Training During Long-Term Travel (4 Months)

Training Q&A [Moderated]
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Hi Team,

In about 4 weeks, I am taking off on a roughly (undefined) 4 month backpacking trip through South America. I won’t be traveling super frequently (i.e. I’ll be in most places for at least 2 weeks at a time, and sometimes closer to 6 weeks).

For some background, I’ve been running your programs quite consistently since my first strength coach sent me your way for The Bridge in 2017/2018. Claire was actually my coach for about 4 years too! :grin:

Age 34, with best lifts in kg being 160/108/205 for S/B/D (not as strong as now, but close).

I’ve competed twice (recreationally), and like doing singles, though I would say my focus these days is much more prioritizing hypertrophy and conditioning, and health in general.

In general, I’m very familiar with your programming methodology and have run quite a few programs by now:

  • Powerbuilding II (currently running Non-Comp) → this is my favorite style of training
  • Hypertrophy II (going to pivot to this for my final block before I travel)
  • Bodybuilding II and I
  • General Strength & Conditioning
  • Low Fatigue Strength
  • A very old version (pre-app) of the Endurance program
  • And another old version of a Strength program

Basically, I wanted to gut check my general plan over these next 4 months. My main considerations are program selection, packing light, conditioning, and a squat vs. leg press decision.

  1. Programming: Of the programs I have (or could buy), I think Bodybuilding II will be the best fit for me for a while. It’s a bit less equipment dependent since there are so many DB and machine variations, and the emphasis isn’t on BB lifts specifically. Also quite a bit of conditioning and GPP in the program from what I remember. Only other programs I was really considering here would be Hypertrophy I/II, General S&C, or Endurance (which I don’t own). Curious if you have any thoughts here.
  2. Packing/Equipment: I plan to pack as light as possible for this trip, so I’m leaving behind anything non-essential (unless small). Which, as dramatic as it sounds, this means I won’t be lugging around my lifting belt, knee sleeves nor my squat shoes. They sadly just take up too much space in a single bag approach. I will bring my wrist wraps and straps. Those are the 5 things that I bring to the gym consistently today.
  3. Conditioning: I always struggle to do as much as I feel I could be doing. Mostly because I get bored. But this seems like a good opportunity to increase how much I do.
  4. Leg press vs. Squats: On the BB II program, I see that leg press is a substitute for high bar/low bar. I haven’t squatted without squat shoes in a long time, and while I’m sure I would be fine doing without it, I always remembered it feeling really odd and caused some slight hip discomfort. So I’m seriously debating just going without squats for the time being. I’m happy to be talked out of this, however.
  5. Time Off: I will also have a few periods where realistically, I won’t train. Doing 2 full weeks in Patagonia in December, so I’ll be hiking nearly every day. So I want to save my resources for that, and just enjoy myself. There will also be two other weeks (not consecutive) where I will be very immersed in cultural activities and won’t have any desire to spend time on training. In the long-run, I’m not particularly worried here. But just noting there will be semi-frequent breaks. Maybe two weeks deep in nature at the end as well.

In general, I feel pretty good about my plan here, but definitely want to sanity check it. I think a few great outcomes for me during this period (specific to training) would be to:

  • a) increase muscle mass, particularly upper body and arms
  • b) work on conditioning and increase endurance here
  • c) BONUS: bench has always been hard to progress, so I wouldn’t using some the lessened emphasis on squatting to helping develop here for the long-run

Long post I know, but would love any feedback or general recommendations here!

Thanks for all the materials and content, as always!

Dylan

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Dylan,

Sounds like a fun trip! Let’s walk through my thought process here.

During travel, vacation, and generally speaking, periods of life where training is not top priority, the main goal is to avoid meaningful detraining. Reducing training load causes training adaptations to decay at different rates, though the specific dose for maintenance for each adaptation is unknown and likely varies amongst individuals.

Which brings me back to my general coaching goal: maximize the individual’s training load given their available resources (time and recovery). With that in mind, you can start making some decisions about the program:

  • Should you pick 2, 3, or 4 days per week? Pick the one that allows you to get the most training done. I suspect gym time will be concentrated due to drop-in fees, travel, etc. So, I’d favor a 2 or 3-day per week plan.
  • Should you pick machines over barbells or vice versa? Both are roughly the same for driving strength (it’s specific) and hypertrophy per “unit” training load, so pick the one that you’ll do the most of. Sounds like you’ll feel most comfortable being machine-based, which is fine. Most of our non-powerlifting templates work just fine for that. All of the ones you mentioned would work.
  • Should you pick a training program that allows for more training load to be completed outside of the gym, e.g. Endurance or our new 5 and 10K Hybrid program? Theoretically, this would increase training load without adding more gym trips, but I would want to be cautious about doing something new (running) and injury risk while traveling.

I’d probably pick the 5K “beginner” template, where beginner refers to the amount of running included. It’s got a gradual progression in there, which would pair nicely with the machine work for the lower body. Otherwise, any of the other programs you mentioned here are reasonable choices.

-Jordan

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Thanks for the detailed answer, Jordan! This was about what I was expecting, so good to know my thinking is in the right area. A few caveats, that I realize I didn’t share initially:

  • I actually don’t think the # of days per week is an obstacle. My goal was actually to target 4, with 3 on the lower end. As part of my “trip”, I’m also planning to be “living” in these places (hence the 4-6 week stints), so I don’t think that will be concern. I’m not super concerned about drop-in fees during this period.
  • My hope is to still perform barbell bench and deadlifts (or variations), so I suppose it may be more machine-based (or DBs) for the “squatting” slot.
  • I think as I talk through all of this, the BB I or II probably fits me well here.
  • On the 5k/10k programs - are those structured in a way that you can replace all of the running with rowing/biking or a similar form? I assume yes.

Lastly, one question that also popped up which applies to this scenario, but also other programs, is how would you handle the need to temporarily switch from say, 4 days to 3 days for a week or 2 in the middle of the program? i.e. let’s say I’m 3 weeks into a 4-day program, and then for whatever reason days are limited for a couple weeks. Would you just use your best judgment to combine sessions or remove one of the days? Or maybe pivot to a 3-day version of the same program (I think you have this for several programs such as BB, hypertrophy and even powerbuilding if memory serves).

Thanks!

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Yea, I would try to maintain the same training load, but distribute it as needed. You could bounce back and forth from 3 and 4-day versions of our templates within the same program, as they generally have the same training load.

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