|
|
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
Kitsap TriBabes
HOW TO KEEP TRAINING WHILE ON VACATION:
If you are at a hotel, hopefully it has a pool. The problem is that they are usually small and not conducive to lap swimming. So, instead, do a Swim "Drill" workout. That way you make the most of the short distance and help yourself improve your technique. Aim for a 20 - 30 minute session in the pool. Here are some drills to alternate between during your swim session:
~ the 6 kick switch (you can google this for a demo)
~ "touchdowns" (this is where you dive down and touch the bottom the pool, swim back up and then dive down again. If you have a ring or something else to throw down to the bottom, that really helps). These are great for improving your lung capacity and your willingness to truly get comfortable with your face in the water.
~ one armed swimming (keep one arm back by your hip and only stroke with one arm -- this really helps you add more power to your stroke).
~ Kicking only -- (put your hands straight out in front of you with one hand on top of the other. Make your body as long and straight as possible, look down at the bottom of the pool and propel yourself across by kicking only. Work on lessening the bend in your knees and kicking with your entire leg. Let the action begin from your hip and think of yourself as pushing your femur (thigh) down with each kick.
~ Fist swimming. Make fists with your hands and swim the freestyle stroke!
~ Practice your flip turns!!!!! If you have never done one, start by simply doing a forward somersault in the middle of the pool. Come on, TRI IT . . . it is FUN!!!! Then gradually move closer to the side of the pool and combine somersaulting ½ way, with with pushing your feet into the side of the pool, with flipping over onto your tummy. Remember that you need to "scull" your hands in order to complete a somersault under water. Just doing THIS is a workout in and of itself. Remember . . . who cares how ridiculous you look . . . YOU ARE A TRIATHLETE!!! Take that Mr. Pot Belly and Ms. Tummy Tuck lounging poolside with an umbrella-ed drink!!!
If you do NOT have access to a pool, then focus on doing upper body strengthening exercises. A simple routine is to do the following:
~ While standing, hold your arms straight out from your shoulders. Move your arms in little
forward circles for X period of time/X many circles; then move your arms in little backward
circles for X period of time/X many circles.
~ While standing, hold your arms straight up over your head keeping your hands shoulder width
apart. Move your arms in little inward circles for X period of time/X many circles; then move
your arms in little outward circles for X period of time/X many circles.
~ While standing, hold your arms straight down and push your hands back behind your hips.
Move your arms in little inward circles for X period of time/X many circles; then move
your arms in little outward circles for X period of time/X many circles.
~ Start at 30 seconds/30 circles and build up. It is harder than you think. Do not stop and rest until
you have done all six movements.
If you are lucky, the hotel will have both a spin machine and a treadmill. If so, you can use them to replicate your bike and run workouts. And, you can ALWAYS run outside. But, if there are NOT the appropriate machines, then use whatever machines they have. Try to alternate between the various ones and take advantage of all the CORE machines that they have.
Running up and down the stairwell in your hotel is a great way to replicate "biking" since it requires that you use the quads and calves. Try to do 30 minutes of "stair climbing" followed by a 15 minute run.
If you REALLY want to get in shape, do a Daily "Circuit Training" workout. You don't need ANYTHING other than yourself for this. I call them "Progressive Descents." Do 10 Burpees and then 10 sit-ups; then 9 Burpees and then 9 sit ups; then 8 Burpees and 8 situps; all the way down to 1 Burpee and 1 Sit-ups. YOU MIGHT NEED TO START at 5 & 5 (or even 3 & 3 -- starting at 10 is a little aggressive!!!)
If you don't know what a Burpee is, GOOGLE it. But, there are lots of different versions - most of them performed by Russian Superheros. The most accessible one is to:
1) start in a standing position
2) step back to the top of a push up
3) lower your knees down and then slowly lower your entire torso down to the floor (try to make your nose and belly button touch at the same time - this requires pushing your torso forward as it lowers downward)
4) push yourself back up to hands and knees as best you can (if you can keep your back parallel to the floor on both the descent and ascent, that is FABULOUS)
5) return to a standing position
6) reach up and clap your hands over your head.
THAT IS ONE (EASY VERSION) BURPEE!!!
Here is a Sample Vacation Training Schedule:
Departure Travel Day: Try to get in a short 20-30 minute run/walk before you leave
Vacation Day One:
~ Burpee/Sit-Up Circuit Training
and/or
~ Swim Drill Work Out or Arm Circles
Vacation Day Two:
~ Burpee/Sit-Up Circuit Training
and/or
~ 30 minute Spin Bike or Stairs followed by 15 minute Treadmill/Run
Vacation Day Three:
~ Burpee/Sit-Up Circuit Training
and/or
~ 30 - 45 minute Run/Walk
Vacation Day Four:
~ Burpee/Sit-Up Circuit Training
and/or
~ 30 - 45 minutes on Spin Bike or Stair Climbing
Vacation Day Five:
~ Burpee/Sit-Up Circuit Training
and/or
~ Swim Drill Work Out or Arm Circles
Return Travel Day: REST
Remember the following while traveling:
~ It is even MORE important than ever to keep your hydration UP while traveling. Flying and being in a new environment is VERY dehydrating. Make sure that you bring a water bottle with you. I tuck a re-usable one into my carry on luggage. And, I carry a disposable plastic one with me during Check-in. my goal is to drink it all before I get to security, but if I don't, I just throw away what I haven't drunk. Then, when I get inside of security, I keep my own reusable one filled up from the water fountains.
~ BRING DIAPER WIPES . . . clean your hands and face and nostrils like you have OCD. It isn't so much that there are MORE germs, it is just that you aren't as acclimated to these germs AND they are trapped in enclosed spaces.
~ Pack healthy snackablesfor yourself in your carry on luggage so that you don't eat lots of unnecessary processed food simply because you have no other choice. Snack OFTEN so that you aren't starving by the time you reach your destination (this slows your metabolism down AND causes you to overeat).
~ DO SOMETHING rather than nothing. ANYTHING is better than NOTHING when it comes to vacation training. You goal is to simply maintain SOME kind of consistency so that you can seamlessly return to your regular training schedule once you have returned from your vacation.
~ GET YOUR TRAINING DONE AS EARLY IN THE MORNING AS POSSIBLE . . . you never know how a vacation day will develop. So, wake up, get something done and then if you CAN do more later in the day, do so. If NOT . . . oh well . . . at least you kept the training wheels rolling!!!
Let me know if this helps!!!
If you are at a hotel, hopefully it has a pool. The problem is that they are usually small and not conducive to lap swimming. So, instead, do a Swim "Drill" workout. That way you make the most of the short distance and help yourself improve your technique. Aim for a 20 - 30 minute session in the pool. Here are some drills to alternate between during your swim session:
~ the 6 kick switch (you can google this for a demo)
~ "touchdowns" (this is where you dive down and touch the bottom the pool, swim back up and then dive down again. If you have a ring or something else to throw down to the bottom, that really helps). These are great for improving your lung capacity and your willingness to truly get comfortable with your face in the water.
~ one armed swimming (keep one arm back by your hip and only stroke with one arm -- this really helps you add more power to your stroke).
~ Kicking only -- (put your hands straight out in front of you with one hand on top of the other. Make your body as long and straight as possible, look down at the bottom of the pool and propel yourself across by kicking only. Work on lessening the bend in your knees and kicking with your entire leg. Let the action begin from your hip and think of yourself as pushing your femur (thigh) down with each kick.
~ Fist swimming. Make fists with your hands and swim the freestyle stroke!
~ Practice your flip turns!!!!! If you have never done one, start by simply doing a forward somersault in the middle of the pool. Come on, TRI IT . . . it is FUN!!!! Then gradually move closer to the side of the pool and combine somersaulting ½ way, with with pushing your feet into the side of the pool, with flipping over onto your tummy. Remember that you need to "scull" your hands in order to complete a somersault under water. Just doing THIS is a workout in and of itself. Remember . . . who cares how ridiculous you look . . . YOU ARE A TRIATHLETE!!! Take that Mr. Pot Belly and Ms. Tummy Tuck lounging poolside with an umbrella-ed drink!!!
If you do NOT have access to a pool, then focus on doing upper body strengthening exercises. A simple routine is to do the following:
~ While standing, hold your arms straight out from your shoulders. Move your arms in little
forward circles for X period of time/X many circles; then move your arms in little backward
circles for X period of time/X many circles.
~ While standing, hold your arms straight up over your head keeping your hands shoulder width
apart. Move your arms in little inward circles for X period of time/X many circles; then move
your arms in little outward circles for X period of time/X many circles.
~ While standing, hold your arms straight down and push your hands back behind your hips.
Move your arms in little inward circles for X period of time/X many circles; then move
your arms in little outward circles for X period of time/X many circles.
~ Start at 30 seconds/30 circles and build up. It is harder than you think. Do not stop and rest until
you have done all six movements.
If you are lucky, the hotel will have both a spin machine and a treadmill. If so, you can use them to replicate your bike and run workouts. And, you can ALWAYS run outside. But, if there are NOT the appropriate machines, then use whatever machines they have. Try to alternate between the various ones and take advantage of all the CORE machines that they have.
Running up and down the stairwell in your hotel is a great way to replicate "biking" since it requires that you use the quads and calves. Try to do 30 minutes of "stair climbing" followed by a 15 minute run.
If you REALLY want to get in shape, do a Daily "Circuit Training" workout. You don't need ANYTHING other than yourself for this. I call them "Progressive Descents." Do 10 Burpees and then 10 sit-ups; then 9 Burpees and then 9 sit ups; then 8 Burpees and 8 situps; all the way down to 1 Burpee and 1 Sit-ups. YOU MIGHT NEED TO START at 5 & 5 (or even 3 & 3 -- starting at 10 is a little aggressive!!!)
If you don't know what a Burpee is, GOOGLE it. But, there are lots of different versions - most of them performed by Russian Superheros. The most accessible one is to:
1) start in a standing position
2) step back to the top of a push up
3) lower your knees down and then slowly lower your entire torso down to the floor (try to make your nose and belly button touch at the same time - this requires pushing your torso forward as it lowers downward)
4) push yourself back up to hands and knees as best you can (if you can keep your back parallel to the floor on both the descent and ascent, that is FABULOUS)
5) return to a standing position
6) reach up and clap your hands over your head.
THAT IS ONE (EASY VERSION) BURPEE!!!
Here is a Sample Vacation Training Schedule:
Departure Travel Day: Try to get in a short 20-30 minute run/walk before you leave
Vacation Day One:
~ Burpee/Sit-Up Circuit Training
and/or
~ Swim Drill Work Out or Arm Circles
Vacation Day Two:
~ Burpee/Sit-Up Circuit Training
and/or
~ 30 minute Spin Bike or Stairs followed by 15 minute Treadmill/Run
Vacation Day Three:
~ Burpee/Sit-Up Circuit Training
and/or
~ 30 - 45 minute Run/Walk
Vacation Day Four:
~ Burpee/Sit-Up Circuit Training
and/or
~ 30 - 45 minutes on Spin Bike or Stair Climbing
Vacation Day Five:
~ Burpee/Sit-Up Circuit Training
and/or
~ Swim Drill Work Out or Arm Circles
Return Travel Day: REST
Remember the following while traveling:
~ It is even MORE important than ever to keep your hydration UP while traveling. Flying and being in a new environment is VERY dehydrating. Make sure that you bring a water bottle with you. I tuck a re-usable one into my carry on luggage. And, I carry a disposable plastic one with me during Check-in. my goal is to drink it all before I get to security, but if I don't, I just throw away what I haven't drunk. Then, when I get inside of security, I keep my own reusable one filled up from the water fountains.
~ BRING DIAPER WIPES . . . clean your hands and face and nostrils like you have OCD. It isn't so much that there are MORE germs, it is just that you aren't as acclimated to these germs AND they are trapped in enclosed spaces.
~ Pack healthy snackablesfor yourself in your carry on luggage so that you don't eat lots of unnecessary processed food simply because you have no other choice. Snack OFTEN so that you aren't starving by the time you reach your destination (this slows your metabolism down AND causes you to overeat).
~ DO SOMETHING rather than nothing. ANYTHING is better than NOTHING when it comes to vacation training. You goal is to simply maintain SOME kind of consistency so that you can seamlessly return to your regular training schedule once you have returned from your vacation.
~ GET YOUR TRAINING DONE AS EARLY IN THE MORNING AS POSSIBLE . . . you never know how a vacation day will develop. So, wake up, get something done and then if you CAN do more later in the day, do so. If NOT . . . oh well . . . at least you kept the training wheels rolling!!!
Let me know if this helps!!!