Archive for January, 2010

By Ruba Guest Blogger Roger Elmore

Quick Workout Tips for Travelers

In my days and nights managing hotels, I saw a lot of different types of
exercises that people do to try and stay in shape while they are on the
road. Since we are just coming off of New Year’s I know there are a lot
of people that have losing weight or staying shape in mind. You might
think that just because you are away from home that you can’t get a good
workout in, fortunately you can. Here are some of the great ideas that I
have seen and put into practice myself:

1. Walking – A lot of people like to see the hotel anyway. If the
   hotel is large enough, then you have plenty of room to walk and take laps
   around the various portions of the hotel. If you get bored and the
   weather is good, well you can take your walk outside as well and take in
   the local scenery. Of course, you can also jog or walk outside if you
   make sure to bring the right running shoes and clothes. In an absolute
   pinch when you are very tight on space, you can simply jog in place.
2. Stairs – One of my personal favorites mostly because it ALWAYS
   works for getting me tired is to go up and down several flights of stairs.
   Who needs a stair-stepper machine when you have the real thing. I’ll
   guarantee that after you walk up 10 flights of stairs or so, you’ll feel
   it working (and you will probably not like me very much for recommending
   the stairs).
3. Isometrics – There are some great isometric exercises that you
   can do right in the comfort of your hotel room (assume 3 sets with 10
   repetitions per set). You can do calf raises by simply going up on your
   toes, count to 10, and then come down and just before your heels hit the
   ground go back up. You can also do squats by standing with your back to a
   wall and bending down until your knees are fully bent, hold that while you
   count to 10, and then raise up going back down as soon as you reach a
   fully upright position.
4. Abdominal Exercises – First we have to start with sit-ups, no
   matter how you prefer to perform a sit-up, you can definitely do them in
   your hotel room. You can vary the complexity of the situp by changing the
   elevation of your feet (put your feet up on the chair or the bed).
   Another great abdominal workout comes from doing leg raises. You lay flat
   on the ground and leaving your legs straight you raise them six inches off
   of the floor, hold them in the air counting to 10, and then repeat the leg
   lift.
5. Tricep Exercises – One of my favorite exercises for triceps are
   dips (also one of my favorite foods to eat when enjoying a bag of chips).
   You need 2 chairs that will hold your weight and you place your hands
   behind you while you sit on one chair with your feet resting on the other
   chair and then you lower yourself off of the chair you are sitting on and
   then back up starting down again as soon as you get back up. To add
   complexity to the dip, hold the down position while you count to 10 before
   rising back up.
6. Bicep Exercises – This is actually a pretty difficult one to do
   on the road but depending upon your fitness you will definitely have a
   couple of options available to you. The exercise is a bicep curl where
   you hold your arm out straight in front of you and then bend it at the
   elbow as you bring your hand toward your nose. You can do this holding a
   bottle of water in your hand or you can do this with a small suitcase
   depending upon your level of fitness (and how light or heavy you
   pack).
7. Chest Exercises – The easiest exercise to do that will workout
   your chest is push-ups. You lay down on the floor on your stomach and
   then put your hands to each side and push yourself off of the floor
   keeping your legs straight as soon as you reach the top you go back down
   and repeat the push-up. To vary the portion of your chest that you are
   working out you can again change the elevation of your feet by putting
   them up on a chair or up on the bed. This will allow you to work on a
   variety of upper and lower chest muscles.

If you manage to get several of the exercises above in on any given day,
chances are very good that you will be able to maintain your health and
fitness routine even when you are on the road.

Roger Elmore is a former hotel manager who now writes articles for Hospitality Management
Schools

Photo courtesy of Johan Pretorius

The New Year is upon us and the Ruba team is abuzz with our travel plans for 2010. Here’s to a quick economic and travel industry recovery that makes it possible for all you travel lovers to check that next dream destination off your list this year! Need some inspiration? Consider timing your vacation this year to coincide with one of these once in a lifetime events!

1. Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany

Photo Courtesy of flickr: Rita Willaert

For those of you out of the loop, a passion play is a dramatic depiction of the trial, suffering, and death of Jesus Christ, performed during Christian Lent. These plays are often performed at Catholic schools throughout the world, but the most famous incarnation of the Passion Play is the one hosted only once every ten years in the tiny German town of Oberammergau. Half the town’s residents (about 2,000 people) will participate in this year’s play, which is directed by Christian Stückl of Munich’s Volkstheater. Visitors from around the world are invited to the production which will run from mid-May through October. With another chance to see this production not slated until 2020, you’d better make it happen this year! Wondering how to start planning your trip? Ruba has a variety of Oberammergau Passion Play tours for you to choose from!

2. Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia

Photo courtesy of Bobak Ha'Eri

Ah, the Olympics. The time when people from all the countries across the world lay aside their differences and duke it out for Gold Medals in some good, clean, old-fashioned sportsmanship and fun. Whether you’re a Winter Olympics fan or a Summer Olympics fan, this year’s competition in Vancouver, Canada is sure to please. The world’s finest athletes will descend upon this pristine destination for some of the most heart skiing, luge-ing, and skating we’ve ever seen. And most likely a rousing snowball fight or two. So grab your beanie and snow goggles and get ready to start cheering – the festivities kick of February 12, 2010!

3. FIFA World Cup in South Africa

Photo courtesy of flickr: CLF

The FIFA World Cup, hosted every four years, comes to South Africa this year and lasts from June 11 through July 11, with matches held at 10 venues through the country: Johannesburg (2 stadiums), Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Polokwana, Nelspruit, and Rustenburg. All 32 teams which will participate in the finals matches have already qualified, including the United States, France, England, Germany, Brazil, defending champ Italy, and many more! If this is your first trip to Africa, check out Ruba’s Featured Safaris and Tours to the country.

4. Total Solar Eclipse

Photo courtesy of flickr: luc.viatour

All you star gazers get ready for a real treat – this year on July 11th (yes, the last day of the World Cup! ) there will be a total solar eclipse visible in the southern Pacific Ocean, Easter Island, and southern Chile & Argentina.

Happy Travels in 2010, all!