Quick and Easy Holiday Travel Workouts

It is easy to get out of your regular exercise habit during the holidays – particularly if you must travel a lot!    The good news is with a little preparation it is easy to get in an effective workout anywhere.

Here are a couple of ideas for getting your workouts in anywhere, anytime:

Resistance Bands - https://resistancebandtraining.com/shop/total-fitness-package/- everything you need to perform a safe and effective total body strength training routine that can be done anywhere including a hotel room.    Check out the site for some great free workout programs.

Core Flytes - https://www.flytefitness.com/ Inexpensive and great for travel Core Flytes allow a highly effective full-body workout just about anywhere and at any ability level.    Their website and youtube channel provide lots of workouts and exercises.

TRX Suspension Training - https://goo.gl/TtpmAA - The TRX Home System provides another great travel workout option including a great app that shows you exactly what to do!

Bodyweight Routine - https://www.muscleandfitness.com/training/workout-routines/best-bodyweight-workout-all-time - this Men’s Fitness Bodyweight Routine provides several options that require zero equipment.

3 Best Bodyweight Exercises - https://workoutanytime.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-three-best-bodyweight-exercise.html - a simple, yet highly effective workout check out these three bodyweight moves that can be done anywhere.

Walking or Running can be done in many locations, and with proper clothing you can go for a walk or a run even during cold weather.     In addition, cold weather workouts provide the added benefit of revving up your metabolism (cold exposure is a proven way to boost metabolic rate).

Stairs can be found almost everywhere and walking or running up and down stairs provides a fantastic interval based cardio challenge while also challenging lower body and core strength.

Yoga Routine – Yoga can be performed anywhere and there are many great online videos including this one from Pop-Sugar:  https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/10-Minute-Power-Yoga-Workout-31081952

Holiday Gifts for Fitness Enthusiasts

There is still time to order from Amazon and get a delivery in time for Christmas!    So what should order for the fitness enthusiast in your life?     Fortunately, there are some fantastic products to allow you to get a great workout at home or on the road when you cannot get to the gym. 

Quiet Punch – a simple to set-up and use device that you mount in between just about any standard door.     Once it is set-up it provides a square punching surface mounted between two poles that go across the door frame and is suspended by bungee cords from the poles.      You can really get after it and get a fantastic boxing workout that does not shake the house down!    The app comes with great workouts and the system has a cell phone holder so you can watch and follow one of the many boxing/fitness videos available through the app.        You can purchase from Amazon or directly at www.quietpunch.com At $125 Quiet Punch is not cheap but not that expensive and is really a fun workout for those who enjoy boxing.

Floor Dolly Systems– there are several great floor dolly systems that allow you to get a fantastic core workout and work the rest of your body at the same time.   These products emphasize the eccentric or muscle lengthening portion of an exercise in a simple but profound way and there are endless exercises you can do in a small area.    Get ready for some big time soreness if you go after it hard the first time since these products place a strong emphasis on the muscle lengthening phase of each exercise since you have to control your movement.    Harder surfaces tend to greatly magnify the challenge wihile carpeted surfaces create more resistance.  Great products in this category include:

Core Flyte by Flight Fitness which provides two small hand/foot dollies with three ball rollers with a sealed bearing system.       Although they are small they work on many different surfaces band because there are two provides you can put both hands or both feet or both knees on them which allows many exercise variations to allow you to effectively overload every muscle group in the body.     Core Flytes can be purchased on Amazon or directly from www.flytefitness.com and are reasonably priced at $85.

Core Coaster is another dolly device at a much lower price point.   It has larger wheels rather than using the balls like Core Flyte.    If you are going to use on carpets this product should allow smoother movement because of the larger wheels and the platforms are also much larger than Core Flyte.    The three wheels are mounted in a swiveling carriage mounted to bottom of the platform which allows 360 movement just like the Core Flyte.     At $39 these are a steal!  You can purchase directly from Amazon.

Elastic Resistance– are a fantastic way to provide a full body workout that can be done in a very small space and virtually anywhere.    There are two main types of elastic resistance:

Circular Tubing that usually has handles attached – can purchase many different types directly from Amazon

Flat Circular Bands– www.resistancebandtraining.comor directly from Amazon

If you also include a door mount which typically is placed through the inside edge of the door jam while door.   Then you close the door and there is usually a loop or other way to attach tubing to this anchor so that you can push and pull against the tubing.

There are literally hundreds of highly effective exercises than can be done with elastic resistance and for less than $100 you can buy several different sizes/strengths of bands and sizes along with door mount and take them anywhere!   Resistance bands can be purchased directly from Amazon and great brands include Lifeline Fitness www.lifelinefitness.com and www.resistancebandtraining.comfor flat circular bands.

Suspension Trainers– the most well-known is TRX, but there are quite a few high-quality options.   Suspension Trainers use straps with handles and by adjusting your hand and foot position relative to the straps and where they anchored you can do hundreds of exercises and work your body head to toe.   These systems are light and very easy to transport.     Most come with some type of door or universal mounting system to allow you to use them in many places from a hotel room to a playground to a gym.

High quality Suspension Trainers include:

TRX – the most well know product on the market and it is available from TRX available on Amazon for $149.    Or buy directly from TRX at www.trxtraining.com

Lifeline Jungle Gym XT – another fantastic product with a split anchor design which allows you to precisely target certain muscles better such as chest doing chest flys.   At $99.99 this is a great value and a virtually indestructible product.   This product can be purchased from Amazon or at www.lifelinefitness.com

Cross-Core 180 – if you want the Cadillac of Suspension Trainers this is probably your pick!     By far the most versatile in the category, virtually indestructible, and most importantly allow a unique rotation anchor system that provides an adjustable level of extra instability and movement that can take your workouts to a whole new level.    The handle and adjustment systems are also the best and allow many more types of exercises than any other product in this category.    At $249.95 on Amazon its not cheap but you do get what you pay for here!    Also available at  https://crosscore.com/

An Ideal Ski Conditioning Program

In order to design an effective ski conditioning program the first task is to understand the key physiological requirements of skiing ski specific:

Strength

Balance/Stability/Kinesthetic Awareness

Speed

Muscular Endurance

Cardiovascular Endurance

Flexibility

What is Ski Specific Strength?

Ski specific strength requires strength of the key muscles used in skiing and the right type of strength relative to the specific muscular contractions required in skiing.    The key muscles include the Quadriceps (front of thigh), hamstrings (back of thigh), Gluteals (hip musculature), inner thighs, outer thighs, calves, core musculature, low back, shoulder, back, and arms.    These muscles will use all three contraction types: Concentric (muscle shortening to project force externally), Isometric (static contraction to prevent movement), and Eccentric (muscle lengthening to absorb forces – like moguls!).     

The unique requirement for skiing is Isometric and Eccentric strength and endurance which requires a specific set of conditioning exercises that mimic the sports requirements from these muscles.  The core muscles will also mostly be used in an eccentric and isometric fashion and need to be conditioned specifically as well.

Strength Training for Skiing

It is important to use mostly compound, multi-joint exercises for the majority of strength training exercise for skiing.   For example, a leg press will provide better overall benefit for the quadriceps than a leg extension because it is a compound, multi-joint exercise.  Better yet, if you are able, choose an exercise that also requires balance such as a squat or a lunge that is also a compound, multi-joint movement yet requires much more stabilization and balance resulting in better transfer of benefits to skiing. 

These same ideas apply to upper body strength training. For example, a machine bench press will provide more benefit than a Pectoral Fly Machine (aka “Pec Deck”) because the bench press movement is a compound, multi-joint movement rather than an isolated single joint movement like the pec dec.  However a bench press will provide more benefit than a machine bench press because it requires more stabilization and balance, and dumbbell bench presses provide an even greater carryover of strength since there is an even higher stability and balance requirement!

Great Ski Training Strength Exercises

Squat with barbell or dumbbells

Wall seat for time

Lunge with dumbbells or barbells

Walking lunges

Side lunges

Lunges on a slide board (very strong eccentric component)

Standing Adductor Exercise on Slideboard

Push-ups

Dips

Pull-ups/Pulldowns

Seated Rows/Dumbbell Rows

Pulldown with rope handle linked with a tricep extension to mimic the mechanics of poling.

The reACT Trainer – the Ultimate Ski Specific Training Tool!

The reACT Trainer (see a video demonstration here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S86Vx_4253Q) is by far the most effective tool for developing ski specific strength, endurance, power, balance and stability.    It emphasizes eccentric muscle contractions which are so important in skiing while also demanding balance and core strength.    5 – 10 minutes twice a week for 3 – 6 weeks before ski season will make an incredible difference in your skiing performance!

What is the best way to do Ski Specific Cardio Training?

Skiing, particularly at altitude, will place demands on the cardiovascular system.  Aggressive skiing, particularly in moguls, places high end demands on the cardiovascular System.  Specifically skiing involves high levels of muscular effort for 1 – 5 minutes followed by rest while on the ski lift.  So cardiovascular conditioning should include interval training to specifically condition for the stresses of skiing. 

Slideboard Training – the ideal tool for Ski Specific Cardio and Strength Training!

A slideboard specifically stresses the key muscles used in skiing emphasizing eccentric and isometric muscular contractions along with strong concentric contractions in a dynamic manner that demands balance and stability.   

The slideboard also uses lateral movement which is required heavily in skiing and not provided by any other apparatus!  The down up down and side to side pattern of weight transfer that is so essential to downhill skiing can duplicated perfectly on a slideboard.

Slideboards are one of the few devices that Olympic skiers actually use for conditioning because slideboards work!

Other Cardiovascular Training Options

Rollerblading is OUTSTANDING if you find a place where you can maintain speed safely, learn to Rollerblade properly, and wear protective gear.

Bicycle – both indoor and even better outside because of increased balance requirements

Stair climbing real stairs or using a machine (Do NOT hold on at all while using a climber. This greatly decreases the benefits of a climber by eliminating the need to balance and stabilize and also reduces the caloric expenditure – there are no bars to hang on when you ski!)

Treadmill using an interval based program

Rower, elliptical or other machine – as above

Flexibility and Skiing

Flexibility Training aka “Stretching” refers to exercise done to restore the resting length of muscle groups to their ideal position.  Flexibility requirements are different based on your body type and skiing has its own particular flexibility requirements depending on how hard you ski.  Key muscles that require flexibility to allow proper mobility of the ankle, knee, hip and shoulder include:

Calf muscles such as Gastrocnemius (long calf muscle) and even more so Soleus (short calf muscle) must be capable of a large range of motion so that they allow the knee to flex forward to keep pressure on the front of the ski while the foot is fixed on the ski.

Adductors (inner thighs) need to be capable of moving through a relatively wide range of motion and be capable of producing force throughout the range.

Hamstrings are not typically put through an extreme range of motion skiing, but flexibility is required.

Hip flexors are used frequently and because the hip is constantly in a position of flexion the hip flexors are prone to becoming overly tight from skiing.

Shoulder and chest muscles are used extensively for poling and the upper arm is moving through a significant range of motion in poling.

Static Stretching

The most recognized and safest form of stretching is called static stretching which refers to the fact that a muscle is placed in a slightly stretched position (any pain is always bad) and held there without movement for 30 -60 seconds.  This type of stretching is most effective AFTERexercise and in fact stretching before exercise has NOT been shown to be of benefit and done incorrectly can clearly cause more harm than good.

Stretching cold muscles is not beneficial which is one of the reasons stretching after exercise is more effective.  To prepare for vigorous exercise warm-up by easing into the activity.  In the case of skiing start with easier slopes well within your ability and perform lots of turns to warm the muscles up and prepare for the challenge ahead.  By holding a stretch position after exercise your nervous system turns off the tendency to pull against the stretch and allows the muscle length to reset to a more appropriate position.

Ski Stretches

Bent leg and straight leg calf stretches

Hamstring stretch

Hip Flexor stretch

Adductor stretch

Chest stretch

Speed and Power Training for Skiing

AFTER building a base of strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility you can begin to focus on speed and power through plyometric training.  Plyometric training utilizes jumping and other explosive drills that use energy stored in the muscle during prestretch to produce maximal muscular contractions. You have no business doing this type of high intensity training without professional guidance and then AFTER you have established a base of strength, endurance and flexibility.  The slideboard actually provides this type of approach in an easy to control manner.   After achieving a level of skill and initial conditioning you can incorporate a down up down movement pattern that results in rapid eccentric loading followed by a vigorous concentric contraction to provide plyometric training specific to skiing.   The reACT Trainer is the ideal, safe way to develop ski specific strength, speed, power and endurance!

How much exercise does it take to burn off Thanksgiving Foods?

To put this in perspective it is very easy to eat upwards of 4,500 calories if you really go crazy and pay no attention to portion size, how many portions you are eating, and what you are eating.      Given that the average person burns somewhere around 2,000 calories per day it means that you would have to fast for more than two days to get rid of this entire holiday binge!

On the other hand, let’s take a look at a more restrained (yet enjoyable) Thanksgiving Meal by looking at everything you would eat, how many calories each item contains, and how long it would take to burn off with specific exercises.

3 pigs in a blanket – 150 calories – 15 minutes – walking at a moderate speed for 15 – 20 minutes

1oz brie cheese – 95 calories – Ice skating continuously for 12 minutes

4oz Sweet Potato – 187 calories – 45 minutes of weight lifting

½ cup Green Bean Casserole – 227 calories – 18 minutes of jumping rope

1 glass of wine – 125 calories – 10 minutes of burpees

¼ cup cranberry sauce – 102 calories – 20 minutes of cycling outside

3.5 oz white meat turkey with skin – 177 calories – 20 minutes of touch football

½ cup gravy – 25 calories – 3 minutes of jumping jacks

½ cup stuffing – 195 calories – 25 minutes of swimming

1 cup mashed potatoes – 237 calories – 1 hour of canoeing

3 by 3 inch square cornbread – 198 calories – 25 minutes of stair climbing

Green Bean Casserole – 227 calories – 30 minutes of walking at a moderate pace

Pecan Pie Slive (1/8 of pie) = 500 calories – 1 hour of ice skating

How to Enjoy Alcoholic Beverages Without Getting Fat During the Holidays!

The holidays are a time of celebration, and assuming you do NOT have a problem with alcohol and can drink responsibly, it is okay to imbibe!    The key to not getting fat from alcohol is to understand the calorie and carb content of alcoholic beverages and plan your intake ahead of time in terms of exactly what you chose to drink and how much you have.   

All alcoholic beverages tend to drive insulin production so they are big no, no for diabetics and other people taking certain medications.   ALWAYS check for drug and alcohol interactions before drinking any alcoholic beverage.

It is also important to understand that in addition to the alcohol content itself alcoholic beverages are often full of sugar which further drives insulin and fat production.    The good news is that there ARE alcoholic beverages that are much lower in sugar/carb and calories.

Champagne

One of the best deals for a low carb holiday beverage is champagne!   Champagnes have the lowest carb and calorie content of any wine so are a great choice – particularly dryer champagnes.   A 4-ounce serving contains just 1.6 grams of carb and only 84 calories making Champagne the best choice for holiday cheer!

Common White Wines

After Champagnes the next best choice is white wines (NOT including ANY dessert wines!)

Per 5 Ounce Serving Size:

Chardonnay -   120 calories and 3.43 grams of carb

Sauvignon Blanc – 120 calories and 3 grams of carb

Reisling – 120 calories and 5.54 grams of carb

Pinot Grigio – 122 calories and 3 grams of carb

Common Red Wines

Merlot – 118 calories and   grams of carb

Cabernet Sauvignon – 130 calories and 3.82 grams of carb

Burgundy – 122 calories and 5.46 grams of carb

Pinot Noir – 116 calories and 4 grams of carb

Shiraz – 116 calories and 3.79 grams of carb

Low Carb Beers

Bud Select 55 – 55 calories with only 1.9 grams of carb

Miller64 – 64 calories with 2.4 grams of carb

Michelob Ultra – 95 calories with 2.62 grams of carb

Becks Premier Light – 64 Calories with 3.2 grams of carb

Miller Light – 96 calories with 3.2 grams of carb

Amstel Light – 95 calories with 5 grams of carb

Coors Light – 102 calories with 5 grams of carb

Bud Light – 110 calories with 6.6 grams of carb

Mixed Drinks

Liquor such as gin, vodka, scotch and rum, but are full of calories and to some extent act as a “super” carb driving insulin and hunger.    That being said they do not contain any carb whatsoever so as long as you mix them with no sugar/calorie mixers you can keep your carb and calorie intake somewhat under control.

One of the best choices is Vodka and Soda Water with Lime or Lemon coming in with zero carbs and about 100 calories!   Other examples are whiskey and diet coke, Seagrams 7 and Diet 7-up, Rum and diet cola, or Spiced Rum and Diet Ginger Ale.

What to avoid!

Watch those mixers when it comes to mixed drinks – most standard mixers such as all sodas, fruit juices, and tonic are full of sugar unless you use the diet versions.      All your Caribbean and Tropical drinks such as Pina Coladas, Daquireis, Mai Tai’s, and Margaritas, etc are chock full of sugar and calories.

Set a Budget for Your Intake!

Set a budget on your intake of alcoholic beverages and actually keep track as you drink them making a point of knowing how much you have had each hour.     Remember each beer, glass of wine, and mixed drink takes one hour to process for the average male (and longer for females) so anything above 1 per hour is getting you inebriated at some level.   

In addition to budgeting your intake drink a glass of non-alcoholic, no calorie beverage such as water or club soda for each drink/beer/glass of wine you have to slow yourself down and stay hydrated.

If you want to catch a buzz drink your limit and switch to all non-alcoholic beverages for 2 – 4 hours before driving.     

Even better – get a designated driver or use Uber or Lyft for travel to and from Holiday Parties!

How to Eat Healthy While Travelling Over the Holidays

‘Tis the season again – we are entering that infamous Thanksgiving through New Years stretch where the average American will gain 8 – 12lbs!    One of the main reasons for this is that we get out of our normal routines for both exercise and diet.     It is even more challenging if you are travelling during this season because you are out of your home and have less control over your exercise and eating habits.

However, where there is a will there is a way.      Here are some key tips to prevent weight gain during travel:

1.      Plan your meals and your exercise.    This is probably the most important tip because with a little planning you CAN eat healthy and get in your exercise.

2.    Start by looking at your travel schedule and planning your meals during travel.     We all know how lousy the food is on an airline so instead of being subjected to the lousy and unhealthy food bring your own.     In many airports today, there are plenty of healthy options that you can purchase and carry on the plane.     Great options include:

a.       Nuts – see below

b.       Ready to drink shakes like Muscle Milk (even starting to see this in an organic option in airports!).

c.       Nutrition bars – see below

d.       Hard boiled eggs

e.       Salads with chicken

3.     Even better buy non-perishable food before you leave home.      Excellent choices for meals and snacks that are easy to travel with include:

a.      Nuts – come in cans and pouches with smaller packages being ideal because while nuts are healthy they are high in fats and even healthy fats have lots of calories!    No honey glazed and if you need to be concerned about salt stick with unsalted, roasted nuts.    Best choices include pecans and walnuts and Brazil nuts followed by almonds, then peanuts and cashews in terms of sugar content.

b.       Nutrition bars – there are a ton of healthier bar choices now, and they have actually figured out how to make a healthy bar that tastes pretty darned good without a ton of sugar that have high levels of fiber, healthy fats, and protein.      Several variety of Kind bars fit this bill including Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt; Caramel Almond and Sea Salt; and Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan.    These bars taste great and will satisfy you and travel well.

c.       Ready to mix shakes – there are many great options for shakes that are low in sugar and high in protein that taste great and come in packets that are easy to mix in a plastic shake bottle after you add water.      Gone are the days where these options must be blended in a blender.      Experiment a bit and you can find shakes that come in single serve packets that mix quite well in a plastic shaker bottle.

d.       If you are driving, consider bringing some pre-made meals in a cooler that are either ready to eat cold or can easily be microwave or baked when you arrive.     When you bring some of your own food and healthy desserts you know you will have good options!

4.      Focus on a great breakfast because you can get eggs in every town in America both at restaurants and in people’s homes.    Eggs are fantastic nutrition that really satisfy, and they can be prepared in many different ways.    Starting the day off with 2 – 3 whole eggs along with some sauteed vegetables, some cheese and some berries will keep your hunger at bay and provide a healthy meal that is easy to come by!

5.    Get your exercise in!    Plan before you leave – worst case you can use resistance bands and get a great workout in a very small physical space such as a hotel room.     You can also do highly effective body weight workouts while on the go and another fantastic choice for travel exercise is a suspension trainer like TRX or Core Flytes -  https://www.amazon.com/Core-Flyte-Pro-Performance-Rock-Solid/dp/B00K6MKM00 

      For resistance bands and workouts with them check out www.resistancebandtraining.comFor a great bodyweight workout try this one: https://workoutanytime.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-three-best-bodyweight-exercise.html

6.    Go for a walk and check out the neighborhood or go see some nearby sites.     Sitting on your butt all day while food is being prepared all around you is asking for trouble!   Get up and get out and active for part of the day or offer to do some shopping for the group or pitch in with some of the physical chores if you are staying at someone’s home.

      So while it is easy to gain weight during travel over the holidays – with a little planning you can come through with little to no weight gain or even lose a pounds or two over the holidays!

How Much Exercise Does It Take to Burn Off Halloween Candy?

In the big picture of weight loss it is not what we do on the occasional holiday that really determines our weight it is the week in week out eating and drinking habits that determine our weight.   That being said if you are not careful you can eat/drink a ton of calories in one day which then turns into weeks of too many calories during the holidays starting with Halloween.

The key is to plan and know what you are eating!   Candy can be confusing because of all the different snack sizes that are so prevalent during Halloween.      It is very easy to assume because you are eating snack size candy that it is not that bad, and this is true if you are not eating too many pieces!    Before you eat candy see how many calories you are eating – it takes less than a minute to google calorie, sugar, and fat content for just about any common Halloween Candy.

Here are some examples:

Nestle’s Crunch Bar (60 calories)               6 minutes of brisk aerobic exercise to burn off!

Kit Kat Bar (70 calories)                             8 minutes of brisk aerobic exercise to burn off!

4 Snickers Mini Bar (170 calories)             18 minutes of high intensity exercise to burn off!

Full Size Twix Bar (80 calories)                 6 minutes of continuous kettlebell swings to burn off!

4.2 Oz Candy Corn (450 calories)              4 – 5 miles of walking to burn off!

2 Peanut Butter Cups (210 Calories)          2 miles of running to burn off!

So eating a little candy is no big deal, BUT if you are not watching how many pieces/containers you eat you can quickly rack up a ton of calories that would take more than an hour of vigorous exercise to burn off!

Plan your candy intake and know what you are going to eat and enjoy it!   The other key is have candy after a meal so you are not really hungry –