As a customer service professional who has been traveling for work for more than 33 years, Beth Adair knows the best ways to get around while staying healthy and at her peak. The 58-year-old calls Florida’s Ponte Vedra Beach home, but at any given moment, she may be in Venice, Amsterdam, New York, Toronto, Paris—nearly anywhere a plane can take you.
It’s this frenetic schedule that Beth both loves and strives to find balance within. Luckily for her, she has much experience under her belt.
“I’ve always been active, in school as well as after I graduated,” she says. But it wasn’t until she turned 27 and found inspiration in a copy of Oxygen magazine, gifted to her by a stranger, that she began to take a “serious approach” to structured weight training.
“I loved how fit all the ladies in the magazine looked,” Beth remembers. “They shared their training plans, and a few were over 40 and looked better than girls half their age.” Inspired, she threw herself headfirst (not literally) into strength training, and has since never looked back.
Though her on-the-go career keeps her flying (literally), Beth doesn’t allow her hectic schedule to derail her from her health and fitness goals. “The hardest aspect of traveling for work is remaining balanced in my personal and fitness life,” she shared. “I’m divorced, but when I was married, I had stepkids and a busy life, and stayed home more as a result. I’ve learned that staying organized is the best way to stay balanced.”
“The hardest aspect of traveling for work
is remaining balanced.”
Devise a Plan
Planning for every possible outcome is one way Beth stays ahead of trouble on the road. She always has protein bars and protein powder on hand, and recommends Labrada Lean Body ready-to-drink protein shakes to fuel postworkout. And knowing her calendar inside and out—and prepping accordingly—is imperative.
“If I’m going to be gone from Tuesday to Thursday, on Tuesday I’ll pack two salads with four ounces of chicken and a quarter cup of cheese on each, with a light salad dressing,” she explains. She packs each salad in a gallon-sized Ziploc with a bag of ice in between to ensure she has two good-for-her meals for her first day of travel. She recommends keeping your eyes open for healthier options on your travels, too. “Some restaurants, like Camden Food Co. in JFK International Airport, have salad bars where you can create your own salad,” she adds.
Of course, she runs into hiccups every now and again, especially when she was still early in her career. Trying to juggle her personal goals with her fast-paced job became difficult when she was training in her thirties for three separate New York City marathons and her long prep runs were always on weekends, when she was often on the clock.
“During that time, I didn’t tell many people I ran 20 miles—before work,” she says. But run she did, in places like Austin, near Lady Bird Lake; San Diego’s Mission Bay; and along the Potomac River in the Washington, DC, area. “While marathon training, I cut weight training to one or two days a week during high-mileage weeks.” And though she loved that chapter of her life, Beth’s moved on to other things. “I retired from running altogether in 2022,” she shares.
For those who are either working in a similarly fast-paced position as Beth or are eyeing an upcoming trip and want to remain consistent, Beth has some advice. First off, be selective about where you travel, both the destination and where you stay once you arrive. Aside from the aforementioned cities, she lists Hawaii as one of the best places to travel to if you are an avid exerciser. “There’s plenty of areas to walk, run, or kayak, and many parks,” she says.
Next, take a close look at the accommodations you’re booking. Though her employer sets up her hotels while traveling for work, Beth recommends ensuring either your selected hotel has a gym on site or googling to see if there’s one nearby. “Most gyms offer guest rates and day passes,” she points out. And your current gym membership may be able to help you out while away from home: Planet Fitness is one chain that offers a Black Card membership option that allows you to work out at any location globally, notes Beth.
Goal-Setting Occasions
Beth also has another trick up her sleeve when she needs a little impetus to amp things up in the gym: booking a photoshoot. She recently reentered the modeling industry after unofficially “retiring” from shoots, and used it as an opportunity to push herself a little harder, as she had veered from her normal routine in the year since she hung up her posing heels. “I got away from my good habits of tracking protein, eating clean, and staying consistent with abdominal work,” she says. For her next photoshoot, she will reintroduce those healthy practices and get back to weight training two to three days each week and cardio five days per week. “I had so much fun with the girls [at the shoot reflected here], I have a feeling we’ll make this an annual ordeal!” she laughs. “I encourage anyone to plan a photoshoot. Even if you have no desire to be published, it’s always a blast to be around positive energy, and to have a goal to train for.”
Another change she’s made that has benefitted her mental health is taking an extended break from social media—she’s now going on three years of not engaging with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter. “I started putting my energies into work or extracurricular projects,” she explains. “I volunteer on occasion at running events, or attend fitness competitions to spectate.” Next March, she’ll be volunteering at the Gate River Run 15K in her hometown, and shortly after she’ll be stepping in front of the camera again for yet another shoot with her friends.
The process of prepping for photoshoots is one thing Beth revels in.
Looking ahead, Beth’s goals are much of the same: aiming to get stronger and stay strong as the years progress. “I want to keep as much muscle as I can moving into my sixties, and stay consistent,” she shares. “I can’t imagine not working out.” But there is hopefully something else exciting on the horizon. “I plan to get back out there and start dating again, too, and hopefully find a man who makes fitness a priority.” With such an exciting life, a passion for achieving her goals, and an undeniably optimistic outlook, there’s little doubt that she’ll be able to fulfill that promise.
Written by Rachel Debling, Editor-In-Chief
Photography by Paul Buceta
Hair & Makeup by Monica Kalra
