May 11, 2012

Airplane travel can make you or break you.

Between disrupting your circadian rhythms with multiple time zones crossings, throwing your hormonal system out-of-whack with surges in stress and cortisol, and keeping you sedentary for long periods of time, airplane travel makes being healthy, fit and trim extremely difficult.

But I personally travel an average of 12 days out of every month, and I've figured out how to do it without destroying my body.

In the video below, I share my healthy airplane travel tips, and follow up with links and resources for you so that you can feel like a million bucks getting from point A to point B. Enjoy, and leave your comments and questions below this post.

Spry – Artificial sweeteners have been shown to kill good gut bacteria, spark appetite, and affect blood glucose levels. So I go for natural gum, which I'm frequently chomping on the plane to keep me from mindless snacking. I just get a big canister and put it into a ziplock.

EarthPulse – The Earthpulse releases pulsed electromagnetic frequencies that lull you into deep delta sleep – exactly what you want when you finally check into your hotel or final destination.

HARAPad – I often find that my lap is the only available location for setting my laptop when I'm at the airport, so I use this pad for protecting my precious groin from laptop heat and electromagnetic frequencies.

Gunnar Glasses – Blue light wave spectrums from TV screens, artificial airport lighting and computers can keep you up and disrupt your circadian sleep rhythm even more than airplane travel already does to it, so I wear these to make sure I can get good sleep and avoid eye strain.

Sleep Mask – Keeps stuff dark so more melatonin gets released. Essential. I use Dream Essentials contoured face mask and fitted ear plugs.

Cocochia – Coconut and chia seed mix that actually goes quite well with airplane peanuts. Cheap meal in a pinch. Drink a glass of water with it, and the chia seeds expand and keep you feeling full for a long time.

Actionwipes – I use this soft cloth with a pre-ready mix of tea trea oil and other essential oils and antibacterial compounds to wipe my hands before eating, give myself a refreshing face wash, and, in a  pinch, wipe my butt when necessary. I never travel without these.

Nutrarev – I take this for the brain-boosting carnosine and alpha-lipoic acid for when I'm writing and thinking on the airplane. It goes well with TianChi.

TianChi – This Chinese adaptogenic herb complex kicks cortisol in the pants and massively reduces travel stress, while increasing your focus and giving you a nice healthy brain buzz.

Nuun – I drop this in airplane water to give it a fizzy flavor, and it keeps me from ordering stuff like ginger ale or 7-up. The extra electrolytes and vitamin C are also a nice feature.

Hammer Bar – This is the only bar I've found with grass-fed whey that actually fills you up and doesn't make you feel like you need to eat another one. Peanut Butter-Chocolate flavor is ultra tasty. You get a 15% discount on these if you use my referral code (80244) at http://www.HammerNutrition.com.

MillenniumSports Somnidren GH – good to take on an empty stomach to get you to sleep at your final destination. I haven't found it to work extremely well on the plane (compared to Natural Calm Magnesium), but is great for inducing deep sleep when you get to where you're going.

Natural Calm Magnesium – Use this to settle your nerves and get you all nice and relaxed for a long flight. Good for sleep.

MAP – Airport protein meat sources are basically dog-food grade. Avoid them like the plague and just use 5-10 of these capsules when you're traveling to keep your amino acid levels up for muscle repair.

Fish Oil – Heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids are hard to get when traveling. If you know you can keep them in a cool, dark place, then travel with a good, triglyceride based fish oil.

Caprobiotics– Like omega-3 fatty acids, fermented foods like kefir, Kim Chi, sauerkraut are also hard to eat when traveling, so I pack probiotics and take them regularly during airplane travel.

Capracleanse – I get constipated when I travel. There, I admit it. I pop three of these in the AM and three in the PM, and I'm smooth as silk, right as rain, and regular as a clock. They're also a good liver cleanse if your travel happens to include alcohol (which you should *avoid* on the plane)

Caprazymes – I eat strange and new foods when I travel, and by popping these beforehand, I give my digestive system a boost and increase breakdown and absorption.

ProstElan – I take these every day, even when I'm not traveling, to keep me from going bald and getting prostate cancer. I don't like the hairless, enlarged prostate gland look.

Hammer Race Caps – I take these for the CoEnzyme Q10, which is another of those “essential daily” supplements for me, especially as an endurance athlete. You get a 15% discount on these if you use my referral code (80244) at http://www.HammerNutrition.com.

Supergreens – I wouldn't travel without this, ever. It is my meal replacement and I typically have at least two meals a day comprised simply of Supergreens with water from Starbucks, and occasionally some dark chocolate thrown in. It is complete whole food nutrition, enzymes, antioxidants, everything.

Oil of Oregano – This keeps you from getting sick when you travel. It stops airborne pathogens in their tracks. I drop 4-6 drops in my mouth before I hop on the plane.

Elderberry – Often, I'm pretty beat up traveling back from a triathlon and my immune system is somewhat compromised. This seems to pull me back into the land of the living, at about 10 drops a day.

Topical Magnesium – I spray this on the inside of my thighs every time I get out of the shower to keep my magnesium and testosterone levels elevated. About 10-15 sprays per thigh, rubbed in. Also good for relaxing your shoulders and neck.

Mostfit Suspension Strap – This is my alternative to the spendier TRX suspension straps, and allows me to get a good workout in underneath an airport stairwell or wherever else I can attach the straps. Also good for hotel room workouts.

110% Compression Socks – The compression socks I use are made by “110% percent”.  [sc name=”110-Affiliate-Code”].

Koar compression shirt – A new thing I've found. These are super comfortable shirts for travel. I like 110% for lower body compression, but Koar has good upper body compression options.

Myorope – Use this to give yourself your own little personal massage as an alternative to spendy airport massage chairs. I swear by this if I'm traveling home from a triathlon or hard physical endeavor.

Questions, comments or feedback about any of these healthy airline travel tips and tools? Leave them below!