Lose Weight During a Road Trip!

Before traveling, make sure you pack healthy snacks, including fruits (apples, bananas, etc.), vegetables (sugar snap peas, mini carrots, etc.), good carbohydrates (low-sugar/hi-fiber cereal, whole grain breads, etc), and lean protein (fat-free turkey breast, nuts/legumes, etc.). This will keep you from eating unhealthy airplane food or packaged and sugar-laden convenience store foods.

• Be sure to bring exercise clothes and shoes. The simple act of packing the right gear will be more likely to make you work up a sweat at some point.

• Use the internet or call a friend to find out where the local gyms or parks are located. If you know where to go, you'll be more likely to actually go there.

• Purchase and pack an elastic exercise band. It'll be a great investment in your fitness, and it's much more light and portable than a set of dumbbells.

• Write down your workout *before* you leave on vacation. Make a list of 6-10 body weight exercises, and complete them as a circuit, 15 repetitions, 3x through with minimal rest. You'll be more likely to complete it if it's written down. Here's a sample workout that would take 20-30 minutes, and could be accomplished in the morning when you wake up:

1. Body Weight Squat
2. Wide Grip Pushup
3. Elastic Band Side Raise
4. Elastic Band Front Raise
5. Elastic Band Bicep Curl
6. Body Weight Reverse Lunge
7. Elastic Band Tricep Extension
8. Narrow Grip Pushup
9. Glute Squeeze Crunch (a crunch with butt cheeks squeezed together as hard as possible)

• Have realistic expectations. You will not be able to maintain your normal fitness regimen, so don't set yourself up for feeling despaired about breaking your routine. It's OK to change it up every now and then, and you might actually find your body responds favorably to something new.

• Enjoy the scenery. Make your travel destination a part of your workout, by touring your environment via jogging, walking, bicycling, swimming, skiing, etc. The more you places you can get to by foot, the better (and that includes the stairs instead of the elevator!).

• Perform mini-workouts. If you simply never have the time to exercise, supercharge your metabolism by throwing random pushups crunches, squats, or stair sprints into your daily routine.

Above all, remember to enjoy yourself! If you want to learn some new exercises to throw even more spice into your travel workout routine, you should sign-up for personal training with Pacific Elite Fitness. You'll learn Hindu Squats, Hindu Pushups, Scissor Squat Jumps, 6-Inch Stomach Flatteners, Reverse Pushups, Grasshoppers, Mountain Climbers, Reverse Back Bends, and a ton of other exercises that will give you enough variety for a new and quick body weight workout every single day of your vacation. Sign-up today at www.pacificfit.net.

Until next time, train smart,
Ben Greenfield
M.S. PE, NSCA-CPT, CSCS