Hey there my Steemit friends! Here we have another round of three Travel Pro Items you need to be Travel Pro! This series highlights the things I travel with. These are basically everything I own, so each one is well thought out and very important; important enough to carry all over the world! Now let's see what's needed!
Exercise Band
This is something I've never seen another traveler carrying with them. Traveling with an exercise band is one of the best ideas I've had for my travels. I only wish I thought to travel with this thing sooner. It was only a couple years ago upon leaving Ecuador after an extended stay when I I picked this item up at Mega Maxi (Ecuador Wal-Mart) for about seven dollars.
Staying in shape, fit, and strong is key to being a successful traveler. Being able to walk for miles with my backpack on my back without getting exhausted is very important to me. After years of travel I've learned how unnecessary a gym membership is. I look at a gym membership as a luxury, and I enjoy going to a gym when I get the chance; however it's really unnecessary to stay in shape. If you are training for something specific or very much into body building, that's another story.
This exercise band gives me the ability to really isolate muscles and get a good work out using different techniques often focusing on good form so heavy weights are not needed. This band is just an addition to random exercises I enjoy doing such as different types of push-ups, sit ups, and other calisthenics.
I've found that as long as I give my individual muscles a good burn (lactic acid build up) along with eating a high protein meal right after a work out I see an improvement in size and strength. I wasn't working out much until somewhat recently after seeing myself so skinny in a few videos. Since then I've focused on building up the muscles around my chest, neck, shoulders, stomach, and back.
Simply doing calisthenics along with this band here in the past month I've probably put on five to ten pounds of muscle. Carrying this band with me really does not help at all if I'm not using it! So now that I am using it's totally worth the six ounces and tiny space it takes up in my bag!
I often see other travelers doing the trendy travel thing carrying their hippy dippy super cool yoga mats with them where ever they go. That's totally Un-Travel Pro! First of all a yoga mat especially a good one, weighs too much and takes up too much space. It's also not a vital item to travel with as one can do yoga with out a mat at all; and I often do.
This band takes up a tenth the space, a tenth the weight, and offers actual resistance training; certainly something a yoga mat can not do. So traveling with a resistance band is very Travel Pro and it's a travel item I highly recommend to any long term traveler!
Sea Salt
I recall being a little boy talking to my grandfather who was a World War Two Vet. He's no longer with us but he told me many things about his experience crossing through Europe in the military with not much more than what was commissioned to him by the Army.
Besides many other things like a rifle, knife, and helmet; each soldier was given salt and pepper! As a traveler like a soldier in war, you may never know where and when you'll have your next meal; and if it will need a little touch up. Heck you may even be cooking it yourself and that is when the salt and pepper really comes in handy.
Tweezers
Another hygiene related item. Everyone has been in one situation or another when they just needed tweezers. This is not an item I use often, but when I need it, I sure am happy I have it. I've used these exact tweezers to help pack hundreds of capsules with turmeric, ginger, and more to take as a dietary supplement which is a bit odd but they worked perfectly. Just last week I used them to remove a sliver I somehow got in my pinky toe! You just never know when you'll be happy you have this with you.
With over 11 years of travel experience I answer travel and international lifestyle questions. Leave a question in the comments and I may make a Steemit post just for you!
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