how to stay in shape while travelling (if you are a little lazy like me)

I know people who are incredibly committed to their workout regimens.  They will wake up early wherever they are and run for miles or go to the hotel gym and put in a full workout.  I with I could be more like them...but, alas, I am aware of my own limitations.  I already dislike running when I'm home, so it's highly unlikely I would do it with any true conviction while on vacation.  If I go to the hotel gym, I'll make a half-hearted attempt to jog a mile or so on the treadmill (so boring!), lift some weights, do some pushups, and then realize it's only been about 20 minutes.

At some point, after years of futile efforts, I decided to just accept me for me.  I don't like to work out.  I do it because I love to eat and I don't want to be fat.  Now when I travel, I do not set unrealistic expectations that I know I will fail.  Why have negativity on my own vacation?  Instead, I set easier goals that I know I can meet, such as:

• Do lots of walking.  I can walk and walk for miles even in flip flops.  Wherever I go, I will study the local map and if I can get to a restaurant or tourist attraction by foot, I will forego taking a taxi or subway.  This way I experience more of the city and squeeze in some exercise. 
•  Stretch in the morning.  I read somewhere that it's healthy to stretch in the morning.  So I just make an effort to stretch out my body, do 10 push ups and 10 situps to start the day!  It only takes 5 minutes, if that.
•  Bring a jump rope.  Not all hotels will have a gym so it's very easy to use that as an excuse not to work out.  An easy fix is to bring a jump rope.  It doesn't take much room in my luggage and I can get in a pretty good workout.  I just do a few minutes of jump rope to get the heart racing.  (If I'm ambitious I'll try double-unders but I sort of suck at them.)  But if I'm concerned that I might be creating too much noise for downstair neighbors, I will opt for something else.
• Fitness videos.  This is a recent discovery, but youtube has great fitness videos for free.  My favorites are the fitnessblender videos, and they range from quick 10 minute to hour long videos.  Super effective and varied enough so I don't get bored.  Most of the routines use your bodyweight so you rarely need any equipment.  I will typically just do the shorter, easier videos.  Hey - some exercise is better than no exercise!

Hope these ideas inspire you to (try) to stay in shape when you travel too!