Road Warriors - For those of us who travel, all the time!

JCMcD · 09-16-2007, 05:45 AM

I've had the chance to not travel for about two months (the longest stretch I've had in about 15 years.) During this time, I have also seen the most improvements in my lifting and watching my diet. I start traveling again this week (the majority of my travel is international and end up going to some pretty remote locations.)

This would be a great place for those of us who travel for work to share ideas on how not to stay fit (or, at least not lose too much ground) when we're on the road and to keep each other going.

Thanks!

c502cid · 09-16-2007, 07:38 AM

The most valuable tool I have for the road that I can offer is www.healthclubs.com. Finding a gym vs working out in most hotels "fitness" rooms is the only thing that keeps my workout schedule on target. I've been 200+ nights a year on the road for 10 years now.

JCMcD · 09-16-2007, 08:31 AM

Thanks. My club is an IHRSA club, so I have access to a lot of the gyms. I've just had some problems finding gyms in some of the small towns I travel in - so I end up with the broken treadmill in the hotel... I checked out the site and see there are a few in some of the places I'm going to this month.

lcash · 09-16-2007, 08:56 AM

I travel extensivily to international locations that are so isolated most cannot even spell Gym. Nigeria, Congo, Amazon rain forest. The back country of Mexico. You have to make due with what God gave you in the way of calisthetics, Body weight excersises IE pushups, pull ups, chins etc. It can sometimes be hard to maintain but determination can get you through.

Lcash

Mr. Someday · 09-16-2007, 09:19 AM

Kudos to you for keeping at it. Travel is the biggest deterrent to my schedule, not so much the lifting as you can almost always find a gym, but the food aspect of it. I remember once having to go to Salt Lake City shortly before a show for 4 days. I spent the day before I left cooking and packed 28 meals! Not fun stuff.

I have a friend who travels constantly and is in fantastic shape....wish he'd chime in here, but he usually only pops onto bb.com every other month.

I am fortunate enough that I control most of my travel now and it is limited as the majority of our locations are all in MA. NYC is my most frequent destination and that is a short 35 minute plane ride, so not enough to screw me up.

dartol · 09-16-2007, 09:20 AM

Great idea for a thread! I will be traveling a lot in the next two weeks. Fortunately where I am going the company has a really good gym close by, and there are also lots of 24-Hour Fitness places around, where I have an all-club membership. Eating is the biggest challenge.

Here is an article from Men's Health about food and traveling:
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/articl...0012281eac____

Darren

JCMcD · 09-26-2007, 05:38 PM

I made it back safely from Europe. Had a great trip. In addition to working a lot, I also had a chance to see family in Paris and friends in Amsterdam. Had a great time. Even did all the basic Paris tourist things during the weekend. Proud to say that I made it through the entire trip without having any processed sugar! I would have been pretty proud of myself if I would have just deprived myself and out of will-power, been able to go the week+ without it - but I did more than that?. I didn?t even want it. I think it?s kind of like a smoker who can taste things better after he stops smoking. Now that I?m off sugar, I find that I really enjoy fruits and vegetables more than ever and there are other things I crave (my new thing is rosemary chicken?) Knock on wood - I think I?m cured from my sugar addiction. It?s been almost two months now.

Only one of the hotels I stayed in was close to a gym (and that was just barely able to call itself a gym?) But, I did a pretty intense workout everyday. I ran everyday (ran the canals in Amsterdam and the Tuileries Gardens in Paris.)

I also did 200 push ups each morning and night (by the third night - I did them with my computer/backpack on.) With each set of 50, I raised my feet a little higher. Started on the floor, up on a foot stool, then a chair, and then the dresser. Also did an ab workout I found online and dips off the luggage benches.

First time I?ve done a trip back to the old stomping grounds without gaining any weight - in fact, I lost two pounds.

I was supposed to head out again this week, but with so many things going on at work, I?ve pushed back a few trips. Next week, I only go to Chicago. Should be a little easier.

widebody195 · 09-26-2007, 07:55 PM

Great job staying in shape on the road. I used to travel a lot and also found it a challenge. Like you, I resorted to pushups and dips in the room (with my backpack on). I had to pack a bunch of protein bars and whey powder for those times when the food was simply unbearable (which was often).

lcash · 09-26-2007, 08:38 PM

Welcome back! Good job.. It's hard to go to Paris and not gain a few pounds!

Lcash

DNG · 09-26-2007, 09:56 PM

Damn - I wish I'd seen this thread earlier.

I'm on the road about 150 to 200 days a year - but it's usually to and from the same city. (I'm a management consultant and the engagements last anything from 6 months to a few years.) In fact I'm 900 miles from home right now.

Finding a gym is usually easy, and if you have a membership with the YMCA, it's easy to slip into any 'Y' around the country. But don't join Gold's if you're traveling - they don't share membership in that way. Also - some hotels will give you a free pass to a local gym (e.g. a 24-hour fitness), but you usually have to ask for it.

Eating is a big problem. Breakfast is a few egg-whites on a slice of whole wheat. I usually buy a few cans of tuna, a few bags of jerky, and a bunch of protein bars ... and that's lunch and dinner.

I'd value anyone's advice regarding any better ways to eat when you're living in a hotel and traveling light.

DNG · 09-26-2007, 10:00 PM

Every morning I do 100 situps (with my laptop bag - stuffed with laptop and a few phone books - amazing how inventive we have to be), and 50 pushups. If I'm unable to get to a gym, I do 200 pushups (4 sets of 4), 100 dips (4 sets of 25), and 200 situps (2 sets of 100).

Anyone have other ideas about in-room workouts?

Baldsnake · 09-27-2007, 04:58 AM

I travel with my bands. As long as the romm has a door and a door knob I have a gym.

DNG · 10-03-2007, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNG

I'd value anyone's advice regarding any better ways to eat when you're living in a hotel and traveling light.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNG

Anyone have other ideas about in-room workouts?

No comments? Looking for advice from other road warriors...

dcerullo · 10-03-2007, 09:29 PM

I think one of the hotel chains offers in-room fitness equipment and a workout to follow, not that it would be challenging enough for a lot of us but maybe it would help. My Chiropractor has a traveling squat bar with bands, it folds up very nicely. Maybe a Sprye (sp?) product? I can find out the name if you'd like. I'm going to Toronto this Saturday, 1 week before a competition and I am trying to figure out how to stay on my pre-comp diet while eating hotel food????

JCMcD · 10-12-2007, 10:14 PM

I'm heading back out in the morning going to Japan and then on to the Philippines. Asia seems to be the worst for me on the diet because I end up eating so much rice and fried foods. (Plus - I love it...) I'm counting on really going heavy on the fish and backing off on the carbs as much as possible. I am traveling with my EAS protein. It seems to be the most condensed (doesn't taste all that great either...) so I just have one tupperware of that in my computer bag that is 20 servings and my shaker. That should help some. I'm also going to be more disciplined on the vitamins. I seem to always back off on trips - and I always sit next to the coughing guy on the plane... I'm going to a pretty remote area to a job site a few hours north of Manila. No gym and not really anywhere to run. I'm taking the yoga dvd again and will do a bunch of push ups with my backpack. Wishing you all safe travels this week as well.

robrus · 11-24-2007, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baldsnake

I travel with my bands. As long as the romm has a door and a door knob I have a gym.

I like the bands too. The bodylastics are the best I've found. I also like the Altus back and chest expander. The elastics, plus push ups make it easy to workout in motel rooms & I've stayed in some cabins in the mountains & have been able to workout. The bodylastics & chest expander pack up well too.

bgnb · 11-24-2007, 11:47 AM

Eating on the road:

there are grocery stores everywhere ... plain yogurt, cottage cheese,
bananas or other fruit ... it may not provide 'variety' but it provides
what you need ... buy V-8 juice and cut it with water if too salty ... but
the bananas help balance it.

if they have a better selection then buy what they have.

Eating out: most places will provide 'made to order' ... so order
eggs on whole wheat ... orange juice ... most places serve steak
so you can have that ... or a better place will have roasted chicken.

Exercise: push-ups, squats, deadlifts and calf raises can all be done
with no weight or with whatever weights you can find.

For squats, just do them very slowly and do as many as you can,
the deadlift your suitcase or even on end of the mattress of your
bed ...

and those rubber bands can add more resistance to all the exercise ...
get longer ones for pushups and even squats ...

And any hotel that has a pool provides lots of ways to add resistance
to your exercises ...

FlyingDan · 11-24-2007, 01:37 PM

Great Post, I work for the airlines as a crew member and I spend a lot of time at airport hotels and in different cities every night. I have gotten pretty good at finding Gym's at downtown layovers, as well as gocery and healthfood stores. If I get stuck at some airport for a few hours I will call some of the airport hotels to see what there Fitness facility has. Quite a few times I have been pleasantly surprised. A lot of Sheratons or Marriotts have very nice facilities with free weights and showers although usually charge a small fee. All airport hotels also have free shuttles. A great way to kill a couple of hours if there are big delays. Chicago O'hare has a great gym right outside the terminal you can walk to, I think it's a Hilton, they have everything and charge $10...lots of delays in and out of O'hare as almost everyone fly's through there.

International cities are another story, gym's suck and are fewer and farther between. Food can be down right scary and no one speaks your language. I pack lots of oatmeal, raisins, protein shakes, nuts, tuna and salmon pouches, power butter, triscuts, jerkey and everything else I think will make it through imigration. Leaving the country is usually no problem, it's coming back to the states where they'll get you. DON'T BRING BACK FRUIT!