Don't let this be You.
You’re busy. Of course, you’re busy. If you weren’t busy, you wouldn’t be as successful as you are. So, congrats. But I ask you, where do your workouts fit in?
For people who are in the process of making changing in their habits, travel especially business travel is a Big obstacle. The randomness of Exercising and Food while traveling has got to be on of the hardest things to troubleshoot. You’re sitting on plane for hours at a time, then you sit in meetings for the rest of the day. You are in an unfamiliar hotel and you are exhausted at the end of the day. Not to mention all the boxes of donuts and bagels waiting on the conference table, and the comped dinners out with a few too many cocktails. (We know what to do there, though, don’t we?) The good thing is I’ve worked with enough Road Warriors to be able to help you avoid the Big roadblocks.
Sticking to your workouts while on the road is easier, if you know what to do. Next time you have to travel, print out this post and plan accordingly:
Check out the accommodations before you leave. If your hotel has a gym, use it. Most hotels do, nowadays, so take advantage. Find out the hours its open, and plan your designated workout time before you even check in. If there is no gym no problem. You still have open floor space in your room and a parking lot available. Use them both.
Pack smart. If there is no gym, or if you know you won’t use it (at least you’re honest), bring equipment with you for quick workouts in your room. I know you don’t want pay to pack heavy weight or medicine balls in your suitcases, so save dough and space by bringing resistance bands. You can do most any exercise with them. If you have trained with me as a Client or Camper you know no equipment is no problem. Bodyweight exercises done right can get you fast results in little time. Pushups, lunges, jumps, and Old Skool calisthenics combined will tear the fat right off of you even when you don’t know what city you woke up in. So use them. if you don’t have your plan. Don’t think too much. Just Go! 20-30 second rounds of each exercise for 20 min straight. You’ll be Done and Done.
Bring your routine. Write it down on a piece of paper, bring a journal or a workout log, but have your routine laid out already for you. You’ll save time by knowing exactly what you need to do, and if your schedule is jam packed, you can do a little at a time, filling it out as you go, without losing track. If you need a plan, email me at dfannin@thebodyfirm.biz.
Dump your cardio. Cardio is the biggest time suck(read: waste of time) when it comes to working out. If you wanna shed the pounds, you gotta put in the time. Just make sure it’s the wisest investment of your time Research the area you are staying in to find a good running trail for sprints or hit the stationary bike for intervals. Hell you can do them in the parking lot of your hotel if you don’t mind a few stares. . Little bouts still add up, so go hard and brief. Long and Slow is not the way to go when time is short and results are needed.
There is always time. Make the time. Wake up early to get your workout in, because you KNOW you are going to be exhausted at the end of the day. 30 minutes less sleep isn’t going to make a huge difference, and you’ll be more awake and productive the rest of the day if you get in a morning sweat session. And when you get home you won’t dread your first workout back.
Make every bit count, by counting every bit. If you are stuck in meetings from morning to night, just make sure you walk around a bit. Keep moving. Take the stairs, walk to the conference hall, take the long way to the bathroom, walk circles during breaks, pace, avoid sitting whenever possible and walk laps around the airport. Anything you can do to not stand around doing nothing. It might not be the most intense cardio, but its something.
No Excuses. You will workout Anywhere, Anytime, under Any Conditions.
Exercise is only part of the equation, and hard enough on its own. Thursday, I’ll tell you have to eat right on the road, so there are no (good)excuses for out of town slip ups.
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