Keeping a consistent workout scheduled is hard enough, add traveling to the picture and it just got harder. In reality there is no perfect workout schedule while on the road, but I have some tips for you today that will make it a bit easier to keep track of your routine. For workout newbies there will be a lot of terms you may not understand. I will be filling in the gaps as time passes so that everyone can participate in this routine =).

If you’ve been working out for a while, or have brushed up on the subject then you know how much your body likes new things. Personally, I change my workout once a month. Sometimes I will leave the same one going for two to three months but never more than that. For this tip I recommend going on mini bulk/shred workouts. When you have a gym available to you, that actually has weights, then you can focus on a bulk cycle. For this I like to do something called German Volume Training.

BULK CYCLE

German volume training consists of focusing on specific muscle groups and training them to failure. There are two variations of the routine that I like. The first one consists of doing ten sets of ten reps with one workout. If this bores you then you can find the second variation HERE. The trick to this though is that you want to pick a weight that is heavy enough where you won’t be able to finish all of the reps in each set.

For Example:

Dumbbell Press – 10 sets 10 reps
Set 1 – 10 reps
Set 2 – 10 reps
Set 3 – 10 reps
Set 4 – 9 reps
Set 5 – 9 reps
Set 6 – 8 reps
Set 7 – 8 reps
Set 8 – 7 reps
Set 9 – 7 reps
Set 10 – 6 reps

Finding the perfect weight can be a little bit tricky, I would recommend you to pick a heavier weight over a lighter weight if you are not sure. Remember, you can always drop the weight and you should if you can’t get 6 or more reps on any given set. In total you should be doing four different workouts per day totaling to somewhere around 300 reps and about an hour in the gym.

A weekly routine of this workout would look something like this.

Monday – Chest and Triceps

Tuesday – Back and Biceps

Wednesday – Rest, Travel, Hike, Climb, Explore

Thursday – Legs

Friday – Shoulders and Core

Saturday – Rest, Travel, Hike, Climb, Explore

Sunday – Rest, Travel, Hike, Climb, Explore

SHRED CYCLE

This cycle will be used for when you are in the middle of the jungle or places where the gyms look something like THIS. The shred cycle is good because it consists of all things that you can do with your body weight. If you reallllly need weights, and you will be at your destination for a while then consider making your own weights (more on this to come later).

The routine that I use when I’m not near a gym has a P90x feel to it. A weekly routine for that looks something like this:

Monday – Chest and Back

Tuesday – Rest, Travel, Hike, Climb, Explore

Wednesday – Legs

Thursday – Rest, Travel, Hike, Climb, Explore

Friday – Shoulders and Arms

Saturday – Rest, Travel, Hike, Climb, Explore

Sunday – Plyometrics

As you can see there are more rest days in here but I find that if you’re in a place that doesn’t have a gym close by than you can manage to find some sort of physical activity that will substitute a day of cardio. If you are at a very high level of fitness you could even incorporate working out in your hikes. Do half of the hike jogging, for example.

To get you started on some body weight exercises for this workout routine you can check out some videos below.

Body Weight Exercises

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POdzasJklxw&w=708]

So remember, take advantage of the time that you have near a gym. This is where you will maintain and build your muscle mass. When you can’t get in a gym then switch over to the shred cycle. This doesn’t mean you are going to loose all of the mass you gained, this means you will tone it and provide some muscle shock to your body to stimulate growth through different workout routines.

Soon, I will be posting some detailed workout routines with specific exercises so that you can get your workout on. Remember the key to any workout routine is EAT, TRAIN HARD and SLEEP WELL!!!!

Photo Credit: Thanks to my brother for taking the shots and my good friend Chris for his dedication and efforts to reach his level of fitness!