Time is the first excuse for people who aren’t serious about training.
“I don’t have time!” (WHINERS!)
I train a lot of successful individuals with full-time families and full-time careers. One observation I’ve made across the years – successful people apply the same work ethic to their workouts as they do to their work. Come to Trainers’ Club with me at 5:00 AM. You will find the same disciplined individuals getting their disciplined butts out of bed and training hard before they leave to do their business. It’s impressive!
When it comes to traveling, time is as much of an issue as you allow it to be. I actually find more time to train when I’m traveling.
Reminder from Travel Tip #1 (Mindset): Use the spare 30-minutes before every flight.
Reminder from Travel Tip #2 (Nutrition): Eat less – exercise more. (“Meals” consume so much time).
Here are some more time-options to consider:
TIME ZONE CHANGE
Traveling across time-zones guarantees more time to exercise. I leave the Pacific Time Zone at least twice each year to travel 3-hours forward into the Eastern Time Zone. I normally go to bed at 11:00 PM PST (2:00 AM EST). I can’t force myself to sleep. After all my East Coast buddies go to sleep, I workout until 1:00 AM. Working out helps me sleep better, especially after being on a plane. For those of you living on the East Coast, if you wake-up in Los Angeles at 3:00 AM PST for your 7:00 AM Breakfast Meeting, VOILA, you have 3-hours to workout. (I know it sounds crazy but it’s better than laying in bed watching Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley demonstrate the TotalGymTM.)
INSOMNIA
I don’t sleep well in hotels; even the best hotels. The beds are usually comfortable but it takes a couple of nights to get settled in my new surroundings with different sounds and illuminations. It also seems impossible to get the room temperature just right. (Too much heat/cold – NEVER enough blanket!) Exercise is a sure-cure for insomnia! At first, exercise will elevate your blood sugars and make you more alert. After a few sets of pushups, dips and planks, your system will purge some toxins, your metabolism will level-off and you will feel the onset of fatigue as your body craves sleep. Additionally, exercise is theorized to reduce stress and anxiety by adjusting the levels of certain neurotransmitters including serotonin, endorphins, norepinephrine, dopamine and acetylcholine. While science is inconclusive on the exact effects of each neurotransmitter, anyone with enough exercise experience knows that working-out is one of the best all-around brain-gasms!
EXPLORECISE
Hotel conferences make me feel like a mouse trapped for 2-3 days in a cheeseless maze. I have to get out before I start playing games with the elevator. Walking/jogging around different cities is a great way to check-out the scene and get your exercise completed at the same time – EXPLORECISE. Remember to pack your running shoes. Even if a hotel has a decent exercise room, I still prefer to get outside, move around and see the sights. It’s also safer – looking like a jogger in another city is less conspicuous than looking like a tourist.
Don’t make “time” your excuse at home or on the road. There are plenty of ways to MAKE time to train while you’re traveling. And if you feel too tired, SUCK IT UP! You’ll feel less tired when you rotate a few brain cells through exercise.
Use “Map My Route” to find walking or jogging routes when you’re traveling in unfamiliar places:
Personal Training | Exercise Training | David Clapp | Travel Exercises