2944: How to Train When You’re Traveling or on Vacation by Nia Shanks on Exercising Consistently

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Health Daily, How to Train When Youre Traveling or on Vacation by Nia Shanks of niashanks.com and I'm your narrator, Dr. Neal. Hey, welcome to another week of Optimal Health Daily where I read some of the best blogs covering health and fitness just like an audiobook. And then on Fridays, I answer your questions. Now, let's get to today's post as we optimize your life.

[00:00:24] How to Train When Youre Traveling or on Vacation by Nia Shanks of niashanks.com How should you train when you're traveling or while you're on vacation? Should you find a way to stick with your current program? Should you skip training altogether and participate in some other physical activity? Should you simply adapt your current program based on the equipment that's available? I'm going to answer those questions and more coming up.

[00:00:52] I've managed to create four distinct categories and options for people to choose from when traveling or enjoying a much needed vacation. No matter which one you choose, rest assured you can still have some fun and get the results you're after. It's time for me to introduce you to the loyalist, the tweaker, the experimenter, and the player. The loyalist This is the person who is determined to continue with their current training program and they'll hunt down a gym that can accommodate their training needs.

[00:01:21] This individual will train the usual days per week to which they're accustomed. Basically, this individual will approach the training program completely the same as if they weren't traveling or on vacation. Nothing changes in regards to their workouts. I don't need to give any information for this category because you just keep on doing what you've been doing by finding a gym or other facility that has whatever you need to stick with your current program. The tweaker This is the person who will make do with whatever they have available.

[00:01:50] Perhaps they're staying at a hotel with a small gym and they have no interest in finding a gym in the area. They adjust their training program according to the equipment they have within their grasp. This could mean doing goblet squats instead of using a barbell or dumbbell bench press instead of a barbell if the hotel gym only has dumbbells. This individual simply adapts to whatever is at their disposal. No barbell for hip thrusts? Then they'll do single leg hip thrusts.

[00:02:15] This person will keep doing their scheduled workouts but making a few tweaks based on equipment availability. In addition, this person may scale back their training. Instead of training four days per week following an upper-lower split, they may train two days per week using total body workouts. They tailor their training program based on the equipment they have in addition to available training time, tweaking away as needed. The experimenter.

[00:02:40] This trainee will do well taking the travel or vacation time to do something completely out of the ordinary. Maybe they'll use the hotel gym and do exercises they don't typically do. For instance, if they primarily train with a barbell, maybe they'll do nothing but dumbbell and bodyweight exercises. Maybe they'll do all unilateral work instead of strictly bilateral lifting per usual. Maybe they'll go outside for a bodyweight workout or run hill sprints instead of training in the gym like they usually do.

[00:03:07] Or maybe this person will take along a few simple training tools like a jungle gym, some resistance bands, and maybe a kettlebell or two and put together some out-of-the-ordinary creative workouts. Maybe this person will train exclusively with total body workouts, setting up all the exercises in a circuit fashion because normally, they do upper and lower splits, focusing on a single exercise at a time. No matter what, this individual will find a way to train hard and consistently,

[00:03:33] but they'll do so in a way that's quite different from when they're at home. This could serve as a mental break from their typical training and provide a refreshing, energizing change of pace. The player. This individual takes advantage of new surroundings and plays instead of worrying about training. They don't even think about stepping foot into a gym, much less searching for one than following an organized training program. They're also not likely to even look at the hotel gym facility.

[00:04:00] That means this individual thrives on being active and having fun in a completely different way, unrelated to lifting weights or training in the gym. The activities they participate in depend on what's around them. In my own case, for example, I went to Maine and New Hampshire last month. I spent a week hiking, climbing on rocks, and exploring the area. Not once did I even think about training at the hotel gym or doing some structured strength training program. In fact, I'll be doing the same thing in a couple of months when I go to North Carolina.

[00:04:29] I'll be hiking, mountain biking, and doing other physical activities that the area provides. The player's main goal is to have fun while being active, and the options here are limitless. Maybe you can go snowboarding or skiing, or hiking, kayaking, or some other physical activity. To the player, the only thing that matters is having a blast while being physically active. To the player, staying out of the gym for the duration of the vacation or while traveling, and being active in a completely different way,

[00:04:56] can be a welcome mental and physical break from training in the gym. Once they return home and to their normal routine, they pick up where they left off with a new excitement for lifting weights as a result of the break. So, which one is right for you? You'll probably have figured this out as you heard the article. Hopefully, you found yourself nodding in agreement with a particular category, or maybe one sounded more exciting or suited to your personality than the others. If so, you know which protocol to follow. This can even change over time.

[00:05:25] For instance, I used to be the tweaker back when I participated in powerlifting. Later on, I was the experimenter. Finally, and currently, I'm the player. When I travel now, I don't worry about strength training, and more often than not, I don't even take along travel tools like I used to. I play and have fun. The category you fit into can change over time, depending on your physique and performance goals. I don't think there's a right or wrong category, as long as you're having fun in the process and getting closer to your goals.

[00:05:55] Just choose the category that fits your goals, personality, lifestyle, and whatever will make you happy. In the end, you need to enjoy your training, however you choose to do it while traveling and on vacation. You just listened to the post titled, How to Train When You're Traveling or On Vacation, by Nia Shanks of niashanks.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. Oikos presents 15 seconds of strength. Here we go.

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[00:06:53] So I don't know about you, but I felt like I was kind of straddling two categories. For me, I'm definitely part loyalist. I like to find a gym that can accommodate my needs. So in my perfect world, I'd find a facility that can accommodate my workouts. But if I can't, then I'll kind of shift into the tweaker zone where I will modify as needed. And don't get me wrong. I love hiking. I love snowboarding and skiing. I like doing all those things. Paddleboarding, I recently tried. Loved it.

[00:07:22] But for me, I don't feel the same unless I get my structured workout in somehow. So while I'm still enjoying myself, doing things that I know count as physical activity, I still like to get in my structured workout whenever possible. I realize I'm not always the most flexible person, and I think it kind of shows through when it comes to my workouts. But I just know, in order for me to keep my sanity, I've got to hit the gym. I guess I'm just a true gym rat. All right, that'll do it for today. Thank you for listening every day.

[00:07:51] I'll be back tomorrow as usual. So I'll see you there where your optimal life awaits.