STRONGMAN ON THE ROAD PART II: THE TRAINING

  

In part 1 of this, I discussed what it was like eating while traveling, and the strategies I employed to ensure my nutrition stayed reasonably on point, with my wallet and stomach full.  I’ll now discuss how I approached my training.

 

 

BEFORE ARRIVAL

 

Recon is always great, but I'm not about to march through 3 miles of tear gas

Before my arrival, I scouted out local gyms on the internet and found 2 within walking distance of my location.  However, with COVID still being a thing (note to people that are reading this blog post in the future: I really hope COVID blew over by now and you have no idea what I’m talking about), I had no idea if I’d actually be allowed gym access.  As such, I packed the following in my suitcase.

 

-1 “average” jump stretch band (green)
-2 “light” jump stretch bands (purple)
-1 monster mini elitefts band (pink)
-Mark Bell’s reactive slingshot
-Weightlifting shoes
-Straps
-Lifting belt
-Lifting straps

 

The belt and shoes of course took up a ton of space (I wear a size 12 shoe), but I wanted to be ready in case I could get in some real training.  However, in case it wasn’t going to happen, those resistance bands can be used to rig up an awful/awesome workout in any hotel room.  There’s already a TON of literature out there on using resistance bands, so I won’t re-invent the wheel there.

 

The Slingshot is actually something I DON’T use in my lifting at all (never cared for it), but it’s a great tool for bodyweight work.  You can use a slingshot for push ups to give some assistance on the movement which, in turn, can be an awesome tool for doing some crazy burnout push up workouts and absolutely nuking the muscles involved.  Variety is key.

 

I also purchased a copy of Josh Bryant’s “Jailhouse Strong” on kindle, just to have some resources.  I’ll say I enjoyed it more than “Tactical Strongman”, and will most likely write a review on it in the future.  It has enough decent stuff in it to get you out of a bind.

 

UPON ARRIVAL

You know what we're here for

Once I got on location, I immediately hit up both gyms and found that they were open and accepting additional members.  One was a very bare bones fitness center type thing, which had ENOUGH for me to get in some training if I needed, but the other one was a total score: a Crossfit styled gym that also had a fully attached bro-weightroom as well, AND 24 hour access.  I secured access to that location while the rest of my group was preoccupied with securing food at a local grocery store instead (once again, it pays off to be prepared) and from there my training woes were assuaged: I had a place to train.  Now to discuss HOW to train while away.

 

TIPS, TRICKS, STRATEGY AND MINDSET

I won't even charge by the minute for this

-Since I’m on a work trip, it means my daily obligations are pretty much nill.  My family isn’t with me, I don’t have chores to accomplish, and all of life’s other little ways of taking your time are pretty much gone.  I have to work during the work hours, and that’s it.  My colleagues like to hang out before/afterwards, but it should surprise none of my regular readers to know I’m not a social person.  I did a few team dinners, but more frequently ate on my own.  What this meant was that I had a LOT of free time, which meant I had a LOT of time to train, which meant…it was time for early morning workouts and 2 a days.

 

-On early morning workouts, here’s a hot tip: if you’re traveling from east to west, DON’T try to adjust your inner clock.  I had a 2 hour time difference, so I got up at 0300 every morning and crushed a near 2 hour workout daily.  This was a very bloated training approach to what I’d do at home, since I had more time.  I could do more sets of main work, add in more assistance work, and I’d end each session with some sort of conditioning finisher.  I was finishing by the time the “early risers” were getting started.  And again, not being terribly social, it wasn’t a big deal that I was getting to bed at 2000 or so.  And getting this done first thing in the day meant that my work couldn’t take my training away based off some emergency/crisis during the trip.  A lot of my co-workers complained that the work schedule was preventing them from working out like they were used to at home, but it’s because they didn’t want to compromise on their schedule, and when you’ve got 1 rental car to share among 5 people logistics for training can get tough.

 

-As for 2 a days, this is something I like doing when I have the time.  But people always hear 2 a day and think it means lifting twice in a day, because we all love Arnold and everyone owns a copy of the Modern Encyclopedia where he talks about doing just that.  My approach to 2 a days tends to be far more sustainable: lifting for 1 workout and conditioning for another.  I took to doing a handful of Crossfit WODs like DT and Fran, along with just some basic Tabata work with battle ropes and assault bikes.  I also took to start including daily training of 50 chins, 30 GHRs, 30 band pull aparts and 20 GHR sit ups, which I’d include in this 2 a day workout.  More reps are always a good thing.  I also did a great workout on a fitness trail at one point where I’d walk around a loop that took about 2 minutes and 50 seconds, knock out a set of chins or pull ups (alternate each set) and repeat.  I ended up doing that to the point of getting 130 reps before walking back to my hotel room.  This is all about making the most of a unique opportunity: lots of free time and zero obligations.

 

-Something people try to do when they travel is try to find some way to make their programming stay as in tact as possible.  This is a dumb choice.  Instead of trying to do 5/3/1 with a leg press and 50lb dumbbells, use this time to just wing it, go full force stupid, and chase a ridiculous pump.  Yeah, I still kept my GENERAL structure of a day for benching, one for squatting, one for deadlifting and one for pressing, but I was using machines I don’t have at home and doing different movements the whole time.  Part of the reason to make it as different as possible is that you will PERFORM differently when you travel.  I didn’t pack my good belt or shoes, but my back-ups for competition, because I didn’t want to risk losing the good ones in travel.  I’m also eating food I’m not used to, training earlier than I’m used to, sleeping differently, etc.  My performance as different, but I had no bearing of how much I was impacted because I was TRAINING differently.  It allowed me to get out of my own head and just push myself hard.  And I can say, having been a few weeks since returned, it all worked out well and I came back bigger and stronger.  I also picked up a few new tricks along the way, and got to find out which of my crackpot theories ended up not panning out when the rubber met the road. 

 

-This is ALSO a great opportunity to try out workouts you’ve had on the bucket list.  2 that were high on my list was the Paul Carter 500 rep shoulder workout and Dan John’s Litvinov-sled drag workout.  Without going too deep into the details, the former was a letdown, but the latter was fantastic, and helped convince me to add a 5^th training day to my schedule focused on front squatting while I’m in my current weight gain phase.