Just the other day one of my clients, Kay, a sexy blond senior, was remarking about how she was dreading her long plane ride from Philly to London, and on to Dublin for a two week vacation.

Her bags are nearly packed, her passport is up to date, and her vitamins and pill box are ready for the traveling jaunt. So why did she dread that plane ride? "It’s absolutely brutal," she said. Kay told me she’s totally wiped out when she gets to her destination. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? If we just take a little time and energy to prepare for our trip, it would be a lot easier on our bodies. May seems to be the month where many of my clients are getting out of the winter doldrums and escaping to some other destination far from our state of Delaware. What can we all do to make the travel easier?

Know how we stretch our bodies out in the gym? Well, the same goes for traveling. You are preparing your body for a stressful situation and a good stretch before you enter the plane is a good way to start. Once on the plane, it is advisable to occasionally get up and walk the aisle to stretch your legs. This will prevent blood clotting in the lower extremities. Drink plenty of liquids if you can because then you’ll have to get up to use the restroom—another opportunity to stretch out. Get that blood circulating! A good full body stretch will help cut down on jet lag and help you enjoy that long awaited vacation a lot more.

Okay, so what body parts should you stretch, and how do you do it? Let’s make a list of them to take with you on that train, plane or automobile.

The first one is a stand and sit stretch. Nick calls these box squats. Power lifters do them to warm up the lower body. Just sit and then stand up—plain and simple. Do this 10 times, it feels great!

Number two is the shoulder shrug. This releases the tired muscles in your neck and shoulders. Try and touch the top of your shoulder to your ear. Do this 10 times for 2 sets. This one is easy just sitting in your seat.

Three is a side to side head stretch to prevent headaches while traveling. You can also stretch the eye muscles—essential to prevent a headache—by turning the head to the left while looking to the right, and turning the head to the right while looking to the left. This is a Rolfing movement Nick showed me.

Next? Put your arms out in front of you—roll them to the left and to the right and then make some air circles—inward then outward.

Point number five is just that—point! This helps the forearms and the wrist. Rotate the wrists around, then reverse, and you really get the blood flowing back into the upper extremities.

If you have the room to stand up, a torso twist is a must for the lower back and abs. Twist your midsection to the right and then to the left. You might hear some vertebrae cracking, it is a good feeling to "crack the back."

If you can’t stand up, then this is a good one. While sitting, just point your toes. Stretch your feet out like a ballerina would. Pull the toes back to you and feel the burn in your tibial muscles—the ones in front of your shin bone. And when you point the toes all the way to "point," the calves flex and the upper leg’s "quads" flex with them—what a great feeling—try it. Now, try these only if there is enough room. It is a leg extension. While sitting up—raise one or both legs to straighten them out in front of you. You will activate the 4 large muscles in the top part of your thigh called the quadriceps. If you try to lock out your knee you will definitely feel the burn on this one, too.

Next? Well, people may look at you funny when your try to do this stretch exercise—The Bear Hug. Now calm down all you bears out there. What you want to do is just that—hug yourself. Wrap your arms around yourself and stretch out the back, shoulders, and arms. Looks ridiculous, but feels so good.

Try this one: cross your arms in front of you and raise them up and down. Next, take one hand and pull the elbow inside the inner chest. Repeat the other hand or elbow and pull.

You could try the bicep flex. Curl your arm(s) up like you are curling a weight. Flex the upper arm, squeeze and hold a second or two. Ah, yes, love these!

How about an upper body release? While sitting tilt the head back, chin up and listen for the neck bones to start cracking away. Roll the head gently from side to side while still looking up.

And the last one may be a bit difficult to do on a train or a plane. You might get stares, but hey, it works. Just bend over and touch your toes. Great for the lower back and hamstrings.

Well, there you go, Kay. This should ease the pain of traveling for you. Nick and I are traveling to Boston in a few weeks for a power lifting seminar and we’ll use these stretches to help us out. Try them yourself. See you at the beach!