Amanda Kloots on How She Stays Healthy While Traveling

Amanda Kloots fully admits she is that person on vacation exercising first thing in the morning. Sometimes she’ll hit up the hotel gym or run outside, but often you can find her just jumping rope in her room or on the balcony. “I actually love exercising on vacation because I usually spend the rest of the day lounging by the pool, or reading a book at the beach, or playing with my son. I know the rest of the day is going to be more about letting my body relax and enjoy the vacation, so I love waking up and getting a workout in,” the founder of Amanda Kloots Fitness told Travel + Leisure recently. Kloots spoke about her strategy for staying healthy while traveling, which includes a few secret weapons.

Prioritizing fitness amid a busy travel schedule, the former Radio City Rockette and The Talk host says her outlook is simple. “We’re lucky to be able to move our bodies. It’s a privilege. It isn’t a chore. I really do look at it as ‘I get to move my body today!’” If you can’t get to the gym, just walk around, she suggests. “It’s a fun way to kind of learn about the city and see the city, but it’s also a great way to get your steps in, so leave yourself enough time to walk and get that fresh air and just be in the place that you are.” And if you don’t have time for a walk, there is always the jump rope. Kloots says her own AK! Jump Rope is her go-to despite hotels having much better wellness and fitness offerings these days. “You will end up jump roping in places where you think you couldn’t, but you can! Even if I’m in a hotel room and it’s carpeted and I can’t jump, I use my rope as a way to do arms, abs, and legs. It’s just my one piece of equipment that is always in my bag.”  

But Kloots doesn’t spend the whole time exercising when she is on a trip. She also finds reading to be especially restorative. “When I’m on vacation, I really love downloading audiobooks, good books that I love, and just soaking it up. That time for me is full-body restorative. I’m taking care of myself, I’m reading more, I’m sleeping better, because you can relax. All those things just kind of help give your body what it needs. We all need that reset.”

As for her dream wellness-focused trip, Kloots is eagerly awaiting a stay at SHA Wellness Clinic in Mexico after connecting with the owner earlier this year at a conference. The resort’s original location in Spain has many celebrity fans and was named among the best international spa resorts in our 2022 World’s Best Awards, and the property in Costa Mujeres has a similar allure. Guests can participate in four- to 21-day wellness programs and receive a myriad of treatments focused on rebalancing both the mind and body in state-of-the-art accommodations. “It’s wellness-meets-leisure, but very focused on wellness, and they do all sorts of cool treatments. And the hotel looks insanely beautiful.”

While she waits to embark on a week of wellness at SHA, she will settle for NAD infusions (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide IV therapy). This treatment delivers NAD+ directly into the bloodstream through an IV and claims a number of wellness benefits. “I have joined that bandwagon. But I swear, I really do feel and see such a difference. I’ve been doing it now for seven months, and then I do injections at home. I just, in general, think peptides are amazing, and I’ve really seen a benefit in doing them. Peptides and NAD are kind of like my new wellness jam.“

Like many of us, staying healthy when traveling for work can be a challenge even for Kloots, and that inspired her to start a new supplement line, Proper, in January of this year. 

Kloots wanted to create something accessible that you could easily take with you when traveling. Each of the five supplement powders (priced at $28 per canister) contains essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant-rich superfoods that aim to promote energy, gut health, and immunity. Kloots wanted consumers to be inspired to drink the rainbow, so the canisters are bright and color-coded. And she credits Proper with getting her through a recent 48-hour cross-country trip from Los Angeles to New York. Taking the different supplements—including energy boosters and gut-health blends—helped her get through a busy and quick trip, but they’re not just for travel. Kloots shared that she was inspired by her own busy life and need for balance. 

“Over the last few years, being a single mom [to five-year-old son Elvis Cordero], having five jobs, and running my fitness company, I’ve tried a lot of things out, and they’re expensive. Some powders are $150 a canister, and then you get them, and after two times, you can’t stand the taste of it so it sits on your counter, and your dollar bills go down the trash. Or you buy a pill, and you just can’t swallow any more pills. We have to eat well, we have to drink well. We have to put good things into our bodies. It’s our moment of self-care.” Throw in a jump rope, and you’re ready to travel like Kloots.