I was in pain. My foot was cramping, I could barely sit up and I couldn't massage my foot because my arms wouldn't work.

No, I hadn't been beaten-up. Well, not in the conventional terms. Nope. I had finished my first Muay Thai boxing class three hours before and was trying to sleep. It wasn't going well. I turned on the TV(I had decided to splurge in Bangkok, Thailand) and watched whatever English channel it had going.

I should have been prepared. The guidebook told me: "All surfaces of the body are considered fair targets and any part of the body except the head may be used to strike an opponent." But I am a fairly active person and I had been sitting for days. I sat on the flight to Bangkok, sat on the bus into Bangkok and then laid in bed all day (head-cold related laziness).

The Muay Thai class beat it out of me. I finally recovered and realised this was going to be the route of exercise while I was on the road. Fit it in when I could.

Why bother, you ask? Well for one: Exercise is a stress reducer for me. For two: I am celiac and being able to work out regularly helps my tummy.

Do I need to say it? Ok, I guess so. When I spent the last year travelling I didn't have a choice I had to find ways to incorporate exercise.

Making it difficult? I was on a budget so I wasn't staying in hotels with fancy gyms or gyms in general. And I was also travelling to cultures where the concept of exercise is bizarre i.e. the people struggle to survive their day and exercise is their job. Me running by in my shorts and shoes that cost more than their monthly income would have been wrong.

But, you say, you were backpacking. Wasn't carrying the 20 kilos of clothes/shoes/shampoo enough to keep you fit?

The easiest answer: No. A lot of my days would be sitting on buses, sitting in tuk tuks, sitting in hostels waiting....sitting. Lots and lots of sitting.

So what did I learn? Well one: Exercise with the culture. My Muay Thai boxing class was great. I went with a Dutch travel buddy who was in my hostel. I managed to make a friend out of it and also understand a bit about the national sport.

Bangkok was not my only run-in. In Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand, I took a second class and became friends with the trainer. He encouraged me to attend a boxing match. So two: I watched the equivalent of soccer moms and dads on crack. If I thought Americans were gung-ho about their kids and sports I had no idea. These families were encouraging their children who were five feet nothing to beat each other up, in the most respectful way of course. It was a great night, ordering soda and watching another side of the culture I would not have seen had I not tried the boxing class.

But I wasn't a complete slob by the time I reached Asia. It was difficult to run in Europe. Why? Because it was winter. So what would I do?

Tip Three: Workout in the room. I would try to continue a routine including push-ups, squats and sit-ups. All of these will not disturb the neighbours downstairs and will still get the blood pumping. (For more routine ideas visit my website www.robynswanderings.com where personal trainer Jenille Deveson-Smith offers tips on exercising anywhere).

Tip Four: Book rooms on the top floor. In Prague, in particular, it helped kick the butt of the kielbasa I was consuming. We had seven floors of stairs. It was a built-in Stairmaster. Additionally, I would try to walk as often as possible Yes, I could have taken the tram, I could have taken a taxi, but both of these required money and would have meant being lazy. I saved both by using my two feet.

When the weather started warming in Turkey, however, I wanted to get out and get the heart pumping. But my running shorts would have been completely inappropriate.

So tip five: Go shopping and buy three-quarter length pants (and use your multi-purpose trainers you brought with you) so when running is acceptable you can go. I ran up and down the Turkish coast and while the blonde hair might have batted eyes, the pants kept me conservative.

In Jordan running went to ground while I went hiking.

Tip six: Try to incorporate hikes into your travels. "They will think you're crazy and start running after you," said the hostel owner when I inquired as to the chances of me being able to go running. Ok I don't need to be the Pied Piper. So when we arrived in Petra one of the New Seven Wonders of the World instead of a horse ride we trekked. It was hot, but it was worth it. At the end of the day I indulged in the buffet at the hostel and didn't feel a tad guilty.

Which leads to seven: Watch what you eat. It's so easy on the road to eat whatever you want. I found myself exhausted after 18-hour bus rides, 24-hour flights and hostels where people didn't sleep. But I knew if I ate all the chocolate and didn't watch myself I would be more miserable. Which means buying healthy snacks where you can. Half my bag was usually food. In Turkey this was nuts, figs, and raisins. In Asia it was seaweed and rambutan (a furry kind of fruit). It helped with the long rides and my food allergies.

Don't let long bus rides become the only mode of transportation. In South East Asia the number one way around bike! So eight is: Rent a bike wherever you can. For one it gets the bum moving and for two it takes you into countryside where kids enjoy greeting you and you are away from the everyday tourists.

By the time I was in South America though, I was getting frustrated with the biking and tired of tempering what I wanted to do. Which is nine: If you don't want to transform your exercise routine too much, travel to South America and Santiago, Chile in particular. I found people who exercised more than me and I could head for the hills with regular running shorts and an iPod with no fear.

And finally....don't let exercise ruin your vacation either. So ten is: Find a balance. I had to accept on my year-long travels that I would not be running every day or even as much as I wanted and sometimes I was going to be tired. Exercising when I was that tired would have been too much. But if I were to do it again I would try to stay in hostels that had gyms. Yes there were a few......

For more tips on exercising where you are (i.e. no gym membership needed) check out www.robynswanderings.com and check back here next week for hostels versus hotels. Yes, some have gyms, some have saunas and some even had the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in.