My Training

So I figured I should start listing my own daily training. Not because I think I do something so amazing that I just need to share it with the world. Nothing I do is new or crazy. You don't need those things to get leaner, healthier, and stronger. I'm gonna start posting it to keep myself accountable and to show the 2 people that might happen across my blog that I do actually use the things I talk about. So here goes.

First you should know a couple things about me. I'm a big fan of planning things out in advance. That means as extended periods of travel (or off time) come up I like to make sure I'm doing something that will suffer minimal interruption from that time period. For example before this last week or so I was in the same city for several months for work. I took that time to find a cheap local gym that gave me a good rate (more on short term gym memberships in a later post) and really focused on serious heavy weight lifting. I knew I would be in town for a while and have access to weights so I planned the time to focus on that. Then as I got close to this week of travel and family time I switched over to my current body weight exercise plan. Its a week or two of travel and set up in a new town. Then Ill be there again and I can start incorporating more weight work into my plan.

So for the last couple of weeks I've been slowly adding reps to three simple exercises.
1) Body weight Squat
2) Push-up
3) Crunches

I started a a few weeks ago doing 5 rounds of each for 15, 15, and 30. I'd go for three days and take one day off. Each day adding one rep to each round. So it looked like this
Mon - 15 squats, 15 push-ups, 30 crunches x 5 rounds
Tues - 16 squats, 16, push-ups, 32 crunches x 5 rounds
Wed - 17, 17, 34 x 5
Thurs - Off
Fri - 18,18,36 x 5
Etc...

You do as much as you can with out stopping, and only stop in the middle of a round because of muscle failure. Rest should be kept to a minimum between rounds as well. This might remind you of my post on circuit training...cause that's what it is.

The wonderful thing is as this started I was flying through the rounds and this was a total sweat-fest. Then as the reps have gotten higher the tempo slows down a little but the intensity remains. Breaking the moves up like this also helps you do more total work than if you just did one exercise at a time. Doing just one extra rep each round also allows you to slowly add volume to the workout with out burning out.

If I tried to just bang out push-ups I could probably get to the mid 40's before I fell over, and it would take me days to be up to trying it again. By starting much, much lower than my actual threshold of ability I gave myself time to adjust. I was also able to come back day after day, with only a day off here or there. I just did rounds of 24 today so I'm up to 120 each squat and push-up and 240 crunches. I'm right at half way to my goal. I'm going to be keeping this up over the next few weeks until I get to 50, 50, 100.

I m going to be slowly adding days at the gym with real weights in along side this, but with those kind of numbers PLUS my new gig starting the weight days will be few and far between with time for my body to acclimate to the work load.

So there you go. I'm gonna see how this works, and if anyone wants to join me feel free to give it a whirl. Remember though start much lower than you think you need to. The numbers will catch up just fine. Have fun and safe travels!

J

Most bang for your buck..

Been a couple of days since my last post. I've just finished up one gig in Norfolk and I'm headed to Texas for a couple of days off before the next one. I started this post at the airport at 5am, so forgive me if it seems like I can't speak English.

Like most people who try and balance travel with exercise I try to find the way to get in and out of the gym in the most efficient manner possible. I like my workouts to include lots of body parts and muscles so I can get in an get out quickly. I also try to have things I can do with little to no equipment in case I'm stuck in a horrible hotel for a while. Sometimes you can't even make due. These are the 5 exercise moves I do in all my traveling workouts regardless of equipment access. 

1) Squat - If you aren't squatting you aren't working out. Its that simple. Arguably the greatest single move you can do a proper squat uses your legs, back, abs...Basically everything from the neck down. Weighted or body weight they need to be in your workouts. Goblet squat, Back squat, Front squat...don't care just do them.  Quit making excuses why you can't do it and get to work. Not sure your doing it right? Google that sh*t. There are only a few thousand posts / videos out there. 

2) Pull up - Second verse same as the first. The pull up is the upper body version of the squat. It works your arms, back, abs, delts. You can change hand grips to hit different muscle groups. Want a great tapered V look to your upper body? Get to pulling. Admittedly they can be harder to do if your traveling, but spend the 20 bucks and get one of those collapsible bars your can hang from a door frame. They can hold my big ass they can hold you.

3) Planks - my favorite ab exercise is the plank. I'm not a fan of crunches. They are to easy to do wrong and I think they are honestly not had enough. Its hard to screw up a plank. Hold your body ruler straight and contract your abs. Hold till you start to shake and can't hold it anymore. Rest for less time than you think you need and do it again. If your not sweating in a minute or two your doing it wrong. Turn sideways to hit your obliques. Repeat. Try not to die.

4) Push up - The crown prince of upper body exercises. There are several alternative versions if regular push ups aren't hard enough anymore. My favorite is just to add a weighted vest. Throwing an extra 40lbs on your back before you start will humble you real quick. Not to mention remind you of all the weight you've lost and don't want back.

5) Jumping Jacks - Yup! You did them in 4th grade for a reason. Idiot proof and dead simple. You could do burpees instead, but I don't personally like what high rep burpees do to my knees. These are a great way to get your heart rate up and get the blood pumping. Throw a few dozen in between your sets of regular exercises at the gym next time. See if you don't start sucking wind real fast!

Hope that helps you with a place to start. Next time I'll talk about basic routines you can do while traveling. Travel safe and try and enjoy the trip as much as the destination.

J

PS The Starbucks line  was longer than the security line this morning...I can see where every ones priorities are at 5am.

Making due with what you've got...

How to make due with what you got...

So here I am in a hotel in Norfolk VA for the next 5 days. I went down to the hotel "gym" hoping against hope that it wouldn't be as bad as I expected...

Here I am surrounded by 3 aging elliptical machines, a broke seated bike, 4 treadmills and a miserable rack of dumbbells. The dumbbells only go up to 40lbs. After a moment of anger and disappointment I decided to use this as a chance to talk about making due. Often as a traveling trainer one has to do exactly that. Make do.

One caveat before we begin. If your someone like me (i.e. enjoys heavy strength training using fairly large weight) these kind of workouts are not going to help you progress in that manner. Nothing you can do with a 40lb dumbbell is gonna help your 405lb bench press. Situations like this can give you a chance to focus on conditioning for a while and then you can step back into the "real gym" leaner and more fit than before. Unless your a pure super heavyweight powerlifter that is very rarely a bad thing! Think of this as taking time off the big goal to focus on a side project that will have carry over benefits later.

If like most of the Traveling trainees of the world you can get some good work out of this situation. You just have to be willing to use a little "strategery" (PS Thank you W for the greatest presidential quote in 30 years)

So what can we do with a little weight, some cardio equipment, and a bare floor? We can do circuits training my friend, oh yes we can!

So circuit training in 20 words or less...

The use of multiple exercises organized back to back with little or no rest between sets. (16 not to bad!)

In most cases you will pick anywhere from 5 to 7 exercises you can move from quickly and efficiently. You will do a number of repetitions that is far below your maximum with that move or weight. So if you wanted to use pushups (and you should) you would do maybe a set of 15 reps. You should pick a number you feel you could handle with one foot in the grave. If we do this right you'll feel like that at the end anyway. We will then perform one set of each of those exercises back to back with as little rest, preferably none, as we can manage until we reach the end.

These kind of workouts are best if you go for a whole body workout approach. So for example my basic "stuck in the wilderness with no weights in sight" circuit is:

7 rounds of 5 moves. Push up x 15 Crunches x 30 Body weight squat x 15 Plank x 30 sec Burpees x 15

The nice thing is that this is, to a degree, self regulating. You just go until you need a break. Then you rest as little as possible and keep pushing. Ideally you should pick a number of reps that is not extremely hard out of context. If it's taking you 45 min to finish this circuit your doing it wrong. You should try to keep it under the 15 -20 min mark. These are short intense workouts that don't waste time. If your stopping to take a call from mom, and you never break a sweat your also doing to wrong. Go hard, go quick, and get done.

The wonderful thing about these is the ability to scale it to your individual level of fitness. If you're weak in the upper body you can do kneeling pushups. Have lots of experience? Add a weighted vest or more reps. These workouts can be tailored to you, so everyone gets a good workout. The other up side is you can do these kind of things outside. I'm a big fan of outdoor exercise whenever possible. I just enjoy the idea. You can also do these in your hotel room alone. If you're a shut in...

So there it is. Circuit training FTW! As always feel free to comment / email me (sinfoniaopera@gmail.com) with comments, questions, or concerns. Have a great day and travel safe.

J

Step one...literally

So where do you start? The first and easiest step is to get to stepping. Light cardio preferably fasted (done before eating in the morning) is the easiest way to begin burning extra fat and jump starting your healthy lifestyle. Just a few points about this before you go crazy and run out your hotel room door.

1. Why light cardio? Regardless of where you are in the world chances are you have access to either a treadmill, or even better the world outside. Gasp! Get out there and get moving. You'll feel better about your day, and your choice to change your lifestyle.

2. Notice where I said "light cardio?" That means actually light...like non-panting, non-ass kicking light. You want to feel energized by your walk not beaten down. Start with 30 min 3 times a week before breakfast. If you want to be picky, and have access to a heart monitor, shoot for approx. 130 BPM (Beats per Min.) When your heart rate gets above the 130 point the body begins to respond differently to the stress and you get out of the "fat burning zone." Its much more complicated than that of course, but unless your interested in glycogen usage its not worth explaining now. I can explain if you want just drop me a line. Be prepared for actual science. I'm kind of a nerd.

3. Why no food first? Again short answer for much longer issue. Your body is in a glycogen depleted state early in the day and if you get your heart rate up before you eat something your body will find the energy it needs for your exercise from the fat already stored in your body. If you feed yourself first then your giving it access to "easy energy" an you wont be using those fat stores up. Again there is a lot more involved in this, and if your curious feel free to ask.

So there is step one. Go walk. On a treadmill (if you must) or outside if you can. Start with 30 min 3 times a week and work your way up to 5 or 6 times a week. Eat breakfast after the walk and don't try and challenge Usain Bolt along the way.

In case your curious the addition of fasted cardio is the first step in almost any exercise regimen for weight control. Its been a staple for the body building community for decades, and they use it cause it works. On a personal note it was the first thing I added on my road to weight loss. Its also been crucial to the plans of my clients.

If anything is confusing, or you just wanna know more about how this all works feel free to drop me a line. Have a great day, and get out there and train!


Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. -Mahatma Gandhi

Welcome to Traveling Training

Hello fellow Traveling Trainees. Welcome to my blog. I'm using this as a way to discuss the difficulties with having a travel intensive job while attempting to stay both healthy and physically active. I'm a traveling classical musician, and over the last 2 years I've managed to go from a fat doughy 297lbs to a much leaner, stronger 225lbs  (and get my Personal Training Certification along the way.) All while averaging 10 months a year on the road.

I definitely don't know everything, but I know what has worked for me and my trainees. With a little help from other trainers and coaches I've started to figure out what can help other people as well. It'll be a mix of workout ideas as well as food and nutrition advice that I hope will help you along your way. Getting fit and healthy while gallivanting all over the country (or world for that matter) can be a challenge, but with a little help anyone can do it!

Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body.

Arnold Schwarzenegger