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With many years of rowing training and competition under my belt, I never foresaw maintaining one’s physique as a challenge. Rather, it was just a part of my lifestyle, and I took great pride in my athleticism.

After more than a year on the road, though, an old training partner saw my photos and remarked that I’d acquired the “traveler’s body.” To my distaste, he was right. In a double whammy, I’d both lost my strength and gained body fat.

The pace of this degradation had caught me by surprise, but it shouldn’t have. When traveling and socializing in hostels, one can easily lose track of the days of the week — and every day seems fitting for a celebration. Along with less-than-ideal food, inclinations towards liquor, and irregular sleep, one’s gym and workout routines are broken. Further, air travel exposes individuals to heightened risks of infection, radiation, and altitude stress.

I’m willing to bet that frequent air travel and a long-term nomadic lifestyle have a detrimental impact on an individual’s lifespan.

One can, of course, overcome and avoid the aforementioned challenges. Given my pursuit of job prospects and travel adventures in new places, that’s precisely what I’ve had to do. Gradually, I’ve acquired new habits that have helped, and I’d like to share my strategy with Stateless Man readers.

Most importantly, I’ve made running my long-term sport or recreational activity, and I’ve participated in a variety of marathons and shorter races to motivate my training. You might love rollerblading, swimming, aerobics, or whatever — and by all means, do them when you can — but only running offers near universal travel convenience. In my own case, I had little choice but to sell my precious rowing machine (pictured), since you can’t exactly travel with that on your shoulder.

Not only can you run almost anywhere, it helps you get to know a city. That’s why one of the first things I do when I arrive in a new place is to lace up my running shoes and explore. Further, given so many running meetups, it is a fast way to network with healthy, disciplined locals. (I won’t forget my old friends with the Varsity Sports Running and Social Club, New Orleans, and the Halifax Running Club, Nova Scotia, in particular.)

As a primer, I recommend The Essential Runner, my own first book on the topic. Although published in 1994, it remains informative and useful because of its many inspirational stories and guidance for easing beginners into the sport.

In terms of equipment, you need little. There may be increasingly expensive and clunky running shoes on the market, but my own experience is that they tend to be a waste of money. The claim that sophisticated shoes reduce injury is becoming more doubtful, and that’s one reason for the Vibram Fivefingers craze. These affordable rubber slippers seek to enable rather than work against one’s natural running movements.

I still have a penchant for Asics , a high-end brand. However, for the past ten or so years I’ve forgone their expensive models for racing flats and basic trainers , and I’ve never had any serious injuries.

A watch with GPS capacity is handy, since it will give you distance and record your workouts — including when you do not have a phone or internet connection to work with. These are improving in quality all the time, and Timex appears to offer the best value. My own choice is in the image, but a newer model is available, and you can get it with or without a heart rate function.

Additionally, I get plenty of use out of my SPI running belt (pictured). This is big enough to store your cell phone, keys, bank card, and perhaps a map of the area. It’s also more secure and inconspicuous than just carrying items in your hands.

Beyond running, I look for a local park with a chin-up bar. This is more common than you might realize — almost every city seems to have one, from Tres Cruces overlooking Cali, Colombia, to right here in Pompano Beach, Florida — and I then incorporate that stop into my running loops.

In addition to just stretching, these public workout areas facilitate my three favorite body-weight exercises: prone (overhand) chin-ups, one-legged (pistol) squats, and raised press-ups (“push-ups” in U.S. vernacular) — all pictured below. Each one focuses on a different part of your body — back, legs, and chest — and my preference is to do each once per week. Normally, I’ll do five sets, alongside a run, with the number of reps determined by the particular exercise. For sophisticated, periodized training plans which require a gym, see The New Power Program by Michael Colgan.

If you have any additional ideas for working out on the road, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments. In future, I’ll also work on a post regarding the nutrition side of the equation. If you’d like to be updated, please do not hesitate to subscribe to my weekly e-newsletter or like my Facebook page.

We took these photos at a nearby park in Pompano Beach, Florida.

1. Prone chin-ups. These have been a favorite ever since my father built a chin-up bar for me at our farm in New Zealand. We then replicated it at my flat in Cambridge, and an old friend and I sought to get to 1,000 chin-ups in one day. I only got to 500, but the next day my arms were so fatigued I could not pick up the phone.

These days I have a belt to add weight for greater resistance, but that is not so practical for traveling.

2. One-legged squats. While I love conventional squats at the gym, one-legged squats are an excellent substitute. They offer a high degree of resistance, similar to chin-ups, so you can get a fast workout. They also recruit stabilizers and build coordination.

If you find them difficult to begin with, as everyone seems to, start by squatting down to a bench, rather than going all the way down. You can also do them while resting your arm on a ledge or bar. At some point, you may wish to add weight in your hands — water bottles, for example — but body-weight alone is usually sufficient.

3. Raised press-ups. Everyone knows press-ups, but alone they offer less resistance than the other exercises presented here. That’s why I recommend raising your legs on a bench and lowering your chin all the way to the ground. There is an array of more advanced versions you can also consider.