EXERCISING YOUR OPTIONS : WEIGHING WAYS TO STAY FIT WHILE TRAVELING ON BUSINESS.

Byline: Judi Dash Special to the Daily News

Publicist R.C. Staab never leaves home without The Card - not a credit card, but his YMCA membership identification.

Staab's card bears a sticker for the athletic club's AWAY (Always Welcome at the Y) program, which admits the 39-year-old Philadelphian to most YMCA fitness facilities throughout North America and several foreign countries.

``Staying fit is vital for my mental and physical health, and it helps me do my job better, so I make exercise a priority when I'm on the road,'' says Staab, who estimates he has worked out at 65 Y's around the U.S., plus facilities in London, Dublin, Toronto and Montreal. ``If I go a week without exercise, I go into a kind of depression and I'm not as sharp in my business dealings, so when I travel, I'm more concerned with finding a good place to work out than to eat.''

Staab is typical of traveling business people - as well as many vacationers - who believe that incorporating exercise into their trips helps keep them at the top of their game and combats the debilitating effects of long hours in planes or cars, jet lag, heavy meals, diverse climates and altitudes and other travel stresses.

``Exercise is the single biggest step we can take to feel better under the pressures of travel and doing business away from home,'' says Bill Haverland, a former corporate financial executive from Florida, who had so much trouble finding good places to swim laps during business trips that he finally wrote his own book on the subject: ``Swimmers Guide: Directory of Pools for Fitness Swimmers'' (ALSA Publishing Inc.; $16.95).

``You sleep better, perform better, and tend to eat and drink healthier if you're in sync with your body, yet many travelers drop their normal fitness routine exactly when they most need its energizing effects,'' says Haverland, whose guide lists 3,300 hotels, private clubs and public pools that admit visitors for free or at a day rate.

Unlike most vacation travelers, a business traveler's personal time is at a premium, so exercise options need to be readily available with a minimum of hassles. Increasingly, reports the American Hotel and Motel Association, business travelers are choosing hotels at least partly on the basis of their fitness facilities (or courtesy arrangements with nearby private gyms) or their proximity to walking or jogging trails. The association estimates that about 40 percent of U.S. hotels have some kind of fitness facility, with more properties adding or updating exercise equipment each year.

And business travelers are finding other innovative solutions for working out on the go.

Most cities have fitness clubs that welcome drop-ins for a fee. Check the yellow pages for listings or ask the hotel concierge for suggestions. In New York, for example, World Gym's Lincoln Square and Greenwich Village clubs offer day passes for $17 and $15, respectively. Show a room key from any New York City hotel and you get $5 off at either location. In Beverly Hills, you can take a class at diet-and-exercise guru Richard Simmons' exercise studio, where $10 buys you a vigorous workout - often led by Simmons himself when he isn't traveling.

Got a longish layover at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport or Chicago O'Hare? Take the free five-minute shuttle bus to the Hyatt airport hotel at either location, and you can use the hotel's gym and pool for $5 in Dallas, $10 in Chicago. The health club at Chicago O'Hare airport's Westin Hotel charges $7 for drop-ins who show their airline ticket. At San Francisco International Airport, take the free two-mile shuttle bus ride to the Westin airport hotel and cross the street to a gorgeous jogging trail along San Francisco Bay.

Instead of holding a business discussion over lunch or drinks, propose a walking chat at a nearby park or along a quiet street. Bad weather? Take to adjacent exercise machines in the hotel fitness center.

If you anticipate a chunk of free time, check local newspapers or magazines at your destination for scheduled hikes or other outdoor excursions - especially if your visit includes a weekend.

Planning is key to staying in shape on the go, and avoiding the I-just-didn't-get-around-to-it blues.

``Leaving home with the vague intention of doing better this time won't solve your travel fitness problems,'' says Bill Tulin, an attorney and personal trainer who is co-author with his wife, Rebecca Johnson, of ``Travel Fitness: Feel Better, Perform Better on the Road'' (Human Kinetics Press; $14.95).

``You need a specific plan for staying fit on the road,'' says Tulin, who logs more than 100,000 miles a year of business travel. His book provides resources for exercising in different cities, illustrated instructions for easy in-room workouts, and a packing list of clothing and other gear to facilitate fitness away from home. It also addresses health concerns such as altitude and humidity factors, offers tips for exercising on airplanes to keep muscles from cramping in tight seats, and lists favorite North America cities for runners based on their abundance of easily accessible trails.

Key to maintaining a mobile fitness program is making your commitment to exercise as important as your other responsibilities.

``Many of our business guests schedule workouts on their daily to-do list - usually first thing in the morning - along with business and social commitments,'' says Kerman Beriker, general manager and CEO of California's swank Beverly Hills Hotel. The hotel's recent $100 million renovation included construction of a high-tech fitness facility overlooking landscaped gardens and the placement of treadmills in the top-of-the line suites. Guests in other rooms can request a treadmill in their rooms at no fee if the machines are not being used, or, for a $65 rental fee, treadmills, stationery bikes, or other exercise machines can be stocked in-room along with fresh juices in the mini bar. Personal trainers also are available (for a fee) for in-room workouts or to jog around Beverly Hills with guests who want more company than the hotel's courtesy running map.

Of course, not every business traveler can afford to shell out $300 to $3,000 for a room of the Beverly Hills caliber.

Way at the other end of the price scale, Budgetel Inns, a nationwide economy lodging chain with 120 motels in 28 states, recently introduced an in-room exercise program that provides free booklets outlining an easy 20- to 30-minute ``Express Hotel Room Workout'' performed with readily available objects such as chairs for balance and briefcases for weights.

While planning ahead for exercise opportunities is important, travelers also need to be flexible when schedules change or anticipated options fall through.

``Be creative,'' says Doug Crowell, fitness director of the Life Enhancement Center at the Tucson, Ariz., Canyon Ranch health spa, where guests spend big bucks for an intensive week learning healthier eating, exercise, and stress-reduction behaviors.

``Bring along a favorite exercise video if your hotel has room VCRs, borrow a step stool from housekeeping or use two stacked phone books for an instant step workout, pack a jump rope and Dyna-Band (a taut length of stretchy rubber that provides resistance in lieu of weights), and use the stairs rather than the elevators.

``If a hotel's so-called fitness center turns out to be one rusty stationary bike, or torrential rains wash out your outdoor run, you can always go to Plan B,'' says Crowell. ``Just knowing you've got a fallback plan is a bonus stress buster.''

On Location

To keep active on the road, pack with exercise in mind: workout clothes, athletic shoes, a bathing suit and goggles, perhaps a lightweight rain slicker or fleece jacket to weatherproof you outdoors.

Other tips:

Try to stay at a hotel with a fitness facility, since you're most likely to exercise with a gym on the premises. Call ahead to find out precisely what the hotel gym contains - and the hours of operation. Or, ask the concierge about nearby private clubs that admit drop-ins for a fee.

Consider a resort hotel if the price is palatable and you won't be too far from your business dealings. These usually have fitness facilities, landscaped walkways around the grounds and often tennis and/or golf. Extend your stay over a weekend for a mini-vacation. Since airlines' best rates require a Saturday night stay, your boss may agree to foot the additional hotel bill as a tradeoff.

Join your local YMCA and sign up for its AWAY privilege, which lets you use other Y's throughout the United States and abroad for free or at a small fee. Many private clubs are affiliated with the International Health and Racquet Sportsclub Association (call [phone]), whose Passport program grants reciprocal guest privileges around the United States and abroad. Other clubs that offer reciprocal deals, sometimes at a fee, include Gold's Gym, Bally's Clubs and Jewish community centers.

Call the visitor's bureau for your destination ahead of your trip and ask for information on parks and recreation facilities as well as self-guided walking or cycling tours around town. Bookstore travel shelves abound with walking tours of major cities worldwide, and magazines such as Outside, Backpacker and Runner's World frequently report on outdoor escapes near urban centers. Travel and Leisure magazine sometimes highlights top fitness clubs and hotel gyms.

Check out the Internet: On America Online, for example, type in the keyword: Outdoor Adventure, and you'll get dizzying choice of associations, activities, and tours around the country.

(Free copies of Budgetel's ``Tips for Healthy Travel,'' which includes the workout are available by calling [phone]). In addition, guests staying at Budgetel Inns can join the American Running & Fitness Association (ARFA) at a reduced rate of $15 a year, $10 off the standard fee.

Membership benefits include a monthly fitness newsletter Or call ARFA at [phone].

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--2--Color) Above, R.C. Staab jogs along t he Schuylkill River, with the Philadelphia Art Museum in the background. At left, a trainer coaches a weight-training guest at the Turnberry Isle Resort near Miami.

(3--Color) At the swank Beverly Hills Hotel, guests can request treadmills in their rooms for fast and convenient workouts while catching up on TV news.

(4--Color) In Los Angeles, business travelers can take a class with exercise and diet guru Richard Simmons.

(5) Guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel can request a treadmill on a patio or terrace for a workout.

Judi Dash/Special to the Daily News

Box: On Location (See Text)