I recently read two articles about travel fitness.
One said that while you're traveling, you should keep up with 50% of
your normal training and the other said you should keep up with only
one-third. Both were written by well known fitness professionals and
both said that you should NOT expect to keep up your regular exercise
program while you are traveling. That struck me as kind of "lame" and I
said to myself, “Why the heck not? Why do people have such low
standards and demand so little of themselves? Why do they let
themselves off the hook and scale back?”

Sometimes, of course, traveling is purely for a
vacation – including a vacation from training. Occasional time off from
intense training is beneficial and necessary to let your body recover
and rejuvenate completely from chronic training stress, just as time
off from the office is needed to disengage your mind for a while. It’s
also true that it really doesn’t take much to maintain fitness once it
is developed, and an abbreviated, but still effective, workout routine
could certainly be used, if you choose, when you’re on the road.

However, you still have healthy eating to think
about and just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you can’t follow
your regular exercise regimen. Why settle? If you want to continue to
improve your physique while on the road, you can! Here are 10 ways that
I did it on my last extended business trip that you may find helpful as
well. It begins with a simple decision.

1. Decide to improve while you’re traveling and to come home in better shape than when you left

Nearly every time I travel (the exception being if
it’s a complete rest and relaxation vacation), I set a goal to come
home in better shape than when I left. The only reason most people
usually come home with lower fitness and a few extra pounds than when
they left is because they didn’t make a decision to do otherwise. In
fact, many people hold a belief that it’s “impossible” to stay on their
eating and exercise program while they are traveling! Why not get in
better shape no matter where you are? The truth is, all it takes is a
decision and some planning. I find it a fun and exhilarating challenge
to improve myself no matter where I am in the world.

2. Write out your workout schedule in advance

There’s nothing like writing your goals down on
paper to keep your mind focused and keep yourself motivated. In
addition to writing out goals regularly, preferably every day, you
should also commit your training schedule to paper and especially when
you are traveling. Write down the days, the time of the day and the
exact workout you plan to do and you will be amazed at how easy you
will find it is to get to the gym and have great workouts.

3. Get a hotel with a kitchen

The single most important part of my travel
arrangements was to book a hotel with a kitchen. For me, not having a
kitchen is not an option. If you don’t have kitchen, you will be much
more likely to skip meals, it’s very difficult to eat 5 or 6 times a
day (as required by any good fat burning or muscle building nutrition
program), and you may end up at the mercy of restaurant, hotel or
convenience store food. For my most recent trip, I stayed at Homestead
Studio Suites, one of several national hotel chains in the USA which
includes a full kitchen including a refrigerator, microwave, stove –
the whole works. Exteneded Stay America and Marriot Residence Inn offer
similar accomodations

On previous trips, if there wasn’t such a hotel with
a kitchen in the vicinity, I searched the internet for apartments for
short term rental. You may be surprised at the type of lodging you can
find and often you will be pleased with price as compared to hotels. I
once booked a luxury condo for 7 days and it ended up costing less than
the hotel I was first considering, and the hotel didn’t even have a
kitchen. Nothing beats a full kitchen, but you may also find that many
hotels will provide you with a microwave and mini-refrigerator if you
ask for them.

4. Go food shopping immediately after checking in

The FIRST thing I did after checking in was to make
a beeline straight to the local grocery store. I took a shopping list
with me because on past trips I found that I nearly always seemed to
forget one or two small items if I didn’t have the written grocery
list. Once you have a fully stocked refrigerator and kitchen, your meal
planning and preparation is NO DIFFERENT than it is when you are home.

5. check the local restaurant locations and menus and commit in advance to making healthy choices when dining out

Since I had a kitchen at my disposal, the majority
of my meals were just business as usual. I cooked them right in my
hotel room and brought them along with me wherever I went. However,
when traveling, it’s likely that you will probably be having quite a
few restaurant meals.

I make it a habit to scope out the local restaurants
in advance and even check their websites. Most have their menus online
these days. I make a decision in advance whether it will be a regular
meal or a “cheat meal.” If it’s a cheat meal, I enjoy whatever I want,
but I always keep portion sizes in mind. For example, last time, I
split a slice of cheesecake with a friend. Was I guilty? Heck no, it
was my planned cheat day, I only ate half a slice and it was the first
cheesecake I had in 12 months!

If you walk into a restaurant without having made a
decision in advance whether you are staying on your regular meals or
having a cheat meal, you are much more likely to have a “diet accident”
and make a poor choice on impulse, especially if you’re influenced by
non-healthy-eating companions (don’t under estimate the negative peer
pressure factor). All it takes is one unplanned cheat meal and that can
often lead to guilt. Then “all or none thinking” tends to set in and
you may tell yourself, “Well, I blew it,” so the next meal and then the
rest of the week tends to completely fall apart as well.

6. Cook portable foods and bring meal replacements or healthy snacks for drives, flights and day trips

I love to drive, so for my trip last month I packed
everything up in my car and hit the road. Naturally, I cooked for the
road trip and my food came with me! I’ve learned how to make a variety
of portable foods including several different types of oatmeal
pancakes, tuna burgers and healthy sandwiches. Some of these “portable
foods” can be even eaten with your hands while you are in a car, on a
plane or sitting in a seminar room.

On my recent trip, I knew I had a long drive, so I
calculated the number of hours on the road and the number of meals I
would need and simply brought them all with me. For two of my
on-the-road meals I had oatmeal-egg white-apple-cinnamon pancakes and
one of my “meals” was simply a high protein meal replacement shake and
fresh fruit. It’s not difficult at all when you plan and pack food in
advance.

7. Choose your gym or check your hotel fitness facilities in advance

Many people work out right in their hotel rooms with
a body weight exercise program or even portable equipment. Since I’m a
bodybuilder, I refuse to go without a fully equipped gym.
Unfortunately, on-site Hotel gyms are notorious for sounding great in
the advertisements and then when you arrive, you find that the “gym” is
a room about the size of a walk in closet, with a few pieces of (mostly
broken) archaic equipment from the 1970’s. There are a few exceptions,
but having learned my lesson a couple times, I now use the Internet to
locate a gym prior to my trip. Call in advance and ask if there are
daily or weekly rates.

You can also ask if your hotel has an affiliation
with a local health club. During my last trip, the hotel was affiliated
with a Bally Total Fitness Center that was just a 10 minute drive away
and use of the Bally’s was included with the price of my room. It
turned out to be an excellent club, so I was a happy camper.

If you are already a member of a gym in your local area, check to
see if your gym has an affiliation with other clubs around the country
or if they belong to an organization such as IHRSA (international
Health, Racque & Sportsclub Association). Some clubs are part of a
network which allows you to train at other clubs when youre traveling -
all you have to do is show your membership card and you will get access
to train at other clubs that are part of the network. IHRSA has more
than 6,500 clubs in 67 countries in its network.

8. Pack your workout gear and plenty of workout clothes

When you pack hastily at the last minute, things can
easily be forgotten and left behind, so be sure to pack plenty of
workout clothes with you and bring any other gym gear you might need
(belt, lifting straps, etc). For extended trips, inquire with your
hotel to see if they have laundry facilities. (The hotel where I
recently stayed had an onsite laundry room, which came in handy with my
2.5 week stay).

9. Change up your workouts as you change up your gym

Some people get accustomed to their hometown gym and
they’re upset or disappointed when they don’t have access to the same
equipment when they travel. They feel that it cramps their style or
hinders their results. However, this can really be a blessing in
disguise. Your body adapts to any workout, often in just a matter of
weeks. We tend to be victims of our own habit patterns in life and that
includes our workouts. You might want to take advantage of it when you
have new and different equipment at your disposal.

After “scoping out” the gym’s facilities, design an
entirely new workout program for a change. Do something 100% different.
Sometimes a simple change of exercises is enough to stimulate new
progress. The club I trained at during my last trip had a full line of
“Strive” machines which are not available at my hometown gym. These
machines allow you to choose three different resistance curves on each
exercise. Very cool. Since I had access to this equipment, I did a
totally new routine and used more machines than usual. Although most
fitness experts these days generally advise you to use more free
weights than machines (and I agree for the most part), using these
machines was a great change up and I could feel and see the difference.

10. Walk, bike or make physical recreation part of your travel plans

Personally, as I am already in very good shape, I
usually don’t count casual walking as part of my “formal” workout
(cardio) program, although it certainly might count for other people.
However, it never hurts to get some extra activity and all physical
activity burns calories and provides some health benefits. I’ve found
that more often than not, when I am on the road, whether for business
or pleasure, there are plenty of opportunities to get some physical
recreation and see the sights by foot.

On a trip last year, I spent an entire afternoon
hiking in the hills of a beautiful national park. On another trip, I
rented a bike and rode for miles along a beachside bike path. On my
recent trip, I spent an entire day walking through museums and then
sightseeing. I walked for hours. I also couldn’t help but notice other
people (mostly conspicuously unfit people), tooling around outside on
those stand-up scooters. Funny thing too, because right next door to
the motorized scooter rental was a bike rental. Which would you choose
– foot, bike, or “lazy-person’s chariot?”

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto

www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified
personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning
specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle"
Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print
magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding,
Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as
on hundreds of websites worldwide.

For information on Tom's Fat Loss
program, visit: www.BurnTheFat.com