Post: #26

Doorway pull up handles.





Calisthenics like one armed pushups, handstand pushups, pistols, etc, should be fine. For everything else, doorway pullup handles.

Another good option is an ab wheel or ab wheel rollouts.



And some kind of strandpulling device. I recommend the Hook. You can even get a harness and do squats with it.

Post: #27

100 press ups every day, and loads of walking. Keeps me ticking over. Throw in a couple of dedicated sessions once a week, and a game of football and all's good. If you're traveling you can normally find a gym where you can pay a reasonable one off entry, or go to a larger one, blag a free trial pass.

Post: #28

If you're already training hard, taking time off can make you stronger:

http://www.strengtheory.com/grow-like-a-...ter-again/

Quote:Depending on training status, it takes 2-4 weeks to have measurable decreases in muscle size and strength. Studies investigating rate of strength loss usually use simple movements (like knee extension, measuring maximum moment or something of that nature), so it’s possible that your lifts will be down after a couple of weeks out of the gym, but that’s more a symptom of rusty motor patterns than actual strength loss. That performance will come back within 2-3 sessions practicing the lifts again.

Want to take a vacation? Don’t worry about training. Need to take time off to study for finals? That’s fine. Family emergency? Come on now. Priorities.

Any muscle you DO lose in that time span will all come back in a hurry. Those myonuclei aren’t going anywhere, and they’ll be more than happy to ramp up protein synthesis to get your muscles back to their old size post haste.

Additionally, there’s good reason to believe they’ll actually help you come back bigger and stronger than before. More on that later.

...

3) This study shows that it only takes 12 days without resistance training to restore mTOR (the primary hypertrophy pathway) signaling to newbie levels.

It's a long article, but good if your interested in this stuff.

Post: #29

I used to lift free weights but I've switched to bodyweight exercises for a couple of years now. I enjoy them more, and they're simpler to do as there's minimal equipment.

When I travel I carry a Golds Gym pullup bar: It can be fitted to any doorway without screws. It can hold 90kg no problem.



That's really all I need.

As for exercises I try to do the toughest exercises I can think of for each muscle group. Eg
- One arm plyometric pushups
- Handstand pushups
- Pullups with full extension and pause at bottom
- Plyometric one leg shrimp squats.
- Hanging leg raises [hang from pullup bar and raise feet to touch bar]

For the plyometric stuff, I usually carry a yoga block with me and I use that to cushion myself from the floor.

Gymnastic exercises are also very challenging and excellent for the upper body. The main ones I do are:
- Front lever
- L-sit to handstand

L-sit to handstand is insanely tough. I've only managed to do one rep at a time, and some days I only mange half.

Here's a demo. My form is not as good as his:

Post: #30

Yoga is one the best exercise that doesn't require equipment and space.

You can do it in a Michigan driveway or you can do it on the beach of Hanoi.

Will you build muscle, no. But it is a good way to workout and it will keep you in shape.

Have you ever met a Yogi, they are always youthful and attractive.

https://www.youtube.com/user/ManFlowYoga

I usually watch yoga youtube video when traveling to keep me motivated and making sure I do the correct form.

Yoga is one of the best exercise available, pound for pound.

Post: #31

I drink beer as soon as I wake up and then, after I down that beer, I get another. I'm hard as a fucking rock.

Post: #32

(12-15-2015 11:34 AM)NewMeta Wrote:  The body remembers, I've taken 2-3 weeks off and gotten my gains back within a month once returning to the gym.

Ideally if you want to keep fit while travelling you can do some body weight stuff or get yourself some gymnastic rings and hang them up somewhere, like a public park and do your workout there, something I also do, so even if I am not making gains on my powerlifts I can still practise my levers, muslce ups and dynamic movements.

when i travel, i usually take my pull-up bar apart and throw it in my suitcase. there's usually somewhere in a hotel room where you can set it up. i bring a travel yoga mat too. with just those items you can do things like the P90X legs and back workout (tough even without weights), various push-up and pull-up routines, and hard yoga. it's not as good as weights, but it will keep you fit and lean if you can manage your diet OK.

Post: #33

It wouldn't be a bad idea to pack a small tub of protein powder as well for counties not abundant in meat. I lost ten pounds in SEA from a diet consisting mainly of rice and beer with too little protein.

Post: #34

Tuna protein packets work wonders

Post: #35

Push-ups

Luggage Rows

Hotel Bed Step-Ups

Post: #36

I was listening an old episode to the Tim Ferris podcast. One of his suggestions for hotel room workouts was to pack a kayaking dry bag which can be filled with water and used as a makeshift kettlebell.

I did a quick google search and there's actually a manufacturer which makes portable kettlebells using this idea.

http://www.kettlebellsandbags.com/

Anyone tried this?

Post: #37

Find a cheap gym (or at times where that's impossible, body weight exercises). I just came back from three weeks in Thailand and aside from walking 8-12 km per day (I always walk about twice as much as usual on vacations) I ended up working out almost as frequently and as hard as I do at home.
20 baht (0.50 Euro) to use the rusty, worn down but functional outdoors gym in Lumphini park in Bangkok. 60 baht per visit for a decent (sans showers and locker rooms) indoors gym in Chiang Mai.

Also did what Laurifer mentioned and bought whey protein powder. Not enough protein in my Thailand diet, unless I start eating chicken or pork on stick in large volumes, but my appetite is usually a bit skewed when I'm on vacation.
Ended up losing 3 kg with no loss of strength, so it was a pretty effective vacation fitness wise.

Post: #38

(12-15-2015 03:00 PM)scotian Wrote:  

(12-15-2015 02:17 PM)LINUX Wrote:  Why don't you guys buy gym memberships in the city you visit?

That's usually the first thing I do.

Or hit up multiple gyms in a new city and ask them for trial passes, I've done that a few times over the years.

Cheap bastard, I've done the same thing a few times, any of those 'big box gyms' will usually give at least one free trial. In particular Snap Fitness had a one week free trial going for a time

Post: #39

I like to keep it simple when traveling...I do shadowboxing, push ups, sit ups, and squats.

You can find plenty of videos on youtube on how to do shadowboxing. It's a nice workout, and it's always useful to practice your fighting skills.

You can also get a copy of "Convict Conditioning", plenty of exercise you can do without going to gym.

Post: #40

Workout program Focus T25 is excellent in this case. Just 25 min a day and you don't need any gym. Also, you don't need any exercise tool. So you can exercise in the hotel room and stay in shape.

Post: #41

I always find a local gym wherever I'm going. If traveling to cheaper countries not only can you get a gym day pass for around $3 but you can get personal training super cheap. For example in the Philippines I got personal training for $9 for 2 hours, in Bangkok I trained with a pro bodybuilder for $30 per session, and in Vietnam they had sessions for about $10 each but they didn't speak english so I skipped it.

For those of you working out with bodyweight and objects remember that any convenience store sells jugs of water with handles on them (you should be buying these anyway to drink) and that a gallon of water weighs over 8 pounds.