Updated August 8th, 2022
Introduction
Have you flown recently? Or do you have a fun vacation coming up? The majority of people traveling will sit in a car on the way to the airport, sit in the airport until they board the plane, sit on the dreadfully long plane ride, then sit in another car upon arrival. All of this sitting leads to a lot of tight muscles and soreness for what seems like no reason. But here is the nerdy reason:
Low level muscle activity during chair sitting causes a restriction of muscle metabolism (stay with me here). This restriction alters blood flow, decreases the flow of oxygen to muscle tissue, and harms the regulation of inflammation. Therefore, sitting in a prolonged position causes muscle stiffness and soreness due to underuse instead of overuse (1).
Frequent Movement
Although it may seem like it, there is no rule that you HAVE to sit down to wait for your plane to board. You could stand up or walk. Or if you're a complete nerd like me, do some exercises in the airport. I’m not talking about full sprints or jogging down the hall. Just some simple movements like the video below to keep your body active and moving before you go sit for a few hours straight on the plane where you don’t have a lot of room to move.
Plane Stretching
Movement prior to boarding is VERY important because we all know how much room you have in that little seat. One option for movement on the plane would be to get up and walk every 20-30 minutes. Even if you don’t have to go to the bathroom, just walk back there and do a few stretches then come back. You may be annoying the person sitting in the aisle seat, but your mobility and health are worth it.
Stretching is definitely doable on the plane, depending on your flexibility. I attached a few pictures of stretches below for you to try before the next time you fly. These stretches hit the major muscle groups and can be held for 20-30 seconds. I have also included a few exercises you can do right from your seat, about 10-15 repetitions of each one! I usually do these at least once per hour on my flights.
Hamstring Stretch (don't get hit by the flight attendant;)
Quad Stretch
Piriformis Stretch
Airplane Marches (bonus points if you can do it with your butt off the seat)
Reverse Sit-ups (start with just lifting both legs, more points for holding your butt up)
Baggage Claim
So picture this: you are finishing up a long 5-6 hour flight and you have to go get your bag. The bag you checked was 49.9 pounds to avoid paying a fee for going over 50 pounds. Now you have sat in the car, airport, and on the plane for a total of 10 hours or more. If you haven’t moved at all during this time or stretched, how will your muscles perform when you go to pull this massive suitcase off of the belt? Not well. Multiple studies have shown that muscle stiffness leads to decreased muscle performance during athletic competitions and everyday workouts such as jumping or squatting (2). And you should be squatting when you take that suitcase off the belt.
Since you guys know I’m a nerd by now, I also created a bonus video showing proper form for taking your luggage off the belt. People were definitely staring, but I know what they were thinking: “wow, that guy has impeccable form”
Conclusion
Give some of these tips a try next time you travel! The last thing you want on vacation is to get to your destination and be too stiff to move or be vulnerable to an injury while you’re walking around all of the tourist shops. Send us some questions if you want more tips or have more to add!
References
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