Recently, I wrote about the importance of consistency in any fat loss routine.  There’s no doubt that being consistent is one of the hardest things to do when it comes to diet and exercise.  One of the fastest ways to ruin that consistency is by traveling.

Leaving the comfort of your daily routine can throw your diet and exercise program into chaos.  After all, it’s easy to skip a few days of working out when you don’t have your normal weights and machines to keep you honest.  It’s probably even easier to eat poorly.

That’s why planning ahead is so important when it comes to your fitness regimen when you travel.  You can keep up with your routine, but you’re going to have to make the effort to do it.

Facilities and routine

If you’re a member of a gym that has branches all over the country, then you should look into getting a travel pass for the time you’re away.  Personally, I’m a member of Gold’s gym, and since they have locations all across the country, I can get a pass to access those gyms whenever I travel.

If you aren’t a member of a national gym chain, or you can’t get travel passes, you still have options.  You can get your cardio in fairly easily – all it takes is a little (or lot) of running, which you can do outdoors.  If running isn’t an option, you can do stairs, jump rope, or a sustained session of jumping jacks.

Getting your resistance training in is a little harder.  You’ll need to improvise.  If you have any heavy objects around that are easy to hold on to, you should use those as your weights.  Something like a heavy backpack would work well.  Use that to do basic lifts.  In addition, you can do bodyweight resistance exercises.  Try doing a circuit session of wall squats, pull-ups, pushups, and curl-ups.  Be creative, as long as you can overload your muscles somehow, you’ll be doing yourself a favor.

Timing

Even if you have a travel pass and you can still gain access to all of the weights and machines you need, it’ll do you no good if you don’t actually workout.  It’s extremely easy to lose focus on your routine while you’re traveling, so again, you need to plan ahead.

Figure out a time that you can commit to working out while you’re away, and stick to that time.  Generally, it’s easiest to start your days with a workout when you’re traveling.  If you can workout in the morning, do it.  It’ll make the rest of the day go by much more smoothly.  If you prefer not to workout in the morning, figure out what time works best for you and commit to it before you even leave your hometown.

Eating

Eating right may be even harder than getting in your workouts.  You won’t have your normal go-to foods with you, so you’ll need to keep your diet as clean as possible.  I suggest bringing along some protein bars with you.  That way, you’ll have some decent food to eat when you’re out and about.  When you go to restaurants, try and get the leanest thing on the menu.  If you’re staying at a hotel, or you have access to a fridge, go out and buy some basic foods on your first day.  That way, you’ll be able to fall back on your staples without having to resort to eating out.

If you do go out to a special place, or you just want to try a local delicacy, go ahead and have it.  Don’t feel guilty.  Part of the excitement of traveling is tasting new foods.  Just make sure that you eat clean the majority of your time away, and you should be okay.

Make it work

There’s no doubt that you’ll probably have to make some compromises here and there.  You won’t be able to grab that safety tub of whey when you’re 2,000 miles away from it, but with a concentrated, sustained effort, you’ll be able to keep up your routine well enough that you can go into maintenance mode until you return from your trip.

Image by pemfivekay.