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I just spent an awesome 5 days in Tampa Florida attending fitness seminars with all the best fitness experts in the world.
No matter what level of fitness knowledge you think you may have, you always need to look and learn from other trainers and coaches to improve your mind and body. As the author of Dad Fitness, I still strive to learn and improve my knowledge to help others get the fastest results possible.
After spending 5 days hanging out with guys like Craig Ballantyne of Men’s Health and fitness icon Shawn Phillips, I started to pick up on some of the secrets these guys use to stay in awesome shape even while traveling.
So here are 5 Tips To Stay Fit While Traveling.
1. Workout No Matter What. After a busy 5 days of sitting on my butt in meetings and seminars I still managed to workout 4 out of the 5 days while in Florida. Which is even more than I workout at home!
The first day I got together with Rommel Acda of FitInAHurry.com, and Deb Froehlich of CelluiteCircuits.com and we trained together in the hotel gym. It wasn’t very big but had enough to get a great workout using our bodyweight and a few dumbbells.
Then the next day along with Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training we all headed to the local Powerhouse gym to get a great workout in a more upbeat gym atmosphere.
Wether it’s a quick hotel room bodyweight workout, a hotel gym workout or a Powerhouse gym workout, just make sure you do some exercise while traveling to offset all the sitting down on airplanes and in meetings.
2. All You Can Eat. The great thing about travelling to new cities is experiencing new places to eat. But if you’re not careful you could be paying the airlines extra weight on the way home, and I am not talking about your luggage…
So do what all the fit trainers did every morning to start their day off right; eat a nutritious breakfast. Even though our hotel served a FREE buffet breakfast every morning, most everyone who is in great shape skipped the bacon and breads and had a huge freshly prepared omelet stuffed with veggies with a little fruit on the side, me included. Keep lunch small with a salad or whole grain wrap so you don’t get sleepy during the afternoon meetings, and enjoy a nice dinner with some lean meat and veggies and even a glass of wine.
3. Drink Up. I don’t mean spend your nights at the hotel bar getting sloshed. I mean drink lots of cold refreshing water. It will keep you full and focused and your mind off the donuts and croissants sitting across the conference table.
It’s really easy to drink lots of H2O during these hotel conferences as they usually serve you pitchers of water in your meeting rooms and in the big conference rooms. Just to be sure you always have water on hand, pick up a couple of litres of spring water at the hotel gift shop and keep on ice in your room.
4. Ditch the Cab. If you are up for some sight seeing or heading to a nearby restaurant for dinner, ditch the cab fare, get some directions and walk there instead. Google Maps on your smart phone works great for this! Walking is a great way to see a new city and burn some calories. Strolling back to the hotel after dinner is a great way to end the evening and ease the guilt from that decadent dessert.
You can also try to find a park or gym a couple miles away and walk or run there to get your heart pumping and your warmup out of the way.
5. Recharge. If you’re traveling solo, staying at a hotel is a great way to get some extra rest and relaxation. You get the bed to yourself, and you have no worries of the kids jumping in the bed at the wee hours of the morning.
It’s also a great time to catch up on some work or read that book you have been trying to get through. A dip in the hotel pool and a hot sauna afterwards might be just what you need to recharge your batteries before you get back on the road.
So there you have it, 5 Travel Tips To Stay Fit so you’re wife still recognizes you when you get home…
How do YOU stay fit on the road? Let me know and leave a comment below.
I am really excited to share with you a Dad Fitness exclusive interview with best selling fitness author, Lou Schuler.
As a fitness book worm I personally get every book Lou puts out because they are always top notch and full of the latest information in regards to effective workouts and healthy eating.
Lou has been in the game a long time and seen a lot of the fitness fads come and go.
So I asked him to give me his thoughts on fitness, family and fatherhood…
SB. For people who don’t know, tell us a little about yourself Lou, and how you got started in the fitness industry?
LS. I’m a journalist who’s also a fitness professional. Before I started at Men’s Fitness in 1992, I’d had a fairly conventional journalism career, working at daily and weekly newspapers and regional magazines. I worked at MF for six years, the last three as fitness editor, and then moved to Men’s Health for the next six years, first as fitness editor, then as fitness director.
The Testosterone Advantage Plan, my first book as an author, came out in December 2001. That was followed by Home Workout Bible, Book of Muscle, The New Rules of Lifting, and The New Rules of Lifting for Women. The third book in the New Rules of Lifting series will come out in January 2011.
SB. I hear you are also a busy dad and husband as well. How many kids do you have and what is your favorite part of being a dad?
LS. I have three kids, who are 13, 11, and 9. My favorite part of being a dad is not being anything like my own dad, who was a wreck physically and disengaged emotionally.
SB. Lou, how did your fitness philosophy change once you became a father?
LS. Most of the changes in my approach came about because of the research I was doing for the books I wrote. My diet changed from low-fat to one with balanced macronutrients while writing Testosterone Advantage Plan. I also got my CSCS in 2001, and that coincided with more of an emphasis on training for strength and performance. Coincidentally, I found it was more efficient to train that way.
SB. As a fitness author, what are the 3 biggest mistakes you see busy dads trying to staying fit make with their workouts?
LS. I can’t really say what other guys do or don’t do. I really just see the guys in my own gym, and most of them seem to have pretty solid workout programs. And I also hate to criticize the minority of adults who’re actually making an effort to stay in shape. I could find ways to improve most of the routines I see, but I’m sure at least a few of those guys are thinking the same thing about my workouts.
SB. What do your workouts currently look like?
LS. I do full-body workouts every time in the gym, so if I have to miss a workout because of an unforeseen problem, I don’t have to worry about unbalanced training.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’ll start with a lower-body exercise — a squat variation one workout, a deadlift variation the next, and a lunge variation the next. My upper-body work alternates between bilateral and unilateral movements. I like to do almost every exercise from a standing or kneeling position, to keep the core muscles engaged.
I also move pretty quickly from one exercise to the next. I’m not trying to add size — in fact, I’ve lost a few pounds in the past year — so I minimize rest periods and aim for more of a conditioning effect.
SB. What are some of your favorite healthy meals and snacks?
LS. My favorite is one I got from TC Luoma of TMUSCLE: natural peanut butter mixed in a bowl with low-carb chocolate protein powder and low-fat milk. Really hits the spot, and satisfies my hunger for hours.
SB. Why do you think it’s important for us dads to stay fit?
LS. Our kids should see that fitness is a lifelong pursuit. If they see us make time for it, and invest energy in it, they’ll understand that it’s an important part of life.
In our parents’ generation, there wasn’t much of an organized structure for fitness activities. You played outside as a kid, then maybe you played on sports teams through high school or even college, if you were one of the lucky ones. Many of our dads also did physical training in the military, where it was used as a punishment as much as a tool for activity-specific performance. Once you were out of the military, and presumably finished with sports, there wasn’t really any structure in place to encourage lifelong fitness.
But with our kids, everything is structured. There’s almost no such thing as backyard sports, or neighborhood games. If you play something, you play it on a team. If you do pure exercise, it happens in gym class. So it’s important for them to see their parents using those same structures to pursue lifelong fitness, and doing it voluntarily.
We all know as parents how important it is to read to our kids, and to have lots of books around the house. But it’s also important for kids to see their parents reading books for pleasure. That helps them understand that they aren’t just reading because adults say they have to. They’re reading because it’s such an important part of a fulfilling life.
Now we apply that to sports and fitness. At a certain point, I think kids start to ask themselves if they’re playing sports because they enjoy it, or because their parents expect them to play. If Dad is still playing something in middle age — golf, bowling, slow-pitch softball, or anything else that involves competition and some degree of coordination and focus — it reinforces the idea that sports are something you do for yourself.
If they understand that Dad goes to the gym three times a week because he enjoys it and considers it important, it sends the message that structured exercise isn’t just something you do in gym class because the school says you have to.
SB. Anything you would like to add? Any favorite tips you learned from other experts over the years?
One thing I’ve learned from experience is that you have to place as much importance on your wife’s fitness program as you do on your own. That is, you make sure she has as much opportunity to get to the gym or get outside for a run as you do. You can’t pressure her to train if she doesn’t want to — I think that’s obvious. But you have to make sure there’s equal opportunity within your household. Sometimes that means skipping your own workout when something comes up, rather than forcing her to miss hers.
During those times when you simply need to train more often than she needs or wants to train, you have to negotiate the opportunity to do that, rather than just assuming you deserve it by virtue of the fact you’re more ambitious or disciplined.
The benefits come back to you in two major ways. First, of course, is the health and stability of your relationship. You don’t want your wife resenting your desire to be healthy and fit, or to see it as a wedge you use to shift the priorities of the marriage in your direction. Second, your kids see that fitness isn’t just a priority for one individual in their house, but for everyone. If Mom and Dad have fitness pursuits that make them happier, that’s the most positive message we could possibly send to our kids.
SB. Where can people find out more about you and your books?
New Rules of Lifting Books
SB.Thanks Lou for showing us that as a busy dad and fitness author you also practice what you preach!
LS. My pleasure.
Lou Schuler is an award-winning journalist, certified strength and conditioning specialist, author or coauthor of many popular books about diet and strength training. His books include The New Rules of Lifting for Women (with coauthors Cassandra Forsythe and Alwyn Cosgrove), The New Rules of Lifting (with Alwyn Cosgrove), The Book of Muscle (with Ian King), The Home Workout Bible (with Mike Mejia and many other contributors), and The Testosterone Advantage Plan (with Jeff Volek, Mike Mejia, and Adam Campbell).
Would you like to see more interviews like this? Let me know who you would like to see by leaving a comment below!
September seems to be a busy month for everyone. Back to school, back to work and back to some serious workouts!
After talking with my buddy Craig Ballantyne of Men’s Health magazine I asked him to share his 5 best tips to help you guys get more energy to get through the busy fall season and here is what he had to say.
1) Go to bed and get up at the same time everyday.
2) Get 30-minutes of activity everyday.
3) Eliminate all added sugar from your diet.
4) Eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more water.
5) Drop the mega-caffeine coffee and switch to Green Tea.
Sounds simple eh? But it works!
So use those tips and have more energy….
PS.Craig Ballantyne and my buddy Chris Lopez just released a new Kettlebell Fat Loss home workout program called Kettlebell Revolution. I can’t recommend Kettlebell workouts enough if you want to get bodysculpting results in 10-20 minutes per day.
So don’t miss your chance on these powerful new home workouts – heck, you can even do them at the park.
Get your Kettlebell workouts here:
=> Kettlebell Fat Loss Workouts
Time to fight the fat this fall!
Do you have any other tips you would like to share to get more energy?
Post them by leaving a comment below.
Last night my wife and I decided to stay in for our date night and rent a couple movies. Finally seen Slumdog Millionaire which lived up to the hype and then finished off the night with a good scare with The Haunting in Connecticut.
For dinner we made Charred Chicken Tacos from the July/August issue of Men’s Health.
Here is the recipe from Men’s Health online.
Char Chicken Tacos
12 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs (breasts work, too)
1 ripe avocado, peeled and pit removed
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 limes (1 quartered)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 jalapeno peppers
1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rings
1. First, make the guacamole: In a mixing bowl, combine the avocado, garlic, cilantro, and juice of one lime. Mix thoroughly and season with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat a grill on medium high. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the chicken pieces and then rub them with the cumin, and chili powder or cayenne. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Add the chicken, whole jalapenos, and onion rings to the grill. Cook the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes on each side until it’s lightly charred and firm to the touch. Cook the jalapenos and onions for the same amount of time, turning them to make sure they caramelize evenly.
3. Serve the grilled chicken with the guac, grilled vegetables, hunks of fresh lime, and more cilantro.
Eat with warm corn tortillas and black beans. Makes 2 servings
Per serving 490 calories, 35 grams (g) protein, 24 g carbohydrates (10 g fiber), 30 g fat, 120 milligrams sodium
=============================================
Our town had a scheduled power outage from 4am this morning until 12pm. So when the lights came back I headed to the gym for a workout.
Today I started a new Dad Fitness workout routine based on the Push-Pull workout method.
But this workout may look opposite to what you see with most weight training programs.
Usually the most common workouts involves exercises where you do 3 sets of 8-10 reps.
A much better way to change up your routine and spark new gains in lean muscle is to turn your workout upside and do 8 sets of 3 reps instead.
This allows you to focus on the perfect performance of only 3 reps per set instead of pumping away until your muscles go to failure.
For greater gains in muscle with your busy dad workouts focus more on PERFORMANCE with your reps than FATIGUE.
Here was my workout of the day.
A1 Barbell Deadlifts, 8 sets of 3
A2 Supported Dumbbell Curls Leaning Against Post, 8 sets of 3
B1 Wide Grip Pullups, 8 sets of 3
B2 Stiff Leg Deadlifts, 8 sets of 3
C Serratus Crunch (holding dumbbells straight up over shoulders while you crunch)
I rested 60 seconds between sets as I rotated back and forth from A1, A2, B1, B2
It took me a little over an hour because of loading and unloading all the weight plates which seemed to be a workout in itself!
Planning on getting to the gym for Day 2 tomorrow…
Today I was planning on heading to the gym for one last workout before I take a week off from my workout routine.
But I seem to have caught a head cold the last few days and I am not really feeling 100%, sniff..sniff…cough..cough.. Seeing as my last workout was Thursday I won’t head back to the gym until this Thursday.
Every 8 weeks I try to take a recovery week off from my intense workouts but I have now gone over 10 weeks without a break and I guess I am starting to wear myself down.
I will still try and remain active during this week but won’t be doing my intense Dad Fitness weight training workouts.
I am not the only one in our house feeling under the weather as our 9 month old daughter has it as well. I feel bad for her as she keeps waking herself up during the night coughing. But at that age they recommend that you give them nothing, and let it take its course.
She’s tough like her dad but we have a humidifier going in her room during the night to help her congestion.
Shirt reads: “There is Snowone Like Dad”Despite us battling the sniffles we had our in-laws over for dinner last night and I made a delicious new recipe from the April issue of Men’s Health Magazine.
This turned out awesome as I even made the power side salad as well,
Arugula and Parmesan Salad
The only changes I made was I used Spring Mix instead of Arugula and garlic goat cheese instead of Gorgonzola as I could not find it at my local supermarket.
The whole meal was super easy to prepare and we all REALLY loved it. The pesto and garlic goat cheese gave it amazing flavor!
I upped the ingredients to make enough for 4 with a little leftovers.
Savory Seafood Penne
- 1 box of whole wheat penne pasta
- 2 bags of frozen cooked shrimp
- 1 small cub of garlic goat cheese crumbled
- 3 cups of baby spinach
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 2 tsp walnuts chopped 3 tsp of ready made pesto
- Defrost shrimp under running water for 5 mins.
- Cook pasta according to directions.
- Transfer pasta to large bowl, add shrimp, cheese, spinach, tomato, walnuts and pesto.
- Stir well to combined ingredients.
Another healthy meal in minutes for you and your family that will fill you up without filling you out!
Bedazzled Sean Barker, CPT
Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com