How To Prepare Yourself For An Active Travel Schedule

Preparing yourself for an active travel schedule can seem daunting if you’ve never done it before. There are actually quite a lot of things you need to think about, especially if you’re going to be self-reliant for most of the trip. 

Fortunately, that’s where this post can help. We look at some of the ways you can bring all the pieces together, both mentally and physically, so you can have the best time, especially if you are traveling overseas. 

Prepare Your Body

Preparing your body is perhaps the biggest job you have. You need to make sure that it is in the right state before you go. A lot of people travel without doing the hard work first, leaving them unprepared and, sometimes, gasping for breath. 

The most important thing to do is to lose any excess weight and do cardio training. Getting rid of the weight your body doesn’t need and improving your fitness can have a profoundly positive effect. 

If you can do two months of walking and hiking before you go abroad. That’s even better. This will give your body the time it needs to adapt to the challenges it is likely to face, especially if you’re planning on swimming or hiking on long travel days. 

During this period, make sure you’re staying hydrated and sleeping well. If you combine these lifestyle factors with a proper diet, you should notice that your progress moves even faster and that you’re in an excellent position once all the hard physical work begins. 

Pack Properly

Next, you’ll want to think about the resources you need to bring with you to thrive. You need to pack everything, from comfortable clothing and shoes to coats, bicycles, and skis. 

Sites like Fresh Air provide guidance on the best types of kit to take. For example, if you’re going to be walking a lot, then you’ll want to bring moisture-wicking fabrics and sturdy sneakers with you. If you’re going to be in the middle of nowhere, it is also a good idea to bring a GPS tracking device with you. These systems enable you to get help, no matter where you are. 

Remember to test your gear before you travel. Make sure that things like bicycles and kayaks are working so you have the setup you want. You don’t want to be in a situation where your kit just refuses to work the moment you show up somewhere. 

Prepare Yourself Mentally

At the same time, you also want to prepare yourself mentally. Putting yourself in the right headspace is critical for success.

Where you are mentally is critically important for adventure travel because it determines the quality of the experience. You have to be prepared to do something hard. 

Start off by setting realistic expectations. Make sure you understand what the demands on your body will be. If you can, test run the experience in the gym or in some sort of simulation. Ask yourself whether you are really in the right place to do it for real. If you can do some sort of test, you put yourself in a much better position.

Also, think about stress management techniques. If you’re halfway up a rockface and you still have hundreds of feet to go, then it can be distressing. You want things you can do to help you out of challenging situations. 

Put yourself in a frame of mind where you expect things to go wrong. Accept that there will be serious challenges and that you will really have to pull out all the stops sometimes to do what you want to do. 

Prepare Logistically

Preparing logistically is also critical. You want to ensure that you’re doing as much as possible before you travel so that you can avoid additional problems once you arrive. 

One of the best things you can do for adventure travel is go on a tour. These maximize the positive aspects of the experience, while minimising the negative. You know that basic things, like transport and food, are being taken care of for you. 

While considering the logistics of your trip, you also want to think about technology. Make sure you have offline maps, portable chargers, and the adapters you need to keep your devices operating. While you might want to switch them off some of the time to immerse yourself in the experience, they are handy at other times, like when you need to board flights home. 

Double-check all your health precautions, especially if you’re going somewhere tropical. Make sure you have the right vaccinations and bring hand sanitizer with you (if you won’t be able to wash your hands the regular way). 

Pace Yourself

During travel, make sure you pace yourself. Your body is usually pretty good at giving you cues that it might be time to take a break. 

This pacing is particularly valuable if you plan on doing anything at altitude. You want to be able to keep going, even at top elevations, so don’t be afraid to take a break now and then. 

Also, think in detail about your food. You want to eat as many balanced meals as possible that include a combination of all the nutrients you need, like carbs, fat, and protein. 

If other people in the group are rushing ahead, let them go. Make sure that you focus on the things that are going to work best for your body and ability to complete the challenge. 

Rest And Recover

Finally, be sure to prioritize rest and recovery at night. Make sure that you optimize your sleeping conditions so that you can take some time out to prepare for the following day. Try to avoid the temptation to look at your phone all night, even if you want to. 

If you follow all this advice, you should find that you’re in a much better position to deal with an active travel schedule. More of the pieces should fall into place, giving you the experience that you want, which is usually challenging, but without admin issues.

lead image by Beth Fitzpatrick on Pexels

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