Travelers (especially business travelers)
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Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller | Reply |
2006-03-23 2:51 PM |
Veteran 251 Burbs north of Chicago | Subject: Travelers (especially business travelers) Hello BT, My business travel has been picking up a little bit. This always seems to cause havoc in my workout plans as it can be difficult to find the time or difficult to find a place with the right kind of equipment. Ever try swimming a mile or more in one of those tiny hotel pools? So I had an idea of starting a thread where we could all chime in with gyms that would take strangers in different cities accross the country. However, I think I have found an easier solution. My local club belongs to this group called the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). There is an IHRSA logo on the back of my card for my club. If your club is a participant, this gives you access to pay a one day guest fee at participating clubs. You need to ask your current club for a "passport" id card or sticker to put on your current club card. Then, go to www.healthclubs.com and type in the city to where you are traveling to search for a club that you can use. MAKE SURE TO CLICK THE LITTLE BOX THAT SAYS TO ONLY INCLUDE CLUBS THAT PARTICIPATE IN THE IHRSA PROGRAM. You will get a list of the clubs available and if you click on any of them they will tell you the equipment at the club. The website tells you to call ahead to the club that you want to use which is probably a good idea to make sure they will recognize the program. I am going to San Francisco next week and I found a club 1/2 a block from my hotel. I called them up and they said as long as I had that sticker on my club card I was good to go. I got the sticker from my club today. I'm not sure how many of your clubs participate in the program, but I checked several major cities and the only one that I could find that didn't have a list of clubs available was New York. If enough people do not have this option then my other idea of compiling a list might be helpful. Hope this helps!! |
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2006-03-23 3:30 PM in reply to: #377694 |
Elite 3088 Austin, TX | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) Another great web site for travelers is www.swimmersguide.com. Pick a country, pick a state, pick a city and it will give you a list of the pools in the area and details on public, private, times, addresses, usage fees, etc. The administrator of the site has taken a personal stand on principle and deleted Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada. North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Utah from the database because all of those states have passed amendments to their constitutions regarding gay marriage. Good for him for sticking to his principles, but it does make the site a little less useful than it used to be. |
2006-03-23 4:08 PM in reply to: #377694 |
New user 9 | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) A similar option is YMCAs. |
2006-03-23 4:25 PM in reply to: #377694 |
Subject: ... This user's post has been ignored. |
2006-03-24 11:17 AM in reply to: #377694 |
Veteran 255 Victoria, BC | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) When booking hotels for business trips, I usually try to find one that has a nice gym. Although the pool is kinda hit or miss -- some have big lap pools, others kiddie pools. The hardest part for me is not so much finding a nice gym, but finding the time and energy to use it. When traveling, I'm usually working long hours in a hectic situation. Not to mention, my boss and co-workers with whom I typically travel go straight to the nearest bar as soon as we've finished working, camp out there all night, and refer to it as "team-building" in an effort to shame everyone else into doing the same. Definitely makes it hard to get up at 4:30 and stumble down to the gym! One of these days I'm going to muster the strength to say, "No! I will not miss my workout to watch you binge drink!" |
2006-03-24 2:38 PM in reply to: #377694 |
Veteran 251 Burbs north of Chicago | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) I haven't had as much luck as you guys in finding clubs that would take me or hotels that had anything but the pools that are about 10 yards long. However, I am lucky enough to travel by myself once in a while or with a co-worker that I have traveled with so much we are more than comfortable telling each other that we do not need "team building" at a particular time. Element, I can see that being kind of a nightmare. |
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2006-03-24 5:04 PM in reply to: #377694 |
Veteran 201 | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) Call the local university they often have open pool time, and great gym facilities. |
2006-03-24 6:12 PM in reply to: #379013 |
Expert 671 Atlanta, GA | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) |
2006-03-24 6:13 PM in reply to: #377798 |
Master 2629 brummie land | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) sathomasga - 2006-03-23 10:08 PM A similar option is YMCAs. for gay marriage? its fun to stay at the ymca :P |
2006-03-24 8:38 PM in reply to: #377694 |
Member 28 Halifax, Nova Scotia | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) I find that running is the easiest of the three to do while travelling since you don't necessarily need facilities. I wish it were easier to find pools. I just came back from a trip to the UK in which the only pool access I had was at a hotel near Heathrow airport that was 3.5 strokes long. Great for practicing flip turns, especially in shallow water with the odd-shaped corner pool design as an added obstacle. It was the first time I've skinned my knees during a swim workout... Oh, and as an added bonus I could watch the people at the bar on the other side of the glass partition "team building" while I swam. My advice is to be creative and flexible with your workout plans while travelling if you don't go to the same cities frequently. Renting a commuter bike in Ghent, Belgium for the day turned out to be my bike workout once. Not the best workout, but at least I got my legs moving. Maybe the best thing to do is to post on this forum the area you're travelling to and a fellow BT'er can give some local advice - maybe even join meet you for a workout. If anyone's ever in Halifax, NS I have some great run suggestions and guest swim passes to the local university pool. The most challenging thing for me while travelling is making the right eating choices. John |
2006-03-24 10:32 PM in reply to: #377694 |
Champion 6627 Rochester Hills, Michigan | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) Wow...great information on the pools and gyms, and the call ahead option. I'll only add that if you've got cordz, you don't need too much else. Take 'em with. |
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2006-03-25 7:41 AM in reply to: #377694 |
Master 1938 La Crosse | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) I just listened to this interview on Endurance Radio on last night's run: http://www.enduranceradio.com/2006march.htm "Friday, March 10, 2006 Athletes Who Travel: Jim Kaese Specs: 14 mins, 55 secs | 6.8 MB Presented by: EnduranceRadio.com (click or call 1-949-348-2590) Jim talks about how athletes who travel frequently can maintain their workout regimen and diet and how to use his website to find hotels and nearby restaurants that are "workout-friendly." Related links: http://athleticmindedtraveler.com/" The interview didn't seem to have a great deal of specific information -- what they said seemed obvious to me at least -- but the website has running routes in many major cities as related to hotels. |
2006-03-25 10:44 AM in reply to: #377694 |
Master 1249 Lexington, Kentucky | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) mmckinley - 2006-03-23 2:51 PM Ever try swimming a mile or more in one of those tiny hotel pools? My previous job was 100% travel. I highly recommend simcords (www.swimcords.com) for pool workouts. I also liked bodylastics (www.bodylastics.com) for general strength workouts. Many hotels have guest passes for nearby healthclubs. Ask at the front desk. Almost all YMCA's admit visting members. Ask about the AWAY program. |
2006-03-25 10:53 AM in reply to: #377694 |
Subject: ... This user's post has been ignored. |
2006-03-26 9:22 PM in reply to: #377694 |
Veteran 251 Burbs north of Chicago | Subject: RE: Travelers (especially business travelers) Good input everyone, I knew this topic had to have interest beyond me. Thanks for the replys. |