Good morning! We’ve had no shortage of stellar stellar spectacles lately (pun intended). 💫 

After last week’s super moon, this week brings us the Perseids meteor shower! It’s set to peak late Saturday night, but you can see them any night for the next week or two. I’ve already seen several! Enjoy a cool, clear August night and make a wish ☄️

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The Ultimate Travel Workout

Summer travel season is winding down. But if you have the flexibility to fly outside of summertime, you probably know that the real deals are just beginning. Throughout fall, winter, and spring, you can often find flights—especially international ones—for less than half the price of peak summertime prices.

Or you can always use credit card points to travel, like I like to do! I recently signed up for an American Airlines card because I fly them often and they had an easy and big signup bonus. It looks like I’m going to get 4–5 round trip flights from Virginia to Arkansas out of it, essentially for free!

Or back when I got my Chase Sapphire Preferred card and used 30,000 of the 90,000-point sign-up bonus to travel to London last winter. The world is much more accessible than you may realize! (Click that link to get your own :))

However, you can’t access the world if you can’t freely move about it. Those of us who are able-bodied should be so grateful that we can travel about the world with such ease. To ensure that you’re trip-ready, I’ve concocted another fun workout to bolster your fitness and help you tackle any obstacle you may face in transit to the destination of your dreams.

The Avengers Workout from several weeks ago was well received, so I figured it’s time for another custom, creative workout: The Ultimate Travel Workout!

1. Suitcase Carry

The carry is one of the greatest movements you can do for long-term functionality. Humans are better suited to carry things than any other living creature. That includes your 49.99lb suitcase you lugged to the airport. Train for it:

2. Broken Escalator Stair Climb

So the escalator is broken, and you’re staring down an intimidating flight of stairs to climb. You’ve likely got one or more bags on hand, so this won’t be easy. Train for it:

3. Carry-on Dumbbell Snatch to Overhead Bin

So you’ve got a 20+ pound carry-on and need to heave it into the overhead bin. If you’re vertically challenged, this will be all the more difficult. That’s why it’s vital to have the ability to lift a weight from the floor to overhead, unless you want to ask for help from the macho guy, Steve, sitting in the exit row. Train for it:

4. Tight Layover Backpack Ruck Shuffle

Have you ever been caught doing that awkward backpack run across the airport or across campus? If you’ve got a short connection and need to book it across terminals, you’re going to need to be able to shuffle-run with a backpack on. Train for it:

There are plenty more exercises that are beneficial for travel, but these four are foundational starting points that will get you far. Incorporate them into your routine, especially if you have some big travel coming up. You’ll blow everyone away with how seamlessly you can navigate any airport. (And if the long flat treadmill walky thing is working, please don’t miss an opportunity to feel like an Olympic speed-walker.)

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: Try any one of these exercises this week and challenge your body in a new way!

Level 2: Give yourself a few months, and plan to reach travel-ready status on each movement!

Level 3: If you’re hoping to be jet-setting in your 90s, aim for the ultimate resilience level in each exercise, and you’ll be high-flyin into the 22nd century!

This newsletter is brought to you by… me!

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Know someone else who might be? I’d love to get to know you and/or your business and see how we can partner together. Reply to this email!

✍️ Drew's Picks:

• Check out: Daily Drop’s Top Travel Cards, How to Money’s Credit Card Tool, and Money with Katie’s Travel Rewards 101. And if you decide to get a travel card, let me know and you can use my referral link 😉 (Like this one for the Sapphire Preferred).

• Listen: The fentanyl crisis and why everyone should be paying attention. This podcast sheds some light on the harsh reality of accidental drug overdose in our country. I believe it’s now the leading cause of death for young adults. I’m going to keep some Naloxone stocked in my car and house, like a fire extinguisher. Be careful and never assume your loved ones would never use. ❤️‍🩹

Have a lovely rest of your week. If you enjoyed this newsletter format, let me know! If not, let me know! I welcome your feedback and suggestions for future topics. Cya! 👋 

Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).