Wellness Center provides tips on traveling and exercise Traveling? Find time for fitness. With some thought and creativity, you can find a place for exercise no matter where you roam. Travel need not sabotage your exercise routine, as long as you remember to pack some determination. You'll need that determination, of course, because it's all too easy to abandon exercise when you're away from home. The next time you take to the road, incorporate these suggestions from the American College of Sports Medicine into your itinerary: - Stay at a hotel with a fitness facility or pool. Many major hotels now offer at least some kind of exercise equipment, such as a treadmill or stair climber. - Find out what is available locally. A nearby fitness center or YMCA may let you in for a daily fee. Ask at the hotel desk or look in the phone book. - Head for the stairs. Try walking up and down the staircase in your hotel several times for your daily workout. - Take a stroll. Many hotels provide maps of safe walking or jogging routes. - Pack a jump rope and exercise in the privacy of your room. - Check out the in-room video selections. You may find an exercise program. Or, if the hotel offers video cassette players, bring your favorite fitness tape with you. - When flying, explore the airport. In between flights, don't settle into the nearest chair. Stretch those legs. - When driving, remember to park at the farthest end of a lot so that you are forced to walk. - Break up business meetings with a brisk walk. - If you are attending a convention, see if the sponsoring organization has scheduled an early-morning exercise group that you can attend. It should be listed in the program guide. Finally, don't feel guilty if your travel schedule is truly too crowded for exercise. Just be sure to get back into your routine as soon as you can. -- Blue Cross, Blue Shield of North Dakota & Amanda Eickhoff, Wellness Program Assistant, Wellness Center, amandaeickhoff@mail.und.nodak.edu, 777-2719