TEN TIPS TO STAY ON TRACK WHEN TRAVELLING
A work trip or personal vacation should never be the reason why you completely abandon your program and reverse your progress. I’ve worked with enough clients to know that if something is truly important to you – you will find a way, not an excuse. For example, my client Sommer, did an entire 16-week prep while travelling every few weeks for work all across the world. She took the time to research every trip and plan things in advance to keep her on track. She ended up winning that show and was nice enough to contribute some of her best tips for this article. Thanks Sommer!
Choose a fitness-friendly hotel. When choosing your hotel, some key things to look for are a room with a fridge and microwave. Some even have full kitchen’s available. Many newer hotels have some decent fitness room facilities as well. If you can find a hotel with a reasonably equipped gym, that eliminates the step of travelling to a nearby gym – making it even easier to get your workouts in.
Consider Air bnb. When booking your accommodations, it doesn’t hurt to look at a few nearby Air bnb options for comparison. Not only will you generally have access to a full kitchen to do your meal prep, but you’ll probably save a few bucks in the process as well.
Pack all your regular gym accessories. Having your headphones, hat, straps, bands, and favorite gym clothes make it feel more like your usual routine so you’re less likely to skip a session because you’re missing that one key item. In the rare cares where you’re staying somewhere that doesn’t have a gym or any nearby facility, then you’ll need to bring a few small items (i.e. ankle weights, resistance tubing, towels) to make some kind of total body circuit type workout in your room.
Locate local gyms in advance. Don’t even look at being in a new city away from your routine to be a negative! Finding a new gym with some different equipment, accessories and scenery than you’re use to could be just what you need to fire up some extra motivation and get an amazing workout in.
Find a good local grocery store or meal prep company. You can find healthy cooked meals at many grocery stores including Whole Foods, Farm Boy, Trader Joe’s and Longo’s so it’s as easy as picking up some ready-made meals and keeping them stocked in your fridge. Another option is to find a local meal prep company or one that can ship the meals to your accommodations.
Pack some food. You can simplify your grocery store trip if you pack some of your common foods. Most countries will allow you to bring in any food items that are already cooked, as long as they are for personal consumption. Note: When packing foods, try to stick to the commercially labeled items to avoid any extra questioning.
Bring a water bottle. Always bring your refillable water bottle to stay hydrated and avoid extra costs and hassle of buying jugs of water. You need even more water when travelling depending on the duration of the flight and drinking extra water during long flights helps reduce water retention. Most airports now have water filling stations, and hotels have water coolers in almost every fitness room.
Most supplements are totally fine to pack. Grab a pill case if you don’t already have one and pack all of your capsules and tablets in the case. You aren’t going to be flagged for vitamins, herbs and minerals for personal consumption. Pre-workouts and protein powders can be a bit tricky. This is where having some sample packs (maybe from a trade show or event) can come in real handy. You could pack the powders in Ziploc bags and label them, but be prepared to answer a few questions if they’re in your carry on.
Schedule in your training time each day. Work trips can get busy at times so it definitely helps to look at each day and block out 60-75 mins to get your workout in. For most, this is going to be early morning, while your not-so-fit co-workers and travel buddies are probably still sleeping or already at the breakfast buffet. Get it done early, cross it off the list and enjoy the rest of your full day.
Get active and explore! Walking aimlessly around a new place, discovering new sights may not feel like it’s adding to your fitness goals but check the Fitbit stats at the end of the day and see for yourself! Allow for pit stops at a few key places like a famous coffee shops for a quick refuel/tasting.
I hope you found these reminders helpful in guiding you through your next mid-prep trip. Always find the positive in every situation and there are plenty of positives here! Contact us through the form or shoot an email over if you’re looking for any help reaching your own fitness goals.
Coach Sean
