Highlights:
- If you’re going to higher altitudes, or for adventure travel, your period is may be irregular.
- Exotic toilets: another reason to be fit and strong.
- Train your bladder before you go on an adventure trip.
Menstruation
This is stuff that people never want to talk about. If you’re going to higher altitudes, your period is likely going to be irregular, even if you’re fit. Always bring extra tampons even if you just had your period. If you go to higher altitudes, you can have a nonstop period, weeks of spotting, or possibly skip it altogether.Toilet Squats
Going to the bathroom is another fun thing to think about if you are a female traveler. I’m not just talking about camping issues, like where to squat in the woods. I mean the various options that women have to deal with when traveling in numerous countries in the world, like the squat toilet, the bucket or the hole in the ground.Foreign toilets are another reason to improve your lower body strength. Just picture this: you’ve been walking around all day, you’re tired but are not going back to your hotel for hours and you need to go the bathroom. You‘re not sure where to go, so you ask a local, or you pull out your smart phone and go to SitorSquat.com (or the app) and find an option.
You have a bag and your coat with you, and you’re greeted with a clean squat toilet. You’re happy over the cleanliness of this option, but you’re finding it hard to squat, since your legs are tired from walking. You have nothing to hold on to and you are trying to keep everything away from the stream….okay, you get the picture.
It’s a lot easier to do when you feel confident that you’ll be able to relieve yourself and not have to hold onto the walls (if they are any to reach), not wet yourself and not fall over.
I have heard all of these horror stories from friends, starting with “YOU WILL NOT believe what just happened to me.”
Being able to do squats is really important. You’ll want to be about to hover over any option (or no option if out in the wilderness). Basic muscle strength and endurance will make things a whole lot easier. Cleanliness is another story (carry tissues, toilet papers or wipes with you).
Exotic toilets are also a problem for men who don’t have sufficient lower body strength - just not every time they have to use them.
Bladder Control
You also want to be able to control your bladder. Train your bladder before you go on an adventure trip.Force yourself to wait longer before you go to the bathroom, so when you’re in an inconvenient place, you don’t feel like you’re going to pee your pants if you need to wait a few extra minutes.
Periods, squatting and bladder control - how much more fun can can I put in this section?
