If you are a person who travels often for their job, it can be difficult to stay on track when it comes to working out and eating healthy. However, going on a trip doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your fitness and/or eating habits. Here are several ideas on how to work out while traveling.
Find a Local CrossFit Gym
We CrossFitters love our workouts and missing one or two a week is often more devastating than suffering through the workout itself. Thankfully, with the rise in popularity of CrossFit all over the globe, it is rare that you will travel to a different city that doesn’t have at least one CrossFit box. You can use the CrossFit.com affiliate map (located here: https://map.crossfit.com/) to find a local gym. Additionally, you can often just google ‘CrossFit gyms in name of city” and that will often pop up with several results.
Once you have found the box you want to drop in at, there are several steps you need to take before you show up for a class:
- Contact the gym. Most CrossFit boxes have their own website where you can find the contact information for the head coach, owner, or simply send an email via the ‘Contact Us’ page. Let them know that you would like to drop in for a class and ask if there is anything you need to fill out beforehand.
- Sign a waiver. This step depends on the gym; sometimes they will ask you to sign a waiver beforehand via their website or they might tell you to sign it when you come in for class.
- Sign up for a class. Once again, this will depend on the gym, but check the website for the box you have selected to see if they require members to reserve a class. This will also let the coach know that you are dropping in.
- Arrive to class early. This is especially important if you have to sign a waiver before you hop in on a class. Show up to class at least 15 minutes early so you can get a feel for the gym, meet the coach, etc.
- Drop-in fee. Nowadays, most CrossFit boxes will charge you some sort of drop-in fee, which can range anywhere from $15-$30+. If there is an option to pay this beforehand via the gym’s website, make sure you do this before you arrive for class so you don’t have to worry about it when you get to the gym.
Workout on Your Own
If finding a local CrossFit gym seems a bit overwhelming, don’t lose heart. There are many different resources out there that help you maintain your fitness while traveling. If you simply Google ‘travel wods’ you will be bombarded with several different CrossFit affiliate websites that list different workout options. Most of these require little to no equipment and can be done in your hotel room, the hotel gym, or your AirBnB.
If you don’t want to scroll through numerous websites, the WOD – Travel Wod Generator for HIIT Workouts app is a good option. This app contains several cool features, including: new workouts being added all the time, instructional videos on how to do the movements, a timing feature, a database to save all of your workout information, and much more.
Finally, if you have always dreamed of creating your own programming but are not sure where to begin, there are a couple of wod formats that are easy to use. The first is tabata: 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. Essentially, pick 4 different movements (Ex: burpees, air squats, v-ups, jumping lunges) and complete 8 rounds of tabata for each. Secondly, you can use the emom format: every minute on the minute. Once again, pick several different movements that you want to include in your workout (Ex: mountain climbers, push-ups, sit-ups, flutter kicks) and then decide on how many rounds you want to complete.
Get Outside
Sometimes the best kind of workout is getting out of the gym and enjoying nature. If you don’t want to mess with finding a local affiliate or finding the motivation to work out on your own, then your best option might be to go on a hike and enjoy the scenery. When looking for the best hiking in each state, there are several websites that boast impressive lists: outsideonline.com; thrillist.com; and travelpulse.com. If the hikes from the above lists aren’t near where you will be staying, you can always check out the state’s website for information on state and national parks and outdoor activities.