Keeping to your fitness routine when you're travelling takes some planning and motivation. Primrose Monteiro-D'Souza weighs in some tips from the experts

YOU know the drill when you're travelling - wake up as late as possible, get through the morning, indulge heavily at a restaurant, a snooze in the afternoon (made inevitable by all that eating), an evening of shopping, and then bopping, fuelled by cocktails at a nightclub or pub, and so to bed... Of course, if you're travelling on work, it's a bit different - wake up as late as possible, a morning of high-stress negotiation, a beeline for the buffet, an afternoon spent guzzling coffee to stay awake, and of course, then shopping and bopping at a nightclub, and so to bed...

It's hard to stick to your fitness routine year round, and even harder when you're away from home. You'll probably suffer from travel fatigue or jet lag, you won't have the jogging tracks and gym equipment you're used to, and you just may have forgotten to pack your motivation to keep active...

But, says Suzanne Schlosberg, author of 'Fitness for Travellers: The Ultimate Workout Guide For The Road', travelling also has the unexpect-ed potential to give your fitness regimen a fillip. "A trip may take the routine out of your routine; you may have no choice but to try new strength exercises or jog in the pool instead of swim laps. And you might find these new pursuits so enjoyable that you add them to your fitness repertoire at home."

Of course, once you move the excuses out of your mind space, you'll see brave new ways to put fitness on your itinerary as you enjoy a new destination. All it takes is a little lateral thinking, some planning and the enthusiasm to get off the couch!

Room For Planning
Before leaving home, find out whether your hotel is equipped for fitness - does it have a gym? Some establishments have tie-ups with local gyms too. Make sure you carry fitness gear - your tracksuit, hand towel, swimsuit, walkman, music and shoes in the least. And decide in advance how much time you will devote to your feel-good regimen.

Plane Talking
Taking a flight usually entails a certain amount of inactivity, but only if you allow that. "Instead of sitting around trying to make the newspaper last until boarding time, stash your carry-on in a locker and power walk the terminal," recommends Joan Price, a California-based fitness expert, speaker and author of 'The Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Book: 300+ Quick And Easy Exercises You Can Do Whenever You Want!'

"Walk as fast as possible. If you find any stairs, walk up and down them. And avoid the 'people movers' - those moving belts like flat escalators. You'll spend enough time not moving - don't settle for even more. If your luggage is heavy, rent a cart or trolley and push it - even more exercise!"

When you're on a long haul flight, it's very important to keep moving when you can. Not only does sitting cramped in your seat feel awful, it can also lead to the rare but potentially deadly deep vein thrombosis, where blood clots travel to your heart, lungs or brain. Do simple muscle contractions and releases in your seat, flex and extend your legs and do deep breathing exercises at frequent intervals. "Get out of your seat and take frequent trips to the rest room and the magazine rack," says Joan Price.

"While you're in the aisle, do a subtle jog (sort of like a bouncing walk) and make the foray last as long as possible."

Round And About
If you're lucky, your hotel will have a gym and health club; if not, look with new eyes at what is available. Here are some easy ways to build exercise into your holiday:
• Use your hotel's sports facilities - swim in the pool, play squash, tennis, badminton...
• Take the stairs: In cities with high-rise buildings, you don't need a stair master when you can walk up to your appoint-ments. We recommend a good deodorant...
• Find a local park or stadium: Walking or jogging will increase your fitness and decrease your travelling costs.
• Carry along an exercise DVD and pop it into your room's movie player or your laptop, suggests Sarina Jain, fitness expert and creator of the Masala Bhangra Workout.
• Exploit the room: Jain suggests: "You can do lunges across the room, squats while watching the news, push-ups and sit-ups, tricep dips off the chairs - these are simple exercises that can be done to make up for doing nothing. Or take water bottles and use them as weights."
• Jump rope: Carry a jump rope in your suitcase, says Joan Price, and use it for frequent, short bouts of cardio - five minutes in the morning, five minutes when you get back to your hotel room, five minutes while you're watching the news...
• Fill up to tone down: Jain recommends carrying collapsible weights that one fills with water. "When you are done using them, you just empty out the water and fold them back to fit into your bags while travelling." (Seach Google: 'Collapsible weights' or ask your trainer if he can help you get them.)
• Walk to dinner: Plan a nice dinner at a restaurant a mile or two away and walk to it. "Wear athletic shoes and carry your dress shoes in a bag," suggests Price. "You'll work up an appetite, see more of the city, and not have to regret those extra dinner calories. Be sure to carry water."
• Dance! We're not recommending late nights every night, but a bout of spirited bopping after dinner can count as exercise!
Stay Motivated
"It is important to stay fit when travelling," Sarina says. "We all think we will only gone for a few days or even a week, but staying fit needs to be a day-to-day affair.

Fitness IS the holiday
Why not take an action holiday? Skiing and backpacking holidays will get your heart pumping, so will kayaking, trekking and diving excursions. Of course, all these options require a basic degree of fitness, but that can serve as your incentive to start upping your stamina now.

Fit To Eat
Travelling often blows your resolutions, but these tips from the American Council of Exercise will let you enjoy your food without taking home extra baggage:
• Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water, particularly if you are flying or are on long road trips.
• Eat at least three times a day to keep from feeling famished and overindulging. This will also give you energy for all your activities.
• Visit the local market to pick up healthy snacks to carry with you through the day.
• Go ahead and splurge on regional dishes or local cuisine, even if they might be higher in fat and calories than you are used to. Just maintain a balance. If you splurge one night, make sure you add some extra activity and eat healthier the next day.