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Traveling

December 17, 2010

One of the things I am most proud of is that I completed my initial 90 days on P90x while literally traveling around the world on business trips. I am now doing most of my travel domestically, but what I learned by trial and error that first 90 days has stuck with me. So here you go.

Plan Ahead

You must plan ahead. Whether your trip is one day or one week long, walk yourself through your agenda: hour-by-hour if you have to. By the way, working out is a great way to get over jet lag!

–        When are your flights?

–        When and where are your meetings?

–        When will you have some alone time away from clients and colleagues to work out?

Working Out

– My one “Day Off” was sacred. This needed to be a floater for me and many times it was not the same day each week. If I knew I had heavy travel, I would workout on the weekend and save that precious “Day Off” for the week as my wild card.

– Plan your workouts in advance. If you are really tight on time, can you fit in 10 or 20 minutes? Insanity Fast & Furious is perfect for something like this. Or Tony Horton’s 10-minute trainer.

– Be flexible with your workouts. Ideally, I like alternating resistance and cardio days. But cardio is much easier to do in a hotel room. Insanity, Plyometrics, Yoga, Kenpo are all easy to do in a small space.

– Check out the facilities at the hotels you are going to. Do they have gyms with the right equipment? I would typically bring my bands with me. 2 or 3 different bands do not take up much space in your suitcase. Although they do sometimes get inquiries going through an x-ray machine.

– How do you do things like pull ups? Well, all hotel rooms have doorknobs. Securely (key word!) put your resistance band around the doorknob and stretch it out with your butt on the floor. It’s no different than they do in the videos. And crank up your reps. Trust me, you’ll feel the burn.

Other tips?

–        For exercises that require lightweights, I sometimes fill up water bottles. Perfect for an exercise like ‘Weighted Warrior”.

–        If you don’t have a Yoga Mat, use a long bath towel. It’s not ideal, but in a pinch, it is better than the carpet. (15-JAN-2011 UPDATE – I recently purchased a Yoga Towel that has small bumps on the bottom for grip. This worked fantastic.)

–        Need a mat for floor work? Use that long bath towel again. Let’s be honest. Hotel floors are nasty. Put a buffer in between.

–        Be creative and move that hotel furniture! I love Europe, but hotel rooms are pretty small. Stack the furniture up. Throw it up on the bed. You really only need a 4×6 area. Sometimes, I would even do my workout in the entry way as there is typically more open area there.

–        Modify. Can’t find room to do “Football Hero” or “Monster Truck Tires”? Do it in place.

Diet

This can be harder than the workouts, but like our general theme here, you need to plan ahead.

–        Supplements – I will walk through my trip and figure out how much of each supplement I need. Snack-size zip lock bags are your friend. Pack your Results and Recovery Formula, Shakeology, Protein Powders, Creatine, pre-workout, and anything else you would need. I really like the GNC mixer for travelling. Before I discovered this great gadget, I used to take the hotel cup and use the opposite end of my toothbrush to stir things around. Too funny, but I really didn’t plan ahead well in the early days.

–        Snacks – This is CRITICAL. These will really help you keep eating throughout the day. I love to pack Protein Bars, Almonds, and Turkey Jerky. They are unobtrusive to eat in a meeting and frankly they will keep you from getting hungry.

–        Main Meals – Be in control of your food source as much as possible. For those times you are not, make the waiter work for their tip. Order things special. Hold the heavy sauce, no cheese, etc. If you eat Mexican, get Fajitas and you can pick and choose. If you go Italian, ask for Whole Wheat Pasta. If you are at a steakhouse, eat the leanest beef. Sometimes I will even have a small meal prior to the main meal so I am not starving. You know how much a cup of pasta is and how much 4 oz of chicken are if you are tracking your meals.

–         Airplane Food – If you are on a domestic flight, you may or may not need to eat. Bring something on with you.  If you are on an International Flight, you need to eat. The food isn’t great, but do the best you can. If there is a heavy sauce, scrap it off.

–        Track your Food – Hey just because you are away from home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t track your food. Even if you are at a restaurant, you can break down what you ate. It does not have to be exact team.

–        Water – Keep water with you everywhere you go. When on a plane, always bring a bottle (or two) of water. Your body gets very dehydrated on planes. Bring your drink packets if you want, but remember to always have a bottle of water with you.

There are so many things that come our way that could disrupt our workout rhythm. It may be business travel or a vacation or a special event.  Let’s face it, life is happening and we need to balance our roles and responsibilities to work, family, friends, etc. However, if you plan correctly and prepare appropriately, you will learn to maintain a strong health and fitness routine while you are living life!

4 Responses to “Traveling”

  1. […] To see more on how to Be Prepared in work or travel situations, see one of the first blogs I wrote on this topic HERE. […]

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