5 Fitness Moves to Take on the Road

By Steven Macari on Dec 19, 2013

Founder of the SLVRBK mat and C.H.E.K certified holistic health practitioner, Steve Macari specializes in digestive health, detoxification and stress management, as well as customized nutrition and holistic lifestyle programs for people of all ages. Here, he breaks down the 5 best moves you can do to maintain health and wellness while you travel over the holidays—all from the comfort of your hotel room.

1) Prone Cobra: This exercise will not only help develop a well defined upper back and shoulders, it will also help correct some of the postural issues that occur from long hours at a computer.
 Lie face down with your arms at your sides.
 As you inhale pick your chest off the floor while simultaneously squeezing your shoulder blades together and rotating your arms out so that your palms face away from your body with your thumbs pointing up towards the ceiling.
 Keep your head and neck in neutral alignment, with your toes on the floor.
 You should feel the muscles between our shoulder blades doing the work. If you feel stress in your low back, squeeze your butt cheeks together prior to lifting your torso.
 Hold until you need to breath out, and exhale as you lower your torso to the floor
 Repeat 10 times

2) 4 Point Tummy Vacuum: The most important ab exercise that you have never heard of. For a variety of reasons crunches and most conventional abdominal exercises fail to work the lower abdominals. Lower abdominals that are not working properly are a major cause of lower back pain. This exercise will help get the lower abdominals firing properly and will also aid in developing a full and diaphragmatic breathing pattern.
 Assume a kneeling position with your hips over your knees and your shoulders over your hands. With you spine in neutral alignment, take a deep breath in and let your belly drop to the floor.
 Exhale and draw your belly button in toward your spine, while keeping your back in the starting position.
 Hold for as long as you comfortably can.
 When you need to breath in, relax your abdominal wall as you inhale and repeat the exercise.
 Repeat 10 times.

3) Squat with Arms Overhead: The squat is a key functional movement that will develop strength, flexibility and will help in many day to day activities. In this version we are holding our arms overhead to engage the upper back and shoulders. If this is uncomfortable feel free to keep your arms at your side.
 Take a comfortable stance that is wide enough for you to squat down between your legs. Hold your arms over your head as if you were making a Y.
 Inhale and draw your belly button in.
 Drop down into a comfortable squat. Go only as far as you can, if you feel any discomfort in the knees or lower back stop.
 Exhale through pursed lips as you stand up.
 Keep your arms raised the entire time.

4) Lunge: Lunges are great for the glutes and opening up those hip flexors that are tight from sitting all day.
 Begin standing with your feet together
 You may hold weights in your hands if you have them around and want to make the exercise more challenging.
 Draw your belly button inward.
 Step forward so that your back thigh and front shin are perpendicular to the floor when you drop down.
 Keep a good upright posture and drop down so that your knee just touches the floor, then come back up.
 Your ear, shoulder, hip and knee should all be in a line when you reach the end position.
 You may repeat on the same side or for a may challenging exercise, you can alternate legs

5) Hip Extension: The hip extension is a very effective way to target the glutes, hamstrings and core.
 Start by lying on the floor or a mat with your arms at your side.
 Press your hips off the ground and tighten your glutes. Keep your head, upper back and feet on the ground. Hold for 10 seconds.
 Slowly drop your pelvis/hips down to the ground and relax for 10 seconds before repeating.
 A more advanced version of this exercise can be done with a swiss ball and/or by lifting one leg off the ground.