Travelling and Training, Tips and Tricks.

Travelling and training don't go very well together especially when you don't have access to good facilities. Travelling for pleasure is a little easier because you can make your own schedule. However, travelling for work can prove a little challenging especially if you are moving from place to place and or have functions or dinners to attend after work.

A little forward planning and a lot of discipline are required to ensure you keep up some training.

As a sprinter, there is seldom a running track within close proximity so a little compromise is required. As a middle or long distance runner a good session is a little easier to achieve and allows you to see some of the local city.

Some ideas for training:

Hotel Gyms - Sometimes they are very poorly equipped however something is better than nothing. I find making up a good 20-minute circuit is a good option when there is limited equipment for lifting.

Hotel room workout - There are plenty of body weight exercises that you can do in your hotel room to get a workout in or a yoga session or just take the time out to sit and have a good stretch whilst listening to some music.

Bands - I typically take them with me all the time now. They are a very versatile and lightweight travelling tool. They are great for adding additional load to body weight exercises or extra weight to equipment when the actual weights are limited. They are also great to add joint distraction to your mobility exercises. Click here for more on mobility

Hills - I love hill training when I travel. Unless travelling to Holland, there is usually a hill around that will put your legs and your system under a bit of stress. For the best results try varying the rest times, distance and speed. They will maintain your fitness whilst travelling and even add to your strength and endurance.

Grass run thru's - If you have access to a park or an oval give your legs a little break from the pounding of the track and complete some grass tempo runs. 2x5-10, 80-100m with walk-back recovery.

Water running - If your hotel has a pool and it’s deep enough, do some water running.

Exercise Bike - As a track athlete jumping on an exercise bike and riding for 45 minutes is pretty useless and pretty boring.  Actually, it’s pretty useless for anyone. Try doing some high-intensity interval training. Find the hardest load on the bike that you can ride for at least 30 seconds at 120 rpm. Do 2 sets of 3-5 reps with 1-minute rest.

Happy Travels