

How To Stay In Shape While Traveling - joelrunyon
http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/25/how-to-stay-in-shape-while-traveling

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bigethan
I trave a decent bit to crappy hotels for weekends (I'm a club sport coach on
the side). If you've got a touch or iphone with you on the trip, I highly
recommend Nike Training Center: [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nikewomen-
training-club/id301...](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nikewomen-training-
club/id301521403)

They say it's slanted towards women, but it works great for me and I'm a
fairly fit dude. Lots of workouts in both variety and length, and very little
need for equipment. And it does a decent job of tracking you and rewarding you
as you go.

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joelrunyon
How does the "lots of workouts" work out for you?

I tend to find that the more types of workouts I include, the harder it is to
make a routine. So it's easier for me to pick a small set of exercises
(pushups, pullups, dips, lunges, squats, etc) and do them repeatedly rather
than trying to switch up workouts.

Could just be me though...

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hluska
I think I'm somewhere in the middle of you two...

My results are always best when I design three complete body workouts, then
alternate them every three weeks. I find that this keeps my routines feeling
fresh (since I never do a single one for more than three weeks). And most
importantly, it helps motivate me when I come back to a routine (after six
weeks on other routines) and discover that I am stronger!

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ChadB
I've never dealt with an ultra-long trip like the one he's talking about in
the article. However, for "normal-"length vacations you might take as a
software engineer (i.e., 2 weeks or so), I've found that my body actually
benefits from the time off.

I've done two two-week trips this year (Peru and Spain). In both cases, I was
in excellent shape before the trip (155-160lbs at 5'11" with low body fat and
good muscle definition). I work out three to four times per week, plus box
twice per week.

I lost about 10lbs during each trip. When I got home from Peru (the first
trip), I was mortified. I tried to bulk up like crazy by eating a ton of good
fat and protein, and I lifted almost exclusively heavy weights. I was bigger
and stronger than before the trip in three weeks.

After the second trip I was less scared, because of the previous experience. I
was just as strong as before the trip in about three weeks again, but I didn't
gorge myself as much, so I stayed a bit leaner.

I guess what I took away from the experiences was that you're bound to loose
body fat while traveling, simply because you do so much walking. If you're in
good shape beforehand, though, your muscles will "remember" and come back to
you remarkably fast. You may even be able to improve your overall fitness
level and put on leaner muscle afterwards.

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georgieporgie
Don't you think that most of your weight loss was water?

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prawn
Recently got back from two months in Europe, stuffing my face through 15+
countries. What knocked my weight off was a 170km+ hike around Mont Blanc
(Tour du Mont Blanc). Walking across and around cities also helps. I'm never
sure how people can go abroad and not return leaner - the walking balances the
endless restaurant visits, surely?

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ElbertF
Hey me too, I just got back last Sunday. We visited 20 cities in about 50 days
and tried all the local foods and beers. We walked a lot but I was still
surprised I didn't gain any weight from eating and drinking that much.

I took a set of elastic bands with me which were actually quite good for
various exercises and some of the places we stayed at offered a gym.

~~~
prawn
Some hotels will have gyms. No other place will prevent you from doing
crunches, push-ups, walking or running!

My brother (professional basketball player) was on the trip with me. At one
point, he was doing some sort of lifts with first our backpacks and then the
end of a bed.

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dr_
Interesting, although the author, as many people who work out, follows a diet
which someday is gonna catch up with him.

Eating lean meats, such as grilled chicken or salmon, is a sufficient source
of protein. Hamburger and meatball sandwiches are not healthy and whereas this
may not make much difference when you are young, it will as you grow older and
your metabolism slows down. Olive oil shots, as a source of calories, are
completely unnecessary. It's a "healthier" oil than most of the others but,
nevertheless, it is still oil. I'm not a fan of shakes personally but they can
be a good source of calories without too much fat (or sugar hopefully) and
with a punch of protein. Oftentimes they are convenient to prepare.

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healsdata
The concept of "gonna catch up with him" is weird considering he explicitly
says that he's trying to gain weight. As someone who's currently making his
living as a fitness professional, I'm sure the author is keenly aware of his
body fat percentage and would alter his diet if that weight he was adding came
in the form of fat instead of muscle.

It is interesting to note that, while he recommends the paleo diet, he does
deviate from it as part of his mass gain & travel menu.

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aorshan
I love nerdfitness. Its helped me get into such better shape.

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chett
DC Rainmaker (a triathlete) has some good tips on training while traveling as
well. [http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/03/training-while-
travelling...](http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/03/training-while-
travelling.html).

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rickdale
Stretch. Stretch and stretch. Stretching is the most underrated fitness
routine in the book. Professional athletes will have fitness sessions where
all the do is stretch. So let me repeat. Stretch, stretch and stretch.

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lucasjung
_But_ : warm up first! Stretching cold is just asking for injuries.

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yason
Luckily I just swim. And you can find good swimming pools in most places. I
also prefer studio apartments with a kitchen or kitchenette: it's crucial to
not have to rely on prepared or restaurant food solely.

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ulisesroche
You can throw a towel over a door and use it to do pullups, by the way. No
need to find a tree branch. His evernote is much better than mine though, I'm
such a lame pre-optimizer.

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vambo
Won't the door be in the way? Or how exactly would this look? I would also be
worried about breaking the door.

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ulisesroche
Open the door all the way until it hits the wall, throw a towel over it, and
start doing pullups. Some people use workout gloves, but it's basically
anything that will serve as padding. The door will hold, for sure.

Here's a video of what it looks like: <http://youtu.be/dCkqIMKTSa4>

