Training doesn't stop for life. And life most certainly will not stop for training. So what can you do when you are on the road, on a plane, or basically just very far away from home?
well you can always just get up and run.
Or, you can search around, find a workout that's out of the norm and really shake things out.
I spent 4 days traveling via plane and automobile (no train, sorry John Candy fans) and didn't stay for than 2 nights in the same hotel/area. So what does a 4 day training plan look like?
Day 1
Taking the redeye out from San Diego to Washington DC is kind of my norm for when I head to the east coast. But that doesn't mean my body is used to it. Plane travel regardless of time means you are cramped in a tight metal tube breathing in recycled air for hours. What can you do to combat this?
yoga.
For endurance athletes and the general public alike, yoga has countless benefits. 90 minutes of bikram yoga after a long ass day of airports really helped out for flexibility, controlling your breathing and core strength (something that can always get worked) There are enough yoga studios in major cities that offer drop in classes so you can be picky. And if that's not your thing, anyone with internet access or a strong data plan can get instructional videos for free off the google or that there youtube.
Day 2
When space, time and equipment are all factors you need to rely on what nature gave you. Everywhere I go I have 150 lbs of gym equipment. My body. I also don't need much space to get in workouts that only require me to be in a pushup position or jump a few inches off the ground. Circuit workouts are your best friend when on the road
20 mins:
8 jump squats
20 mt climbers
20 knees to chest
20 sit throughs
20 pushups
jump rope tabata x2
I will admit finding space to do the jump rope was tricky (since it was a balmy 8 degrees outside when I was trying to do this) but I was able to find a spot in a stairwell. I've come to accept looking like a crazy person when it comes to my training. such is life.
Day 3
This was the day I finally got on a treadmill. Again, it was about 8 degrees outside and windy. I'm a strong believer in that all running should be done in nature and the elements but even I have my limits. But rather than plod through a few miles while watching Seinfeld re-runs I mixed it up.
10 mins (moderate pace)
10 mins, increase speed by 1 every 2 mins
5 mins (moderate pace)
10 mins maintain pace, increase incline by 1 every 2 mins
5 mins (moderate pace)
With the increasing the speed, the last 2 mins should essentially be a sprint or damn close to it. This is kind of a go-to for me when I need to be on a treadmill. If you keep the core concept the same you can really mix up the speed/incline intervals to what suits you or your training plan.
Day 4
With my final day I was hoping back on a plane to head home to sunny San Diego. There are several reasons I left the east coast, and single digit temperatures is one of them. With this being my last day, time was tight and didn't leave any room for a solid workout ontop of everything I needed to do. This would count as a recovery day, leading right into the training the following day.
So I enjoyed another cup of tea, sat fireside and relaxed. knowing the hell I would put myself through the following day.
Whether you travel for work or for leisure, you can still get in solid training if you plan accordingly and make the time for it. Being sure to take time to enjoy where you are, and recover so you can keep training hard the next day.
What's ahead?
With no long travel coming up, and my first race of the year only alittle over a month away, it is time to really hunker down and get some miles in on the bike, the road and the pool. I also have some ideas for what I can test on myself during that wonderful time
This last week, I really started to pour over self data. Buying one of those sweet ass GPS watches (that has essentially replaced my brain) I can track a lot more
A Change in strength
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Teach a man to meal prep...
Last week I went all in, and prepped breakfast, lunch and dinner for the (almost) entire week. Lunch was packaged into its own individual containers and breakfast/dinner were kept in bulk and scooped out when the time came (spinach and avocado added after).
The whole reasoning behind meal prep is to ensure each day you're getting exactly what you need and to cut down on the time it takes to make these meals on the day of, saving you precious time that can be devoted to training. which is something we all can get behind am I right?
I apologize for my basic measurements and the use of the word "about". I was more concerned with just getting the food in and not necessarily the exact measurement.
What went in:
Starting with the first meal of the day, breakfast was an egg salad concoction of eggs (no shit) siracha, and greek yogurt. each morning it was scooped out and slapped on a tortilla with spinach, avocado and bacon. I boiled up 10 eggs so I got about 2 per day (I usually have 2 eggs for breakfast)
Lunch was chicken and sweet potato. I had 3 large chicken breasts which I fileted and grilled up (attempting to season each one differently) and once they were done each was diced up (for ease of portioning and eating). I used 3 large sweet potatoes which were diced and roasted. Once the portions were figured out (about a cup of each) they were separated and packaged up.
Dinner I went basic. I cooked up about 1 lb of ground beef and 1 cup (uncooked) of quinoa which gave me a little over 2 cups cooked. Each night it was a half a cup of the quinoa, about 1 cup of ground beef in a bowl mixed up with some avocado and hotsauce (shredded cheese when I was feeling hungry) and a big bowl of spinach/baby kale topped with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
The breakdown:
I had breakfast/lunch Monday-Friday and dinner Monday-Thursday mostly because I had a social event Friday and didn't want to be "that guy" who shows up to it with his dinner in a Tupperware container...not again atleast. It made it very easy at nights, my lunch was already set and dinner prep took 10 minutes tops. Mixing up the variety on the chicken was good, and I can eat roasted sweet potatoes forever.
I will say though, dinner got old quick. although I enjoyed the ease of prep, the variety of things you can do with quinoa and ground beef is limited. And at the end of the day, I found myself going back for a second or third bowl of spinach and kale because the hunger is real.
The benefits definitely were ease during the day and night. But the lack of variety got to me by Thursday and I was happy when Friday rolled around and I could go out and eat something that wasn't prepared almost 6 days earlier (or maybe it was, I don't know). With dinner being the set meal, also made it difficult on those tougher days when I would come home hungrier and it was tough to satiate the cravings I had.
Overall, meal prep is a solid idea. I don't see myself doing this every week, but when I know I have a busy week ahead and need to focus on training vs cooking I will be doing this again (with some added snacks in there for late night)
I do need to apologize to anyone I interacted with in the mornings. Egg salad and siracha for 5 days straight does have some side effects.
What's ahead:
Training doesn't stop, not even for travel. I'll be flying and driving around the eastern seaboard for about 4 days this week and I cant take those days off. So, this week I'll be testing out the best workouts and ways to keep training even while on the road.
I hope TSA doesn't confiscate my jump rope.
The whole reasoning behind meal prep is to ensure each day you're getting exactly what you need and to cut down on the time it takes to make these meals on the day of, saving you precious time that can be devoted to training. which is something we all can get behind am I right?
I apologize for my basic measurements and the use of the word "about". I was more concerned with just getting the food in and not necessarily the exact measurement.
What went in:
Starting with the first meal of the day, breakfast was an egg salad concoction of eggs (no shit) siracha, and greek yogurt. each morning it was scooped out and slapped on a tortilla with spinach, avocado and bacon. I boiled up 10 eggs so I got about 2 per day (I usually have 2 eggs for breakfast)
Lunch was chicken and sweet potato. I had 3 large chicken breasts which I fileted and grilled up (attempting to season each one differently) and once they were done each was diced up (for ease of portioning and eating). I used 3 large sweet potatoes which were diced and roasted. Once the portions were figured out (about a cup of each) they were separated and packaged up.
Dinner I went basic. I cooked up about 1 lb of ground beef and 1 cup (uncooked) of quinoa which gave me a little over 2 cups cooked. Each night it was a half a cup of the quinoa, about 1 cup of ground beef in a bowl mixed up with some avocado and hotsauce (shredded cheese when I was feeling hungry) and a big bowl of spinach/baby kale topped with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
The breakdown:
I had breakfast/lunch Monday-Friday and dinner Monday-Thursday mostly because I had a social event Friday and didn't want to be "that guy" who shows up to it with his dinner in a Tupperware container...not again atleast. It made it very easy at nights, my lunch was already set and dinner prep took 10 minutes tops. Mixing up the variety on the chicken was good, and I can eat roasted sweet potatoes forever.
I will say though, dinner got old quick. although I enjoyed the ease of prep, the variety of things you can do with quinoa and ground beef is limited. And at the end of the day, I found myself going back for a second or third bowl of spinach and kale because the hunger is real.
The benefits definitely were ease during the day and night. But the lack of variety got to me by Thursday and I was happy when Friday rolled around and I could go out and eat something that wasn't prepared almost 6 days earlier (or maybe it was, I don't know). With dinner being the set meal, also made it difficult on those tougher days when I would come home hungrier and it was tough to satiate the cravings I had.
Overall, meal prep is a solid idea. I don't see myself doing this every week, but when I know I have a busy week ahead and need to focus on training vs cooking I will be doing this again (with some added snacks in there for late night)
I do need to apologize to anyone I interacted with in the mornings. Egg salad and siracha for 5 days straight does have some side effects.
What's ahead:
Training doesn't stop, not even for travel. I'll be flying and driving around the eastern seaboard for about 4 days this week and I cant take those days off. So, this week I'll be testing out the best workouts and ways to keep training even while on the road.
I hope TSA doesn't confiscate my jump rope.
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