and you can do more exercises standing than in the seated position. If you’re seated along the aisle, you can take over head luggage as an excuse for getting up and moving your body. These are some of the ideas that you can do to keep yourself healthy even during airplane trips.

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7 Ways to keep your body fit during plane travel?

5 Exercises that can Performed inside a Plane