Roadtrip Training
Maintaining momentum while traveling is a must for military professionals.
In the absence of ideal logistics to support your typical approach to training, most notably time and equipment, it pays to not let imperfection become the enemy of good. Sometimes you can carve out enough space in your schedule and fork over a drop-in fee to a CrossFit box or a big box facility but that tends to be the exception.
You need to have some shorter, less equipped options on hand that allow you to get in a solid session, whether it’s performed outside, in your room, or in the hotel gym.
Worth noting, some professionals I’ve seen consistently prioritize program adherence while traveling had to deprioritize other things like networking, learning, or bonding with coworkers in an offsite environment. These sacrifices can be offset by training in a local military unit’s facility, meeting their staff or unit members, and taking your team with you. Be mindful about your training becoming a three hour lonewolf excursion that spits in the face of your primary reason for being on the road.
Purpose of Roadshow Recreation
There are three things I tend to aim for when training on the road (listed in no particular order).
Maintain progress toward current goals - This priority is best pursued by finding an ideal place to train or making more subtle adjustments to my current program that account for logistical differences. Having a coach or coaching knowledge makes this a more convenient option than when you’re a warfighter without coaching savvy or support. I will often condense the primary lifts from multiple sessions into a single session to minimize time away from the goings on.
Word of caution, don’t run the rack with bicep curls and tricep extensions no matter how innocent Lacey might seem when she suggests it. You won’t be able to write or type for at least a few days…
Socialize with coworkers, friends, or new connections - This priority might mean joining a giant group training session led by my best buddy JC,, or it might mean dropping into an early morning yoga session led by a conference presenter. One time I got to train at Juggernaut with another best bud (and coach at the time) Hunter, before smashing some beers at the Kilos & Kegs event. And football on the beach - Top Gun 2 style - will forever be a favorite memory with the DC coaching crew - not just because most of us threw up after a pizza eating contest.
Explore the area - One of my favorite ways to fitness on the road is to get outside and explore the local scenery. Oftentimes this involves a solo run around the city or local trails but I’ve surfed with my friend James, biked mountains with my friend Coach Giovanni, and hiked with countless friends and colleagues over the years.
Travel Training Options
Don’t get me wrong, traveling for work will throw you off your routine. For short trips, I don’t fear some late nights laughing and talking shop / life with people you don’t see often enough. However, whether recreational or more intentional, investing in some recreational or more structured fitness can help you maintain momentum so that your travels don’t excessively set you back.
For longer trips, you’ll want to approach training more intentionally. Even when conditions don’t facilitate progress, they likely suffice for staving off degradation of your physicality.
I share five of my preferred ways to get in some activity while traveling below.
The Traditional
Change without changing.
Ideally, the “traditional” involves performing your typical training program with minimal deviation. However, logistical shortcomings likely mean you’ll need to make some adjustments to training variables like exercises, intensity, volume, and rest.
Whether hotel gym resistance options or body weight, you might need to get creative to create a mechanical disadvantage for true strength work (example, replace a Barbell Back Squat with a Rear Foot Elevated Dumbbell Split Squat). When sufficient load is not available, you can increase time under tension by playing with tempo or number of repetitions. This might not do much for strength but it could help maintain the mass that supports it. Performing movements explosively could also help innervate the same fibers that lend themselves to heavy lifting. Here are some ways to make an exercise “harder”: https://www.agdready.com/blog/5-smarter-ways-to-make-an-exercise-harder
Warfighters often struggle with movement competency so touching the major movement patterns while traveling, even if only lightly loaded, can go a long way toward strength maintenance.
The Default
Push-Ups. Sit-Ups. Run.
Many warfighters default to the old reliable physical fitness test events for their travel training. I’m surprisingly not that mad at it. I feel it’s more important to carve out time for physical activity than it is to perform idealistic training. Any type of training keeps the warfighter in motion and avoids the all or nothing pitfall too many fall into. Throw a decent warmup and some Pull-Ups or Inverted Rows into the mix and you just might get something worthwhile out of your default session. In case you’re wondering what a “decent” warmup looks like, I talked about it on a recent podcast: https://www.agdready.com/podcast/episode-6-build-a-better-warmup
The Complex
I love the density of complexes.
If you’re short on time, equipment, or both, knocking out a few rounds of a complex can kick your ass in under 20 minutes. Complexes travel absurdly well and they’re one of my personal go to options since it’s typically time I’m short on if traveling for work. I went in depth about how to build complexes in a previous blog: https://www.agdready.com/blog/complexes-made-simple
Be sure to keep a bodyweight option in your back pocket.
The Explorer
It’s silly to be somewhere with waterfalls just to stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.
Get outside! Explore! Do something new and challenge your comfort zone. My first time surfing, and mountain biking both occurred during work trips. I’ve logged countless miles running or walking around cities, trails, and beaches. Sometimes the hours spent inside air conditioned gyms just so you can stick to the sets, reps, and weights prescribed in your training are hours of missed opportunity to see or do somewhere or something new.
The Prisoner
Sometimes you’re stuck in your cell, whether figuratively or literally.
Having a wide variety of calisthenic options can help you be creative in tight quarters without equipment. Intensive plyometrics can keep you explosive while extensive plyos keep you conditioned. Isometrics can keep you stable. Yoga can keep you flexible and relaxed. Gymnastic skill work can keep you challenged. Basic bodyweight resistance exercises can keep you strong and durable.
Prison strong is a thing for a reason.
Endex
Your training doesn’t need to take a hit just because you’re hitting the road.
Worry less about sticking to the program and worry more about maintaining momentum while away from home, especially for shorter excursions. I encourage a more organized and intentional approach to extended trips like deployments and long-term TDY. Consult with a coach to make the most of your roadtrip training.
Join the AGD Warfighter training team and I’d be happy to provide you with coached travel training options.
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