Road Warrior
I am fortunate in that my day job does not require me to travel all that often. When I do, it’s usually for a long weekend – 3 or 4 days at the most. And I always know the trip is coming well in advance and I can plan accordingly.
What does planning accordingly mean? It means I can shuffle my workouts around a bit to make the “road workouts” suit me. This might mean switching my lift and cardio days around, or doubling up an ab-only day to include cardio or lifting in order to be able to use one of my travel days as a rest day. And it allows me to scope out my accommodations to see if I will be able to do a lift workout at the hotel, or if I’ll need to do primarily cardio work and a weight-free workout like 30-15 (all pushups and pullups).
I’ve been able to not let vacations throw me off schedule by getting creative. But what if you are a steady traveler. What are the tips that will help you consistently stick to the workouts and nutrition?
First, you’ll need some resistance bands, because if you are traveling a lot, there isn’t a way to always adjust your workout calendar to avoid lift days on the road. A good set of bands will make life so much easier. And get a door anchor for the bands so that you can simulate pullups, because you may not always have access to a pullup bar / playground / tree branch (LOL)!
Second, plan ahead — maybe plyoX isn’t the best option for a hotel room unless you want some angry downstairs guests. Know what workouts you have scheduled on those days and make adjustments if needed. I remember doing plyoX at sunrise last year in the parking lot of a hotel we stayed at in Branson, with our portable DVD player setting on the back bumper of my suburban. An old guy walking his dog stood and watched in amazement for quite a while at the crazy guy jumping around behind his car! LOL!
So getting in your workouts — with a little planning and creativity — can be done.
What about the nutrition? That’s a hard one! How can you stick to the nutrition plan on the road?
First, it takes planning and packing. Take lots of survival rations because you don’t want to get stuck with no options besides fast food or junk food. You can get a lot of nutrition from some easy to pack items like:
– Shakeology packets (or ziplocs made from your stash at home)
– Whey protein powder (again, make several ziplocs ready to mix with water)
– Protein bars
– Jerky (beef or turkey)
– Almonds
– Cereal (I like Cheerios and GoLean)
– Apples
**All of those require no refrigeration and can be kept in your backpack / suitcase / carry-on bag. Just be sure you have a shaker cup for mixing your Shakeology and whey protein with water.
And what about the big meals? Can you survive eating out at meals without killing your diet? Sure! It just takes planning.
Whenever I know I’ll be eating out, I plan ahead, do my research, and make sure that even though I eat out, I will exactly hit my caloires, protein, carbs, and fat for the day! I’ve put in some effort and researched the restaurants I frequent to find the healthiest options so I’m not forced into a corner when I get there. Most restaurants post their nutritional info on line, and you can look ahead of time at the menu choices to find something that will fit in your daily plan. Will it be chips and queso? NO! But you can still eat out and enjoy yourself without feeling guilty afterwards!
For breakfast, you can usually find some good healthy options at most restaurants, like egg white omelets, fresh fruit, wheat toast and cereals. But be careful because breakfast at a restaurant can also spell total disaster if you get pastries, indulge in syrups / butters / jellies, and load up on fatty foods like bacon, sausage, and fried hash browns. Resist!!!
For meals like lunch and dinner, you can do well with grilled chicken salads (assuming you skip the dressing, cheese, and croutons). Soups can be good, as well as sandwiches on wheat bread (but be careful about the toppings). You are usually safe with steamed veggies of all kinds. Sauteed veggies will be packed with fat though so avoid them! Fish and steaks are good too, as long as you look at how they are prepared. You can get a lot of fat and sugar that is hidden in the way a food is prepared. For instance, at my favorite Asian food restaurant, I can turn a fattening meal into a very healthy one by ordering it with brown rice instead of white/fried rice, and by asking for my meat to be cooked “STOCK VELVET”, meaning that instead of the crispy coating, the meat is boiled. It still has the spicy taste to it, but has way less fat and carbs. Try this if you are an Asian food fan!
Is it a challenge for the Road Warrior to stay on track? Absolutely! But is it impossible? No way! It takes planning and determination to follow through, but it can surely be done. Get those workouts in despite having to make adjustments. And resist the temptations while at the restaurant — you can survive eating out without the guilt and without the extra pounds that often plague those who eat out!
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this really hits home as a over the road truck driver…I had changed my life with this website and coach. i was 270lbs in.feb of this year and now today in my 2nd round phase 2 i weighed in at 226lbs ….i really feel like a new man….thanks for the great write ups. coach wayne
Great post. I wrote a similar one on my site. People, including my wife and kids think I’m crazy for working out while on vaction. But I found out that working out and eating as clean as possible while on vacation actually gave me more energy and stamina than I ever had before while traveling. It allowed me to enjoy my family time more because I wasn’t so tired from eating junk food and not exercising for a week.
Thanks Coach. Pretty much sums up how I manage to survive my monthly trip to the office in NasVegas.
I find myself @ Hardees for dinner ordering a low carb turkey burger. I can hit my macros on the road, but usually blow right past my sodium target :(
Mark
Hey, aren’t you on vacation????
Dean
Great post bro! I hope you’re enjoying your trip!
Great post Coach! Very useful for those of us that travel. Thanks for sharing!
I am…this is not me!!
Any time you see Coach W (Instead of Coach Wayne) it’s actually either Me (Coach Indo), Coach Paul, or Coach Ant! We are helping with the moderating so that Coach Wayne can enjoy his vacation with his family!!
Excellent post! Just went through this while on a family vacation a couple weeks ago. We actually rented a house for the week instead of staying in a hotel and it helped a ton! We saved a lot of money by cooking our own meals most of the time, and I was able to eat like a I normally do at home so my nutrition didn’t go out the window.
Hi Guys,
I have one tip to share on this topic.
A company called easy effort makes what they call the “travel bar” – It is a pullup bar that breaks apart for convenient travel. Do a search on google or youube to see a demo.
Great site/blog by the way Wayne!
Regards
/David
Great write up (as always). So funny to see this post as I was just talking to my Brother In Law and sister about the Road Warrior concept yesterday. I travel quite a bit and it is totally possible to do – but like you said it takes a battle plan.
It’s very much about planning. I travel 28 weeks out of the year and there is nothing worse than being on the road with no healthy snacks available and realizing you don’t have equipment you need for the workout you planned on doing. A little planning makes all the difference because you can pack healthy food and bring essential equipment like a yoga mat or bands.
HEya Indo do you have access to the posts? I think CW left the Road Warrior post as uncatagorized so it bumped his typical TeamRIPPED intro post from the header.
This is sooooo me. I stay house jumping. LOL
Can anyone recommend a good set of resistance bands? Bodylastics, Ripcords…so many to choose from? Not sure which ones to buy and don’t want to waste my money.
Thanks…Matt
Hey Mike–
I saw that it did that! I haven’t had time to go back and find out why, but you’re probably right. I’ll check it out!!
Matt,
These are the bands that I have…I personally think that they are the best on the market because the handles are so easy to switch out. I also purchased an extra set of handles so that I have 2 different bands ready to go at any time during a workout. I also use them for other exercises besides those in P90X…think of all the “cable” machines in a gym and try to duplicate them—loop a band around your pull-up bar and you can do tricep “cable” extensions; loop a band around the support bars of the pull-up bar and you can do “cable” chest flys…you get the idea? The bands are obviously also a must if you travel a lot and want to keep working out…
http://teamripped.com/gear/resistance-bands/b-lines-band-kits
Coach Indo
Mike Mo!
Yep! You were right –that was the problem!–FIXED!
I packed some bags with some white powder in them for a recent vacation. My wife caught me laughing when I realized that the bonehead TSA agent would think I was smuggling cocaine instead of protein powder.
Well, the price of protein powder is similar and it IS addictive. :-)
I travel around 20 weeks per year. Mostly to the middle of nowhere where the hotels only have treadmills and stationary bikes. So it takes planning on my part. I have broken two of my bands already. That is no fun but after 2 years of using them I guess it was time.
I travel for a living as well. I purchased some collapsible push-up bars, and a collapsible pull-up bar. Also, having a nice set of bands helps.
The real challenge on the road is nutrition, especially when you travel with a team of people and are subject to having to eat wherever they eat. :(
The TRX is a great system to take with you while traveling as well. We camp every weekend so hubby and i just attach it to a tree, we also use it at boot camp and in the basement at home. You can work all body parts with this and it fits in a small bag so it’s easy to travel with!! No need for excuses!!
Great thread teamripped! As an airline pilot I have to get very creative with my workout planning and eating. I am never without zip locks of Shakeology, mixed with whey, and fiber. I have had many cockpit meals of Shakeology, and protein bars. I avoid all airline food possible! Eating in restaurants in differnet countries can definitely pose problems. I do the best I can – and enjoy my Shakeology, sometimes twice a day if required.
P90X and Asylum on the iPad makes it easy to transport to any hotel in the world and get an adequate workout! Even if it takes some creativity.
Awesome post there Coach Wayne. This is so true. I am a walking testimony to being on the road, working out and eating clean.
Since I work offshore in the Oil and Gas industry I am always gone from home. More gone then I am home. I have found several ways to modify my workouts and still get the burn that my body craves. I carry my resistance bands with me in place of my dumbbells at home and also my pull up bar. I do still pack my Powerstands since the bag I carry has room in it for them. I have used my computer bag that weighs about 25lbs to do my arm exercises.
I pack my Shakeology bulk bag with me along with protein bars, whey protein powder, and packets of tuna fish that i can open up and just eat out of the packet, almonds. When I am driving to locations I stop at Subway and have a Turkey sandwich on wheat bread NO CHEESE or MAYO. Only Mustard, lettuce, onions, jalapenos and black pepper. Then to accompany it is a bag of apples and bottle of water. NO CHIPS or SODA.
Like you say you just have to plan out and be resourceful. Those are the key elements to keeping engaged with your journey while on the road.
Hey Wayne!!! Just letting you know I’m about to start my max interval workouts for insanity starting tomorrow morning! I’m excited but yet nervous lol. Also in about a week I’m gonna be leaving for vacation in the mountains and its gonna suck bc we are staying in a log cabin type thing so my workout dvds will be useless :/ I am definitly going to keep eating healthy the whole time I’m there I already have everything planned out nutrition wise! When I get back I’m just gonna redo my week of insanity that I did prior to me leaving, would that be ok? One last thing, on my diet I have been tracking all my calories and and Ive been averaging about 190 grams of protein and I’m using the fat shredded plan. Do you have any suggestions so that I can get to my 250 grams without exceeding my carbs and fats for the day? Hope all is well!
John
Hey John, yes that’s fine. Look at my sample diets because I was able to do 1900 cals and still get plenty of protein (240-250g). It’s simple really — just increase your serving sizes of lean meats, and use whey protein to supplement.
Graet post and sooo very helpful. PLANNING, Got it!Makes sence…..
Hey Coach Wayne
Thanks for the advice on what to eat when on the road. I actually have a long road trip coming the day after tomorrow. A snack that I just discovered and now I love is the Clif bar. They’re organic, come in many different flavors, and, in my opinion, are very tasty. Have you ever tried them? If so, what do you think of them and would you consider them a good, healthy snack?
Hey Matt, the one thing I don’t like about Cliff bars is the sugar. They aren’t the eat choice for a fat shredder diet. If you are in maintenance mode and can do a few extra carbs, then they are great.
Well I travel every week Mon-Thur, so its really tough and my work hours are crazy being a Consultant. But as few have mentioned it requires some proactive and smart packing.
Because of the security checkups at airport cannot take too many supplements/powders and definitely no liquids. But I create small packets, resistance bands (have still bought dumbbells and keep weights for weekend workout). sometimes I have to “hear” the workout on ipod to use hotel gym etc.
In short there are workarounds. That is why I am a huge fan Insanity, less than 1hr (love Yoga but its for 1.5hrs in P90x do not have that much time), no tools