I used to travel for work; often for three weeks out of the month if not more. I've stayed in my fair share of dives (in fact, there was one place in Texas where you had to request the "big room" otherwise you couldn't open the bathroom door without standing on the bed and jumping in). But even in the nicer hotels, fitness wasn't usually high on their list of comforts.

But my traveling days were several years ago; today, hotels are putting more emphasis on fitness equipment and making work outs easier for their guests. Some hotels are even adding to the standard weight machines and having Pilates and other classes conducted on site. The Kimpton hotel chain supplies guests with yoga mats and equipment; a channel on their in-room TV allows them to follow a yoga routine.

If you're traveling this summer and aren't sure your hotel room will be quite so well-equipped, consider throwing a jump rope in your suitcase. It hardly takes up any room at all and provides an excellent aerobic workout.

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When you travel, do you plan your meals for the trip? Many of us just take what is available, since the stress of meetings, presentations and training can make the effort to find healthy food quite treacherous.

But dealing with all that stress and keeping a level head is so much easier if you indeed seek out the best and most healthy foods while outside your home comfort zone.

Want to be best prepared for those questions after your presentation? A high-fat breakfast full of calories and chemicals probably won't get you there. But, some whole-wheat toast, low-fat yogurt and fresh fruit sure will.

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Are you a road-weary business traveler? If so, do you travel between time zones frequently, stirring up your body's internal clock and metabolism? If so, a study recently involving rats -- of course -- resulted in a report that a six-hour shift in time schedule once a week -- for up to eight weeks -- brings on earlier death in elderly rats, but not effect was found on younger rats.

The drastic effects seen in rat morbidity was pinpointed to airline crews and other jobs that require workers to regularly cross time zones in the process of doing their jobs. Heck, this could apply to busy executives and CEOs as well I would think, as those are some of the most-traveled people in the world.

Although it's not exactly clear why the older rats died early deaths when subjected to jet lag, one of the researchers did state that sleep deprivation or disruption of the immune system may have been to blame.

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