Part 27 - Too Fit to Travel
As your new health and fitness correspondent, I intend to start out by offering my philosophy on fitness when it comes to travel. When on the road for long periods of time, especially on a limited budget, one is faced by a large amount of change, both environmentally and culturally. With this comes a distinct unpredictability. I intend to convince you that this is something to embrace and not to fear.
Story Highlights
- Fat Versus Fiction
- Cardiovascular Training and Maintaining a Healthy Heart
- Diet and Nutrition
- Exercise
Fat Versus Fiction
This story is nicely illustrated by a friend of mine who, since leaving university, has been travelling the world. For a long time prior to leaving, said friend was hugely excited about the range of experiences which lay ahead, but conversations about the future also included the inevitable topic of a desire to become fitter, healthier and stronger.To the modern mind the ideas of travel and fitness are mutually inconsistent. We live in a world of corporate health clubs, where we're told that signing up is synonymous with a healthier lifestyle. It's a sad fact that the wealth of the industry is primarily due to unused memberships. This reality is proven by the increasing levels of obesity in this country and in the USA, in addition to the continued growth of the fitness industry.
Cardiovascular Training and Maintaining a Healthy Heart
I refer you my previous health and fitness article for details about exercise - for weight management and improving cardiovascular fitness. With the emphasis still very much on seizing opportunities and embracing new experiences, we must also address the issue of diet and nutrition.
Diet and Nutrition
Answer me honestly. What goes through your head when you see cornflakes and instant coffee stocked in foreign supermarkets? My point is that it's rather alarming to see how the fruits of the fat nations are reaching all corners of the globe. Central to any culture is its cuisine and searching for authenticity with an open mind is perhaps the healthiest approach of all. Of course this is no excuse for a diet consisting purely of red wine and cheese, but such fabulous experiences should not be viewed as a threat but as an opportunity to savour. As far as nutrition is concerned, I don't intend to prescribe diets or bore you by listing the good and the bad. An intuitive understanding of what the body needs is vital for a healthy lifestyle. The more receptive you are to this and to the way in which your diet is contributing to your own well being, the more adaptable your body will be to change. This may seem rather complicated but how many of you have at some point overdosed on for example, mince pies and Christmas cake, and then felt absolutely atrocious as a consequence?I have vivid memories of a trip to, where walking around a local market in Padua I was surrounded by a vivid display of the fruit and vegetables. After a week of pastas, risottos and pizza, I really just wanted a nice juicy pear. So I bought one, and a peach, and an apple. My message is this. Think - before you eat it, whilst you are eating it and after you have eaten it. Explore the culinary offerings of the world as well as the nutritional needs of your body.
Exercise
This same psychological approach is relevant on the subject of exercise, namely that threats should be replaced by a desire to explore horizons. We all have our comfort zones and true fitness involves a willingness to leave this home ground. Whether it be physical overload, your first oyster or stepping on that plane, I urge to do it. Do it.Next month I'll be focusing on strength training, its benefits as a means of maintenance and how to develop strength without access to the good old gym.
- David Haw
