Travel Tips: Bodyweight Airport & Airplane Stretches
Have a long travel day ahead? Keep yourself sane and take care of your body along the way!
Stretching throughout your journey will help you feel more comfortable during the flight, and allow you to better recover once you reach your destination.
So, we’ve got some stretches to share that you can do right in your terminal.
Bodyweight Airport Stretches
▪️General Travel Tips:
1. Tons of airports have a yoga/meditation room, you just need to hunt it down! I’ve usually found them located in the international terminals. They usually have a few pieces of equipment you can use to stretch and workout: Foam rollers, yoga mats, blocks, perfect for anything bodyweight.
2. For most people when sitting on an airplane, the first parts of your body to flare up and cramp will be your shoulders/neck, and glutes/hamstrings. So, focusing on those areas before and immediately after your flight will be crucial.
3. You don’t want to overthink your stretches, or even bring equipment with you. Just yourself will do the trick.
4. The biggest obstacle will be getting over the fear of stretching in public: At the end of the day, some people will watch you, wondering what you’re doing, but it’s not the end of the world. Once you board, they will forget all about you and watching you stretch.
▪️Stretching Recommendations:
Below are all the stretches I’ve demonstrated in the video. Do you have to do ALL of them? Of course not. As a general rule of thumb, I recommend that you spend 10 minutes moving and stretching before your flight.
Pick out 4-5 movements from both the “Upper Body” and “Lower Body” sections, and spend some time getting comfortable in them. You can spend 0:30 - 0:45 seconds in the static positions, and do 10-15 reps of the dynamic movements.
As always, don’t overthink this. As long as you’re getting the blood flowing and doing what you can to feel a stretch, you’re going to be setting yourself up for a much better travel day.
▪️Upper Body Stretches:
1. Arm Circles
2. Chair Stretch
3. Chair Stretch with Lateral Pulse
4. Chair Tricep Stretch
5. Isolated Pec
6. Elevated Child’s Pose
▪️Lower Body Stretches:
1. Static Straddle
2. Standing Straddle with Lateral Swing
3. Low Squat with Knees Out
4. Lateral Lunge
5. Forward Lunge
6. Forward Lunge Bending and Straightening the Back Leg
7. Forward Lunge with an Extended Arm
8. Forward Chair Fold
9. Forward Chair Fold with Ankle Pulses
10. Chair Supported Alternating Ankles
11. Seated Pretzel
12. Seated Forward Fold
13. Seated Forward Fold with Hamstring Pulse
Bodyweight Airplane Stretches
Yes, your plane seat is a little constricted, but with a little imagination there are plenty of stretches you can do to prevent that oh-so-cramped-feeling we’re all so familiar with upon landing.
Think of moving through similar positions you used at your terminal, but in a much smaller range of motion, holding for longer periods of time.
Now, there will be some physical restrictions here. I realize that everyone is of different sizes, shapes, and heights, so, use these stretches as a guideline and tailor them to what you can manage in your seat.
I recommend spending a few minutes (let’s agree on 2-5) stretching, every half hour of your flight. You’re going to feel more comfortable, productive, and relaxed, especially when you stand up to de-board. Choose a handful of exercises, and move through them at your own pace.
▪️Upper Body Stretches:
1. Side Lean
2. Back Extension
3. Tricep Pull
4. Elbow to Chest
5. Neck
6. Back Extension with Hands Behind the Head
7. Back Extension with Slight Twist
▪️Lower Body Stretches:
1. Lean Forward
2. Cross One Leg and Pull Chest to Knee
3. Seated Pretzel
4. Seated Pretzel with Chest to Knee
5. Seated Pretzel wit Lateral Sway