How to Get in a Good Lift on the Road
Coach Steve shares tips on how to get in a good training session while traveling.
I’ve noticed a common theme lately with people who have stepped outside the matrix and into a real training facility. It becomes harder to figure out what to do in the gym when they then have to step BACK into the matrix for a quick visit. Usually this occurs on a vacation/business trip and they have to train at an awful hotel gym or a piss-poor commercial gym for a short period of time. They are left dumbfounded as to what to do when all they find is a sea of useless machines and a bench press to squat rack ratio of 20:1. Don’t worry that’s why I’m here, to show you how you can make the best of a crappy situation. All in all it’s really not that difficult to get in a good workout at one of these places; we can take advantage of the machines, light dumbbells, and the absurd amount of benches. Below is a sample workout that I put together that someone could do when they find themselves in the predicament I just described.
A1) DB Bench Press
4x7/side
A2) Goblet Squat to Box
5x8
A3)* Lat Pulldowns
40 reps total
B1) Pushups
3xLeave 2 in the Tank
B2) 3 Point DB Row
4x10/side
B3) BSS
3x9/side
C1) Facepulls
2x20
C2) Plank
2X1 min.
*to be performed throughout entire session
There are three key factors in making this sample day a good off site workout…
A lot of volume is always fun when you are on vacation or even a business trip. Excuse my meat headedness but it’s an awesome feeling when you get done with a high volume workout and then proceed to get your George Jefferson walk going on with your shirt off at the beach. Since there probably won’t be that much weight to throw around in the weight room you’re at, take advantage, and get a high amount of volume in. You’re on vacation, have some fun and get your pump on (we all know that’s what your dying to do anyway).
Take this time to iron out the movement pattern. Moving heavy weight is the best thing in the world other than a Chipotle burrito. The only problem is as a movement becomes progressively more loaded overtime bad habits can form and technique can falter. So again take advantage of the lighter weight and higher volumes and use this as practice time; groove the pattern of the main lift (in this case a squat) so that when you come back to the real world you can get right back to throwing around weight
The third factor is keeping it simple and quick. Whether you are on vacation or a business trip it’s safe to say you don’t have a lot of time to spend in the weight room (unless your Stevo and Kelsey who choose to spend their vacations at a training facility). Don’t try and get too crazy with your workouts and spend all your time thinking about what machine will give you the greatest amount of glute med activation. Just stick with basic movements, get in and get out. This is not the time to program 20 different lifts either; again just stick to the basics.
I hope this helps everyone out who finds themselves in a similar situation. Whatever you do don’t use business or vacation as a reason not to train!
My Vacation Post
I’ll warn you right now that this post doesn’t have an underlying message – sorry about that, but I’m on vacation and just feel proud I remembered to get my post up on time today! In fact, at this moment I’m sitting at the dining room table in our apartment overlooking the golf course at our resort in Phoenix and looking forward to a run and lift after I finish this post. Here are my scattered thoughts related to both training and vacation: I’ll admit Phoenix is hot this time of year, but humidity is the great equalizer. I swear 110 degrees in Phoenix at 30% humidity feels better than 96 degrees and 78% humidity in DC. Check out the photo, I had to document the car reading (the highest we’ve seen it is 124).
I caught the Wimbledon men’s final on Sunday and was struck by the single leg strength and hip mobility Djokovic displayed as he cruised to his first Wimbledon title. It’s really staggering if you think about it. The picture is, clearly, not from Wimbledon, but you get my point.
Yesterday, Ryan and I spent the day driving on the Apache Trail, which wraps around the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix. The most noteworthy part was the 22-miles of off-roading (the Arizona Dept. of Transportation called it “unpaved”) we did in our rented Taurus. It was a lot of fun but that portion alone took us like 90-minutes to get through at 10-20mph. However, the big payoff are two lakes that can only be accessed via this unpaved portion and they are amazing! Well worth any damage the car we don’t own may have sustained.
As you can imagine the resort’s “fitness center” leaves a lot to be desired. BUT, it does have enough that I’ve already accomplished a couple of great circuits. Afterall, vacations lend themselves to a trifecta of eating, drinking, and sitting – I’m willing to do two of the three and this vacation I’ve chosen eating and drinking. For the rest of the week, I have no intention of letting my training drop off and will simply modify what I have already written for myself. Today will be:
A1 Broad Jump
4x3
A2 Spiderman Stretch
x3
DB Front Squat
5x5
B1 Lateral Stepdown
4x5
B2 3-Point Row
4x5
C1 45 deg Back Ext
3x8
C2 Something for Grip
3x:20
