The Ultimate Guide To Surviving Travel: Stay Fit On The Road

This is a guest post from my mate Eric. Eric is a Denver based Strength Coach who owns and operates Bach Performance. He coaches busy professionals, athletes, and determined clients during the day and slays impractical lifestyles and body fat at night. You can say g’day to him on Facebook and Google Plus.

Let’s get to it.

Travel can make getting a good workout, eating clean and staying on a routine seemingly impossible.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. Most people end up with the All or Nothing philosophy when it comes to fitness.

Forget it! I’m on Vacation, time to indulge!” Or “ I will find a gym and healthy options no matter what, I can’t be sidetracked.”

Although each mindset has its pro’s and con’s neither is a healthy option. The “nothing” mindset is triggered from over-stress and unhealthy lifestyle patterns. Conversely, the “all” mindset individuals live a healthy life and can’t fathom being away from routine.

Both mindsets form a recipe for failure and depressive thoughts regarding health and fitness.

Problem is travel takes you completely out of your routine. Gym options are expensive and difficult to find, and valuable travel experiences suffer as a result. Doing nothing active isn’t healthy mentally or physically while going all-out to hit the gym every day diminishes the point in travel.

See the issue?

Luckily, there’s a happy medium.

I’ve tried both mindsets failed miserably.  There are better ways to go about your fitness while traveling. To avoid the feelings of guilt, diminished results in the gym and disappointment of travel you must accept that fact that you aren’t in your normal routine. 

You’re traveling either for important business or having a great time.

You’ll sleep like shit.

You won’t eat the same things at the same time.

You won’t be in your typical workout facility and won’t have your favorite equipment at your disposal.

That’s okay, lets workout around these things.

Workouts

Forget the gym. If you have a hotel gym that’s fine, if not, no biggie. The goal is efficiency and working around travel events.

How to start your day:

Slam two glasses of water, turn on some music, do the hotel room workout, shower and take on the day. Try this one below, which is an abbreviated workout from a previous post “Own The AM.”

Hotel Workout:

Description: The Count-Up workout. Start with one rep of each exercise, cycle through all of the exercises as fast as you can and add a rep once through the sequence.

Go all the way to 10 reps per exercise, take two minutes, and repeat if necessary.

A.Push Up

B. Plank

C. Squat

D.Reverse Lunge

E. Single Leg Deadlift

Remember, do one rep of each exercise, move to the next exercise, and add a rep all the way to 10 after each circuit.

Diet

Depending on where you travel you’ll have some options and variety here.  Frankly, the traveling days spent in airports are the worst. Subpar food options, lots of sitting, and expensive pricing. I’d rather not pay $9.00 for a shitty Burger King meal while dragging my bags around the airport.

Here are the best options:

Eat a large, healthy meal before you go. Keep the carbs low and load up on healthy proteins, fats, and vegetables. I prefer making a killer omelet.

-4 whole eggs

– 1/2 red pepper, diced

-1/4 cup onion, diced

– Left over protein source

-Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Eggs taste good with about anything. I raid my fridge for whatever leftovers remain. I’d rather not come home to a moldy fridge.

Also, super shakes tend to work great. I generally always have a protein powder, a healthy fat source like peanut butter, fruit, and a greens supplement I can blend together in less than 5 minutes.

Stock up on raw nuts, beef jerky, all-natural food bars, and water for your travel days.

Or, you can do a fast.

This is my preferred option, especially for fat loss. Not only will you get a big surge of fat burning hormones, you will save money and sanity by avoiding poor options.

If fasting wake up, chug some water, and get rolling to your travel destination. Consume coffee, tea, and lots of water while on the road. Once you arrive at your destination have a pre-planned restaurant to go to. This way, you reward yourself, unwind, and enjoy travel.

Due to dieting difficulties on the road I always bring a few supplements with me: Greens supplement, multi-vitamin, and a digestive enzyme for those times you experiment with some exotic cuisine. In a crunch, these supplements provide you with similar benefits to whole foods without stopping at the store on the road.

Do The Following On the Road:

Sleep

You’re likely jet lagged, dehydrated, and have a ton on your mind. If you’re traveling for work your mind is spinning on whatever task is at hand. Bring some non-fiction to relax your mind. If traveling for leisure it’s time to relax, ditch the alarm and take naps if needed.

Get Walkin’

Stop renting cars and taxis everywhere you go. You can have the same awkward conversations with any big city taxi driver, you won’t miss much.

Walk around and explore new surroundings, this is a great way to enjoy your travel and truly experience the area. Heck, you’ll probably find something else you want to explore or experience. You’re burning more calories and getting more out of your travel without even thinking about it.

Drop the Diet

If you try to strictly follow a diet you will be sorely disappointed.

I love food. By a beach and craving a smooth drink? Go for it. Something exotic on the menu trigger some hardcore salivation? Sweet, order it and enjoy.

Instead of going on a food and booze bender plan when your big meals will be. Be sure to workout that day, ideally before your big meal. Fast throughout the day, drink tons of water, and stay busy with other activities. This way, you will enjoy the things you came for without blowing up like a marshmallow.

Avoid the “All or Nothing” philosophy and enjoy guilt free travel.

Face it: You’re not in your routine and it’s impossible to maintain one while traveling. Perform mini-workouts, plan your big meals, and stay active. Travel should be enjoyable, don’t let anything get in the way of the experience.

What do you do to stay in shape when you are traveling? Leave a comment below! If you enjoyed the post or know people who travel a lot, hit one of the share buttons below and spread the love.