Saturday, September 20, 2014

Working out while your out of town or on the road!

Well let's face it, most of us have to travel for work. Unfortuanetly, traveling means alot of fast food and very little working out. However, as with anything, if you try to implement a routine then your chances of success are higher than if you just try to play everything out on the fly. So here are some tips from my own experiences that may help you on your traveling fitness journey.


1) COOK
     If you can stay at a hotel with a kitchen and cook your own meals then you will probably eat a 
     little healthier than if you are relying on eating out.

 2) HEALTHIER FAST FOOD OPTIONS
     If you do have to eat out, atleast try some of the healthier options. Sweetgreen, Roti, Chiptole, are all some of the spots I visit as opposed to Burger King, Popeyes, etc... I understand that salads do get boring but if you do decide on a burger than don't feel obligated to get the fries and a drink. Even small changes count!

3) SODAS ARE A HIDDEN CALORIE NIGHTMARE
    Skip the sodas where possible. Opt for Water instead. Drink as much water as possible. It will help with the hunger pains as well and keep you from craving as many snacks. Additionally, if you're like me and you just need something sweet. Go for green teas, or natural vegetable/fruit juices. And don't fall for the "DIET", "half the calorie" advertising!!! The artificial sweetners they are made with are nothing more than POISON.



4) TIMING
    Eat your heaviest meals in the morning. The saying goes something like this, "Eat like a Prince in the morning, a Pauper in the evening and a Peasant at night." Your body will only store the energy that it doesn't use as fat so eat your biggest meals when your body can actually use the energy. Try to drink a glass of water before your meal and see if that helps alleviate that FAMISH, STARVING FEELING.

5) JUNKFOOD!!!
  Do I really need to say anything about this? Don't give yourself any temptation! If you bring it into the room, you are going to eat it!!! If you're going to do it, do it in the morning! Not at night!
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So now that we have the food and eating stuff out of the way, let's talk WORKING OUT and ROUTINES.

Fitness level makes a difference but if you are in pretty good shape then I recommend a few different alternatives.
1) JUMP ROPE or JUMPING JACKS
 Speaking for myself, I don't always feel like putting in any mileage. And though I love to sprint, sometimes it's just impractical. I would love to sprint back and forth up and down the hallway but I'm pretty sure that might get me kicked out of somebody's hotel. Consequently, if you have a jump rope, make sure you pack it up and use it. 15-20mins of jumping rope will torch a ton of calories and in someways it provides a better form of cardiovascular exercise than simply running at steady state. If you don't have a jumprope, don't fret! Jumping jacks are just as good. Both provide a full body workout and the plyometric component is excellent for gaining strength in your legs. My suggested routine is a tabata type circuit of BEGINNERS-20secs on 40secs
 INTERMEDIATE- 30secs on 30secs off, BEACOUPFIT- 40 secs on 20secs off



2) CALISTENICS AND BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES
  If your hotel doesn't have a gym or you don't have access to one then you can still get in a good muscle-building, fat-torching workout. There are tons and tons of exercises you can do but If I had to pick a set of 4 to include in my circuit I would include a) pushups b) bodysquats c) crunches d) dips
From here I would do a set of let's say 20. (20 pushups, 20 body squats, 20 dips, 20 crunches) If you take very little recovery between sets then this workout will become very taxing and can be completed within 20mins.  For an even faster workout, that is just as intense you can try my 7minutes of hell! Basically, the routine is to perform as many good BURPEES as possible in 7 minutes! Talk about a workout from hell! You will literally be sweating like you just made it out if you attempt this one.


3) WORKOUT VIDEOS
 Nowadays, with youtube and videos such as P90X, Insanity, etc... there really isn't a good excuse not to workout. These videos are entertaining and youtube is a treasure trove of people posting workouts, giving workout tips etc..If you are a morning person then workout first thing in the morning when your fresh. If you are a night owl then do it then when you are up and at em'

Well, I guess you get the picture by now. I haven't even mentioned running the stairs or hell walking the stairs for that matter. Personally that is one of my favorite exercises to do though. I am getting at one thing, if it is something you really want to do you can and will make time to do it. Prioritize your schedule so that no matter what that will be your me time.  In the long run your body will thank you for it and you will feel so much better you did. You have been provided with both dietary and workout tips here so stop putting off and start taking control of your life today!


Stretching and recovery

Stretching and recovery


Whether you are working out to improve your performance or just to look better there is one component that should always be included. What am I talking about? Stretching and recovery.

Stretching is so crucial to having a healthy fit body. I must admit this is even one of the major areas I slack off in. Personally, I feel that stretching is boring however after I finish a session my body feels great. In my opinion, it is not healthy to be overly muscular but super stiff.  Tight muscles are a sure sign of an upcoming injury especially if you compete in sports. I do not condone YOGA, however, serious participants of yoga are a good example of our body's capability to be strong, flexible, and toned.

Working out is not what builds the muscle. The recovery is when this happens. That is why it is so important to feed your body the right nutrients so that when you are sleeping, the body can GROW!
Working out is what tears the muscles down, it tells your body that we need more muscle in order to accomplish a certain task. As these broken down fibers repair, additional muscle is created.