Extreme United Elite Demonstrates Workout Techniques on a 747, Dreamliner
It's a question I get constantly — with frequent travel and caloric in-flight meals, snacks and beverages, combined with hours and hours of sitting, how do you stay fit? For me, it's walking — a lot of walking. We're talking more than a dozen miles per day in some cases, exploring new cities, hiking through nature reserves or doing laps around the terminal between flights. For others, it's working out — even during long-haul flights, in some cases.
United Global Services member Jason DiVenere falls into that latter camp. He frequently travels with 18-million-miler Tom Stuker — who even makes an appearance in the video below — and while he never came close to Tom's "500 to 600" United 747 flights, Jason still manages to spend a lot of time at 30,000 feet. So far this year, he's racked up more than 350,000 Premier-Qualifying Miles over nearly 30 trips with United alone (you can follow his adventures on Instagram here), and there's still one month to go. That's a lot of ice cream sundaes.
Jason sent along a video that he filmed on various United flights, including several sessions on the now-retired 747-400. While the unique cabin arrangement in the nose seems to make some of his dips and side raises a bit easier to accomplish, many of the other exercises can be done in any lie-flat seat.
Of course, my first thought was about Jason's neighbors. Tom seems to be on board, but what about the other passengers? I imagine if you build a rapport with all of your cabin mates they probably wouldn't mind a few minutes of mid-flight workout action — perhaps you can even lead a class! — but I'd avoid causing a commotion when you're flying with a bunch of strangers. And, as always, be sure to follow flight attendant instructions. If a crew member instructs you to stop what you're doing, make sure you comply politely and without delay.
Jason's galley Champagne bottle workout might be a bit more doable — with a flight attendant's permission, of course — but if you're set on getting a full workout in during your next transpacific hop, you might want to consider something a bit more private, instead. Or just stick to exercises you can do in your own seat, assuming you won't be bothering your neighbor.
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