In the last five years, I’ve put more miles in a plane seat than I've put on my personal car by 400 percent (80,000 vs. 250,000). I've also managed to be stronger and leaner than I've ever been. My travels have forced me to develop some definable habits that I can follow regardless of where I am and how arduous my schedule is when I get there.
There are five key points that have helped me make major gains in the strength game while being away from my normal training environment (when you're on the road 50–70 percent of the time, normal is being on the road).
These keys aren't secrets, nor are they complex. They're based on the cornerstones of any good training lifestyle (note lifestyle; it isn't a program or a diet or a schedule—it’s a lifestyle).
- Priorities
- Training
- Nutrition
- Recovery
- Perspective
#1 Priorities
The biggest obstacle to success in any endeavor is the hand wringing that goes along with getting started. It repeats over and over again, the “I'll start doing (insert activity here) when (insert future date here),” and it never happens. The aspirations were never really a priority. A priority is something that you have to do regardless of timing or outside factors.
Think about it this way—no one ever says, “I'm going to start breathing next week. My work schedule is just so hectic that I can’t fit it in now.” That’s been said zero times in human existence. Priorities should be like breathing. You have to do them to function. They aren't optional.
In order to be successful with training on the road, it has to be a priority. You have to do it. There are many reasons why people choose not to train. If you can opt out of it, it isn't a priority. My travel time is broken up into three categories—work, train, and sleep.
Please keep in mind that most traveling professionals have some pretty brutal days on the road that can consist of some wicked jet lag with long hours stuck immobile in some sort of transit followed by long hours sitting in meetings or hacking away at a laptop in a hotel room somewhere. It’s hard to do anything other than just get through the day and on to the next location without looking like you just stumbled out of an alley somewhere. To combat some of the relentless pace of being on the road, training must be a priority.
#2 Training
I've heard a myriad of excuses detailing why people can't train while they're traveling (both for business and for pleasure). I'll focus on business because I don’t have to convince my wife that my training is good for the family. She knows.
Without exception, the first thing that I hear from people is that they don’t have time to train while on the road, although there always seems to be time to catch up on the “The Real Housewives of Bitchy Lane” or some other worthless television program. If you have time to watch one program on television from start to finish, you have the time to train. Odds are your emails or lack thereof, if left unsent or unread, won't lead to a nuclear holocaust.
You have the time to train. I guarantee it. There is almost always time at the beginning of the day (5:00 a.m. is typically a pretty dead time from a business standpoint) or at the end of the day (after dinner/pre-bedtime) to get a quality session in. Make the time to do it because the time exists.
In a tie for close second are the excuses “hotel gyms suck” and “I don’t know where I would train.” Those excuses both irritate me so badly that a vein in my forehead starts to pulse when I hear people say those words. I will address them both individually.“Hotel gyms suck.” I'll agree that most hotel gyms are just about a nanometer from being totally worthless, and I’ve only been in one with a squat rack. It's still a wildly stupid reason not to train.
Unless you're training at a high or professional level, a hotel gym will suffice just fine for a decent training session. There is almost always a treadmill or stationary bike and some sort of weight/resistance equipment. There is a veritable cornucopia of information out there regarding high volume, light weight training, and it can work. You just have to do the work to reap the benefits. The other huge benefit to a hotel fitness center is that its onsite. You don’t have to get back in the car to go there.
Having a fitness center close is a huge advantage and it lessens time away from precious smart phones and emails.While you can get a decent workout in a hotel gym, it's easily my least favorite way to train on the road. There is another option. Go find a gym.
The fitness industry has exploded on the landscape of the United States. I honestly don’t think that you can go anywhere and not land within thirty feet of a gym in all fifty states. There are gyms that cater to the hardcore and gyms that well...don’t.
Regardless of a gym's persona or targeted clientele, odds are they possess the basic equipment needed to produce results. Many hotels with subpar fitness centers, or, for that matter, no fitness equipment, partner with local gyms and you can get in for free, completely gratis. I've found some of the coolest, most hardcore gyms in some of the most out of the way places. In many cases, they're staffed by some really cool people. Sometimes you have to (gasp!) find one on your own.
If you use a nifty tool called...wait for it...the internet, you can find a gym within five miles of where you're staying. It may be a gym that feeds pizza to its members or is populated with people curling in the squat rack, but it’s still a gym and you can still make gains. Just suck it up and get it done. (On a fun side note, if you travel a lot, you will find yourself in a situation where you get to train at some of the places you’ve dreamed about.
Typically an email detailing that you aren't a psycho and why you want to train there is enough to get you in the door. This is almost never free but totally worth it. Try it.)
#3 Nutrition
It’s easy to not eat right or not eat enough on the road to support your gains. So what? Find a way around it. One of the stop gaps I use while on the road is loading up on some pre-mixed protein drinks at gas stations. Are these the super duper sups you use at home? No. I'm not a big fan of trying to get a random white powder through the TSA (I carry on because they always lose my luggage), so I make due. These shakes can ensure that your protein intake stays high and that you stay in your macros.
The issue of going out to eat rears its ugly head every time I speak to someone about this. The constant refrain is, “It's always so hard to eat on the road because all the food is so rich/portions so big/too much fat.” Well, tubby, let’s get something straight—you're the one ordering.
You don’t have to get the fried calf livers with a side of lard. You can get a protein source (chicken, fish, steak) and the veggies instead of the country fried steak (this is hard in the South, but possible; they'll look at you oddly, but it’s possible). When you're grabbing lunch on the go and you can’t find a good balance, check the menu thoroughly. There will be an option that doesn’t suck. It may not taste as good as you want, but it will meet your needs. Taste is for cheat meals.
#4 Recovery
I suck at falling asleep in hotels. As often as I have to do it, it’s always an issue. Always. Period.
I've found some workarounds: shut the television off, kill the computer, and keep your phone on silent. You have nothing else to do, so go to sleep. Staying up to watch a television show that doesn't matter isn't doing you any good. That book you brought on the plane to avoid having the obligatory “where are you from, what do you do” conversation works really well for getting your mind to relax and go to sleep.
If you’ve managed to eat right and train, don’t short sheet it by skimping on your recovery. Bring a lacrosse ball and use it to roll out the knots from sitting all day and bow out of the late nights at the hotel bar with your coworkers. You need some time to recover and build the muscle you’ve worked so hard on. Take the time.
#5 Perspective
You need to look at your time on the road as prime time to get work done both professionally and personally. You don’t have to worry about mowing the lawn, taking out the trash, or any of the assorted miscellany that plague your time when you're home. This can work to your advantage. You can work and train. Sweet!
I know some people are saying, “Well, I have kids and a demanding boss...” So does almost everyone else. If you don’t want to be like everyone else, you have to act differently than they do. I get odd looks and comments when I drop my colleagues off at the hotel and politely explain that I’ll be training for the next hour. I'll happily miss dinner in order to do so. That’s part of the deal. Your perspective must be, "I'll get my work done and I will train my ass off." If you want to meet your goals, you can't for a second move your eyes from that goal.
There are more excuses not to train and meet your goals, while you're away from home, than there are reasons not to ask a carnie for an open-mouthed kiss. It's up to you to make the choice every single day to meet your goals.
