Lifestyle
Lifestyle Tools
On this page, we tell you more about the sites, apps, and services we use for our lifestyle as free birds.
And with lifestyle in this case we mean; how do we stay mentally and physically fit while traveling and working around the world. We will tell you!
Physical health – The Body
Staying fit, slim, and healthy on the road is essential. Our way of maintaining balance; no overeating beyond our calorie limit, 10k steps a day, 3 workouts a week for a solid hour, we try to sleep 8 solid hours a night, and we limit our sugar, alcohol, and fat intake. And some stretching of the body occasionally helps too! 😉 – But that´s not all we do, there is so much more we do to keep ourselves healthy. Read on!
Diet
Staying on weight, maintaining muscles, and feeling good in body and mind, all depend on your diet and your workouts. But first, our diet while traveling. To be honest; it´s really hard to say no to so many delicious dishes while not having access to your own kitchen and supermarket. Our hack is to eat nothing or very lightly in the mornings (like black coffee, tea, a banana, or yogurt/oats), eat something green and low-calorie as lunch (like salads), and try to not eat too much with diner.
We usually stop eating after 19.00 and start with eating at 10.00, which is also called intermittent fasting, which helps cut down your calories. Staying away as much as we can from alcohol, sauces, sugary drinks, fried shit, processed nonsense helps as well. With all these hacks in place, we can eat the best a bucket list location has to offer without getting fat and weak. Not feeling guilty for eating something delicious is also nice!
Workouts
Throughout the years, we tried a whole bunch of sports. Fitness, boxing, jiu-jitsu, MMA, yoga, running, cycling, team sports etc. But we´ve gathered some injuries along the way, and now we focus on exercises that won´t cause more long-term injuries. Durability, so that we may grow old but still be flexible and without pains, is our main focus.
We rotate these workouts while we travel around the world:
- Long walks (10-25k steps)
- Boxing classes (heavy bag, no sparring)
- Cycling (burns calories like crazy, and fun to do!)
- Yoga (or just some relaxing stretching for 20 minutes)
- Bodyweight exercises (pushups, squats, backkicks etc.)
- Jump rope (10 minutes is already sooo intense!)
- Stretch bands (in our suitcase, some good tough stretch bands)
- Kettlebell (access to one of these badboys? Swing em around!)
- Fitness (gym nearby? Great! Let´s do it all!)
Usually, we train for about 30-90 minutes, depending on the intensity and how we feel that day. The focus is really to stay in shape and not have any injuries that could harm or halt us from our main goal of seeing it all!
Some extra fitness recommendations;
Travel must-have to improve your long hauls
The Ostrich Pillow! This funny-looking, but very functional, travel must-have is genius. You can never go back to other products after trying the items from Ostrich Pillow. Check out their entire inventory and get ready to splurge on these wannahaves.
After trying these items, your long hauls will be enjoyed more, and therefore you will arrive more rested. And therefore more healthy! 🙂
Mental Health – The Mind
And last, but certainly not least; how we do mentally keep ourselves in check while traveling and working on bucket list locations like Mexico, Japan, and many others. We love to tell you all about that because we really have found out ourselves that keeping your mental health is just as, or even more, important than your physical health.
Every other day, we do a 10-15 minute meditation. Sometimes with a headset on with some soft music, and always in a place where you can feel at peace (not in noisy airplanes if you know what I mean). In this meditation, we try to pass by these topics that help us achieve mental peace, a more calm vibe in our restless soul, and give us useful insights or ideas for the day.
1) We start with the Calmaria breathing app
This simple app resets your breath and makes you immediately 30-40% calmer.
2) Then we thank the universe/god/life for life itself
The gift of living is a wonder in itself, and we are thankful for the opportunity.
3) We then name 5 things we are thankful for
Focussing on what you DO have in your life, will give you so much more happiness than staring blindly at what you don´t have. This will create a humble and thankful mindset with which you can turn that frown upside down.
4) Letting our thoughts and emotions flow
You are not your emotions and not your thoughts, just the observer of it. A wise lesson that will become clear when you start meditating. Don´t let those temporary thoughts and emotions dictate your mood, your identity, and your day. Just observe at all the things passing by. Talk about them with an open heart. And let them go. The inner-monkey will go bonkers from time to time. Let 'em! Just observe them for a couple of minutes.
5) Think of what you want to get done today
Name a couple of tasks that have high priority. Think about them. Let the ideas flow around. Think some more about them. You might find a solution in the silence to your issue. Don´t stack too many things for today. Work, train, and live dosed. Have the shortlist for today? Great! And then open your eyes and get started!
For getting started with meditation with all its upsides, we recommend the Headspace series on Netflix, and of course the Headspace Meditation app!
Now it´s up to you!
Now you know exactly which sites and services we use to maintain our health while traveling and working around the world. Now it´s your turn!
Also check out our other tips, hacks, and recommendations on:
- Digital Nomad Tools >
- Booking Tools >
- Money Tools >
- Credit Cards >
- Lifestyle >
- Entertainment >
- Travel Insurances >
- Travel Gear >
- Research >
Your favorite tool?
If you have a great suggestion you use as a tool to stay fit, and it´s not on this list, let us know! > info@freebirdsmagazine.com
* Disclosure: some of our recommendations are affiliate links, and we earn a commission if you make a purchase. This keeps the magazine up in the air and us on the road. Thanks in advance!