Is being alert for the next round
of meetings important to you?"

You travel for business to achieve an even more effective outcome with your time and resources. You can only achieve so much from using the phone, fax and e-mail. To take your business to the next level and develop new markets, you may have to travel.

Would it be important to you to travel and conduct business feeling relaxed, sounding refreshed and performing at a higher level than if you were still at home? If it is then the following will empower you with new strategies to do just that. However you need to see what is happening now and fully understand how to effectively reverse the trend.

When travelling you change all your normal patterns of behaviour, routines, food, sleep, exercise and eating times. Any one of these changes or all of them can put your body out of balance. When travelling people often ask you, "Where do you live?" We respond with the name of our home suburb. This answer is truer than you think. Many of us get so run down, stressed or even sick on business trips, that we would be hard pressed to honestly answer the question with the response "Wherever I am".

Travelling through different time zones we suffer from many different symptoms which we loosely term Jetlag. This is a reaction to decreases in our melatonin levels caused by the electromagnetic fields (EMF) experienced from air travel. Also when travelling, we are more likely to use our mobile phone more often resulting in increased exposure to EMF. Using a remote ear piece will reduce some of the damaging effects and immediate fatigue. There is a new product QLink Pendant www.qlink.com.au that you wear to protect you from the effects of EMF and Jetlag. It realigns and balances our communication system functioning like a tuning fork for the body.

When travelling, especially for business you spent a greater amount of our time inside climate controlled environments like planes, meeting rooms and hotels. The air-conditioning is dehydrating our body at an accelerated pace. Balanced hydration is one of the keys to assist and support the traveller and business professional.

Correct hydration will make your think with greater clarity, increase your energy, and reduce stress. If ever you feel tired or suffer from any of the above symptoms hydrate first it is instant fuel for your mind and energy for the body. The following solutions are simple to put the jump back into your step, the energy back in your body and provide the drive to take on any situation.

The following exercises are designed to reverse the adverse effects of physiology and stress on our day's activities often the result of a lack of physical activity. After a day sitting in meetings, there are a few simple techniques to put the spark back in your step prior to the evening's engagement.

• The outcome is to stretch your back by reversing the position that your body was in all day. Lie face down on the bed, while keeping your hips firmly on the bed. Push yourself up so that there is a nice reverse curl to your back. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds. Repeat 5 to 10 times.

• Your circulation system needs a boost after sitting down all day. - Lie down up on the floor or bed in a position that allows you to raise your feet up on a wall with your legs straight up and your bottom close to the wall. Hold for between 1 to 10 minutes. Return to the upright position slowly.

• If you find your back is tight, stiff or sore stretching it can quickly relieve the discomfort. - Lie face up on the floor or bed, positioning a pillow or a tightly rolled up towel under the small of your back. Maintain this position for minimum of 5 minutes, the longer the better.

Powerful breakfast options for peak performance.

If performing at a high level is important to you a breakfast that will get you out of the starting block powerful and empowered and ready to seize the day is a great way to start. Whether eating in your hotel or a local restaurant, your first meal for the day must have a high water content to re-hydrate your system. This is even more important if you have been in an air-conditioned hotel or had a late night with one or three dehydrating alcoholic drinks.

Option One - Whole fresh fruit or blended. Fruit juice is not beneficial as whole fruit because you lose the fibre and most of the vitamins in the juicing process.

Option Two - A high protein drink from a quality protein supplement. These are available from any health food store. Making sure that it contains at least 70 percent protein; ether whey or soy.

Option Three - Three or four egg whites scrambled, with fish (salmon, tuna ....etc), tomato and spinach. No toast as the refined carbohydrate will increase your insulin levels and slow down your metabolism.

Power Snacks

When packing for a trip you make all the necessary preparations to allow for every scenario - you should also prepare your body in the same way. A simple food solution is to pack a liquid high protein meal replacement powder and drink shake container.

• High Protein low sugar carbohydrate drink - Mixed with water or soy milk this will keep your insulin levels low and alertness high.
  
• New high protein low carbohydrate power bars are now readily available from most health food stores.

• Non Salted - Nuts, Seeds and some dried fruit can make a great nutritional snack.

When eating at restaurants order foods that will digest quickly and will leave you energized. Avoid foods that will leave you feeling sluggish (high fats and heavy sauces, etc...). Order meals that are high in protein and low in refined carbohydrates (breads, pasta, cakes ....etc). Green vegetables and fresh leafy salads are always a great start. Limit coffee at the end of the day, as you have most likely had more than enough. Drinking lots of water with lemon will re hydrate and balance your system.

If your body is fit and healthy, your mind and attitude will reflect that balance. The most effective exercise to perform when travelling is simple and easy for all levels of fitness. Go for a walk start out slowly increasing your speed depending on your levels of health and fitness.

• Walking for a minimum of 20 minutes will burn up fat stores and excess sugar. If not burned up through exercise, these will increase your insulin levels and be stored as fat. This exercise time will also be a time to reflect on the previous day activities and prepare yourself with even more focus for what you want to achieve from out of the next round of meetings.

• Bent knee abdominal curls. (sit ups) – concentrate on shortening the distance between your chest and hips.

• Push ups – Straight leg or knees bent. Starting from full arm extension, lower yourself down until your elbows are at 90 degrees.

• Tricep dips - Sit on the side of a bed or chair with your legs straight and your heels on the ground. Slide forward so that your bottom is slightly over the edge of the seat then lower yourself until your arms are at 90 degrees. Push back up and repeat.

*For the following exercises you will need a small bag (or brief case) with enough weight inside to create resistance to lift up to 10 or 20 times.

• Shoulder side raises - Holding the case by your side keep your arms straight and lift the bag until your arms are straight out from the side. Repeat. An advanced variation is to lift the case straight out in front.

• Biceps curls - Using the same bag held to your side, curl your arm up to work your biceps and repeat.

• Back lifts - Bending over with one hand on a chair or side of the bed, hold the handle of the bag and lift your arm up to chest. Return to full extension and repeat.

Maintaining a balance in both body and mind will assist you to achieve your goals while travelling and arrive back at home in even better shape then when you left.

If its important to perform at a high level when travelling the small effort you expend looking after yourself will be minimal compared to the rewards you will receive.

John Gearon