How to Travel Without Tanking Your Workouts and Nutrition – Tips From Fitness Industry Frequent Flyers
I’m not a travel blogger with advice for backpacking across Europe. I do however travel extensively across North America to fitness conferences, podcast appearances, and visiting my family in Newfoundland. Along with my industry friends, I’ve cobbled together some of our best ideas to stay active, eat nutritious food, and sustain your energy for a productive and fun trip.
1)
Plan Your Gym Access In Advance
An advance online search should tell you if your hotel has a decent gym or if there are gyms nearby. Worst case, a call to the hotel will verify the existance of the gym.
Mike Doehla, founder of Stronger U, plans ahead. “Before arrival, scope out of the local gym scene. Have a plan for when and where you’ll workout prior to arrival so you don’t have another reason to skip the workout. The last thing you want to do is to sit there googling where to workout. As we know, any point of resistance will translate into a reason not to workout.”
Logan Dube, director of education for the PPSC, goes a step further. “When booking your hotel/accommodation, consider your workouts as part of that decision. Does the hotel have a gym or a pass for a local facility? Can you pick a place that’s close to a gym or a studio that has drop-in classes similar to your current training plan?”
Schedule workouts in your itinerary so they’re locked in.
Nathalia Melo, former Miss Olympia, prioritizes her workouts, “I get my workouts done earlier in the day when possible. Especially when I’m away or have a busy schedule, it helps to get it out of the way and not leave it to chance.”
If I’m travelling to visit family in Newfoundland, there’s popular national gym chain location a short drive from my family home, making it easy to train as usual. If I’m away for a weekend conference, I often take a different tact. I workout so much thatI can afford to stay immersed in the event while taking a few days off.
2)
Be Adaptable With Your Workouts
Hotel gyms rarely rival the array of machines and equipment found in your regular gym. Most hotel gyms will feature a combination of dumbbells, cables, and machines. At least there’s always a treadmill.
Even beginners can make variations work within their programs, while experienced lifters can assess the available tools and compile an effective full body workout. Researching the hotel gym ahead of time lets you plan modified workouts in advance.
My normal workouts rarely run under 90 minutes, but there’s no reason to skip a travel workout if you don’t have your usual time and equipment. A partial workout beats no workout, or condense your plan into supersets.
Nathlia Melo “aims for consistency, not perfection. I’m not trying to be perfect—just doing enough to keep momentum going.”
Need a simple full body dumbbell workout you can do without friction? Try this:
Dumbbell reverse lunges – 3-4 sets of 5-8 reps per leg
Superset with:
Neutral grip incline dumbbell bench press – 3-4 sets of 7-12 reps
3 point dumbbell rows – 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Superset with:
Seated dumbbell shoulder press – 3 sets of 7-12 reps
Supported single leg Romanian deadlifts – 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Superset with:
Dumbbell curls -3 sets of 8-12 reps
Sub or mix and match your preferences, or use extra equipment as available.
Take the last 1-2 sets of each exercise to within a rep or two of failure and take 60 to 120 seconds rest between each set.
3)
Practice a Non-Negotiable Identity For Movement
When travelling to speak at conferences or appear on podcasts, my friends Nick Shaw, Luka Hocevar, and Don Saladino insist on moving their bodies. The best thing to feel better when short on sleep, jet lagged, and sitting through long flights is to get blood flowing.
Logan Dube has spent years travelling weekends to teach seminars. Movement can’t be optional. “A long travel day, especially if you’re changing timezones, can make you feel tired, stiff and off your game. If possible, when you land/arrive, get a workout in. Go to the gym, go for a run, do some yoga in your hotel room – just move.”
Luka, Nick, and I frequently speak at the same events and usually get away for a workout together and hang out. This doubles up on quality time close friends we might only see a few times a year.
Mike Doehla echoes this. “We all do better with a buddy. Talk with some of your travel partners whether friends, family, or coworkers to have a small accountability group.”
4)
Walk If You Can’t Gym
Muscle doesn’t atrophy in a week. Make a point of walking to explore and experience new cities. Extra steps can also give you latitude to indulge in local cuisine.
Lavanya Krishnan, epidemiologist and personal trainer, travels extensively around the world and won’t compromise on physical activity. “Walk everywhere, as much and as often as possible.” This included the famed Petra in Jordan.
Mike Doehla takes cardio plus getting around up a few notches. “Do your run outside. Give yourself a reason to explore with a bit more scenery. Rent a bike and tour the city. If you’re not a fan of traditional cardio it’s a great way to get in a workout and sightsee at the same time.”
Outside of events and people, some of my favourite memories from travel are walking around in different cities, not of sitting in hotel rooms. Having grown up in a rural northern town in Newfoundland, getting to walk Venice Beach, the Vegas strip, or through Central Park, Times Square, and all over Mid Town Manhattan, is like walking into a myth or a movie. I hold equally fond and vivid memories from walking in downtown Spokane, Phoenix, Columbus, and Tampa Bay.
5)
Plan Nutrition Ahead Too
Dr. Christle Guevarra Co-Author of Bodybuilding Anatomy and member of the RP Strength team says, “You can easily find nutritious snacks like Greek yogurt, fruit, veggies, sandwiches, and high-protein options (bars, shakes, and even protein chips) at most North American gas stations and convenience stores.”
Nick Shaw says, ”I travel a good bit for personal and for work. Typically, one of the first things I must do is stop at a grocery store or pharmacy to get some protein snacks and drinks once I get to where I’m going. With Genius Shot, I no longer have to do that and can carry a handful through the airport and on flights. That has been my biggest hack for getting in protein easier while traveling.”
Genius Shot puts 23 grams of high quality protein in a 100 gram bottle, making it TSA compliant and a godsend for travelling. Plus I’ve always been leery of bringing zip lock bags of white (creatine or vanilla whey) or brown (chocolate whey) powders on international flights, fully anticipating security scrutiny and delays.
Mike Doehla suggests, “Download a food delivery app and have healthy food delivered to your hotel or Airbnb. This way you aren’t tempted to eat out the whole time. And be sure to call the hotel and request a fridge and microwave. Pack your protein. Genius Shots, protein bars, and powder are a huge help. As we know protein is hard to come by when traveling and this makes it much easier.”
Logan Dube suggests, “Nail your breakfast (including 30-50g of protein.) Start your day off by getting a good chunk of your protein in early. If you’re out throughout the day and what’s available is more limited, at least you banked a good amount that promotes stable blood sugar and satiety. If you’re not sure what’s going to be available, packing some protein bars or a small container of protein powder to help anchor your breakfast. It’s usually easy enough to find yogurt, milk or maybe some hard-boiled eggs to go along with that. (Can you hit up a grocery store and have some quick & easy things available in your room?)”
Nathalia Melo “thinks of calories like a budget. If I know I’ll be having a heavier dinner, I don’t go crazy earlier in the day. That might mean having 1 slice of toast instead of 2 in the morning—not starving myself, just being smart with the spend.”
6)
Pack For Success
I used to travel with a carry on roller bag until I noticed my friends at conferences traveling with just a backpack. They kept gym gear on hand, able to workout on a whim, while my gym gear was usually back at the hotel. I began searching for a durable travel backpack that could double as my everyday work and gym bag. I settled on a KNKG backpack as I’d owned one of the brand’s duffel bags for years and it never experience even minor wear.
Now my KNKG backpack goes wherever I go, ready with a change of clothes, knee sleeves, and headphones. Instead of feeling restricted by a roller bag.
Nathalia Melo says “I pack enough workout clothes for the whole trip. That way I don’t end up skipping workouts just because I don’t have clean clothes.”
Logan Dube suggests, “Pack your shoes first. This is my fave travel hack. Pack your gym/training shoes, but also pick a pair that you’re comfortable walking a lot in. Packing gym & walking shoes helps me prioritize training and movement along with work/sightseeing.”
Travel often enough and you learn that you never need the extra clothes and items you worry you might. Streamlining your packing down to the essentials allow you travel without checking luggage. I experience less stress now that I triage everything down to what fits in a backpack and small personal item.
Travel presents uncertainty and stress. Having a framework for staying active and eating healthy removes added stress and keeps you physically and mentally sharp to enjoy your travel.
A Note About My Sponsors and Some Codes to Save You Money:
With the growth of my podcast – The Lift Free and Diet Hard Podcast, comes sponsors. My sponsors are brands I love and for some, have used for years, including KNKG gym backpacks and duffel bags, and RP Strength and their Genius Shot.
I’ve owned a KNKG duffel bag since 2020 and it’s never shown any signs of wear. Last year I bought a KNKG Edge backpack take it everywhere. I love the brand and their gear and I have a 15% discount for you if you’re in need of a gym bag or backpack that will last you forever. These are premium bags you won’t need to replace.
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I’ve known Nick Shaw and Dr. Mike Israetel, the founders of RP Strength for several years, travelled to RP seminars, done their nutrition certification, read their books, and soaked up their educational resources. I’ve had Dr. Christle Guevarra speak at my conference in 2023 and 2024. I now use and am sponsored by the RP Hypertrophy App. I’ve auto-regulated my own programs for years. While this has worked really well overall, I sometimes find I don’t have a structured progression or I take liberties with how hard I train. This app plans for me and keeps me more accountable. If it’s in the app I do it. I don’t negotiate with myself to skip things.
You can save $50 on an annual subscription by clicking here:
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Genius Shot is a 23 gram shot of beta-lactoglobulin (BLG), the best part of whey protein, created by the team at RP Strength. Genius Shot comes in a 100 ml bottle, making it small enough to take on flights. You can check out Genius Shot. (Sorry Canadians we cannot yet buy it here due to waiting on approval by Health Canada).
