Hotel Reps: Stay In, Work Out, Tone Up

· The FitDeck (858-453-6644, http://www.fitdeck.com/; $18.95) is a pack of cards with different exercises printed on each one. The exercises are rather basic, but they help mix up your routine, especially if you randomly pluck a card from the deck and do that exercise.

Expert Tips

One of the biggest problems when you travel on business is the amount of sitting you do -- on the airplane, in meetings all day, at business dinners. We asked fitness experts for tips:

· Write up 10-minute and 20-minute workout routines on a card and tuck it in your suitcase, says Karen Hiser, owner and chief "fitness" officer of the Healthy Travel Network, which focuses on fitness for business travelers. "Your trips are likely stressful enough already; don't further frustrate yourself by failing to squeeze in a 45-minute or hour-long workout," Hiser said in an e-mail.

· The best time to work out is in the morning and immediately after your meetings end, says Kathy Smith, a nationally known fitness guru. "It gives you an energy boost."

· Stretching is more important than any other activity, advises Bill Tulin, an executive with Ernst and Young who travels frequently. Tulin recommends squats, incline push-ups using the side of the bed and crunches. (Lying on your back on the bed, touch your right elbow to your left knee, and vice versa.)

· You can do a short cardio workout without bothering guests in the room below. Smith recommends standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and bringing your left knee up and right elbow down to meet in the middle, and vice versa.

· Incorporate hotel furniture into your workout. Tulin says to do exercises on your bed if the floor is too hard on your back. Use the wall to do push-ups and a sturdy chair to help you balance.

· During your meetings, Smith says, practice "isometric contractions." Sit with good posture and contract first your calves, then your thighs, then your buttocks.