Jodie and I shot this video up at my parents cabin to show you that you can get in a good training session (workout) anywhere! We brought up the TRX suspension trainer, hooked it up to a tree as shown above and a few kettlebells.
We even found a wheelbarrow and had some fun with that too!
Now you don’t have any excuse when you are up north or traveling. Make use of whatever you can find, put a few kettlebells in the trunk of your car or toss a TRX gym in a bag in your suitcase!
Sample TRX Suspension Trainer Workout Video from Mexico!
Greetings from Mexico! Jodie and I are having a blast down here!
Traveling is no excuse not to get some training and a few fun workout sessions in.
How?
Here is a video that was actually shot when Jodie and I were kiteboarding in La Ventana Mexico about 5 weeks ago (even though we are in Mexico again now on our honeymoon).
TRX Workout in Mexico Video
The TRX is portable and fits great into your suitcase, you pick one up today by clicking HERE.
Greetings! I have survived! It has been an absolute crazy past couple of weeks here.
I had the title of “Diary of a Mad Man” pop into my head when I was writing this up, so I thought I would include a live version of this Ozzy classic for your listening pleasure.
I remember seeing Ozzy on his “No More Tours Tour” in like 8th grade. It was awesome other than the treble was so high I think I had hearing damage for years after that. I’ve seen him many times since on Ozzfest also. So much for retirement!
As you know, I am getting married this coming Saturday (yes, like in a 2 days) and I am very excited.
PhD Update
I have also been working on my dissertation paper regarding HRV (heart rate variability - a way to measure biofeedback) and I handed in the latest revision to my advisor at about 2:30am today. I already have more work to do on it as I got the revisions back already, but getting closer to submitting if for peer review and publication.
Once that is taken care of, I will then work on finishing up my paper on the effects of Energy Drinks (Monster Energy Drink) regarding heart rate, HRV, exercise performance (like, do the darn things even work?) effects on fat burning (via RER- respiratory exchange ratio) among other things. I collected the data last year and have it analyzed already, so hopefully I won’t need to get any more subjects. All the studies were fasted, so nothing like getting up at 4:45am sometimes to be in the lab (or sleeping there overnight—shhhhhh, don’t tell anyone though). I still carry a pillow in my car to catch a quick cat nap for a few minutes wherever I can.
Once that is completed, I have my third paper to work on regarding Metabolic Flexibility as I am looking at a potential new way to measure metabolic flexibility without sticking someone with needles. I will combine those 3 studies plus a literature review and conclusion into my final dissertation. Lots and lots more work to go, but progress one step at a time is good.
I have only seen Jodie about 2 times in the past week, but we will get to spend a whole week in Mexico (top secret location) after the wedding, so we are super excited about the honeymoon! It will be sooooo nice to finally spend some time together and then I get to see her for the rest of my life every day—yeah!!
Jodie and I
Perhaps I will have an re-enactment of this photo from our La Ventana trip. Viva La Mexico
And lots of this! Although I do have a hard time sitting still for long.
A huge thanks to Jodie also for all the wedding planning and to our friend Dana and Nicole too for all their wedding planning help. I had no idea that planning a wedding was so much work, but it will be great! Neither one of us do much that is considered “normal” so we are even getting married in a cave!
Project 86
For those that missed the engagement story, see this link below.
We got engaged at a Project 86show in Arizona (huge thanks to the lead singer Andrew,the Rev, and the P86 Tour Manager). My wonderful colleges at work (I still work part time at a medical device company as an engineer for over 10 years now), bought me a Project 86 cake and had a nice celebration, wonderful card and gits too! Thanks everyone!!!
Myself, Jodie and Andrew from Project 86
The Project 86 cake
Lifting
Of course I am still lifting myself and it is going well, despite crazy levels of stress and enough caffeine at times to approach the LD 50 for small fury animals. Last night I came within 1 lb of breaking my all time bench personal record (PR) and pulled 8 singles at or over 365 lbs on deadlifts the day before. Yeah for biofeedback training. Keep your eyes open for the Grip n Rip DVD soon and it shows you the break down on how to custom your training to you!
I gave 435 a run, but no dice. I will get it though and will pull 450 lbs by the end of this year. My buddy Maximillian Barry (Nu_Fit on twitter) and a few others have a deadlift race.
Plus, once my schedule frees up a bit post PhD later this year (fingers crossed) I plan to hang out and lift more with those nuts Adam T Glass and Brad Nelson. Doing the Tactical Strength Challenge Elite style 10 days after coming back from my honeymoon is going to be brutal though! I will be traveling with trusty TRX suspension trainer though. Maybe the professor will show up in a future video from Mexico, who knows!
The Blog Marches On!
I am hoping to crank out some updates for you tomorrow AM yet, I will probably not have computer access in Mexico, so comment replies may be very slow.
Summary
That is the update on all the crazy updates from here. What is new in your life? Any good wedding stories that you wan to share? Post away in the comments
Wow, is that an oxymoron? I know most use vacation as a time to destroy bags of Cheetos and hang out at all you can eat buffets for hours.
This is not my idea of a vacation, but that does not mean you need to be all worried about your nutrition every waking hour–it is VACATION remember?
The question I get is what to do on vacation so that you don’t return 5 lbs heavier than when you left.
This past Nov Jodie and I went on a trip to S. Padre TX and since we are in Baja right now, I thought this would be a great time to give you an inside peak into the vacation fridge and offer up some tips.
If you move around more, it is just way easier to burn calories. This does not mean you need to do marathons for your vacation (although I know those that do, which is cool), but sitting in the sun for 7 days in a row rubbing coconut oil on your ever expanding gut gets old.
2) Hit up the grocery store
You don’t need to troll the buffet for every meal! Get a place with a fridge so you can store some healthy foods and save some dinero too
3) Bring some basics
I like to bring a good protein powder with me, just in case I stuck somewhere without much for food. Proteins are usually the hardest to get when traveling and most of the time they require the most prep too. If you have a good protein powder (I like protein factory), you can easily find some veggies or fruits to go with it.
4) Intermittent Fasting
Yikes, I just said that you can fast on vacation! I know that sounds insane, but if you know you are having a crazy travel day, food may be hit or miss and airport food is crap-tastic, do a 24 hour fast. It would be a great way to start off in a bit of a caloric deficit too. Check out the interview I did withBrad Pilon of Eat Stop Eat HERE (1 hour of audio free).
I know that sounds nuts too, but go for a run on the beach, do some body weight exercises or bring your TRX Gym in a bag (I brought mine to S Padre and I have it here in Baja with me too)
Push Up Variations
6) Exercise volume
I like to plan my deloads around my vacation time and this works well with clients too. If you know you are going to be gone in 5 weeks, I have them do a ton of volume (again, I use the Gym Movements DVDon biofeedback to help plan day to day variations) before they leave. On vacation they can just hit up some work from #5 above and they are set.
The downside is that you may be a bit sore during the first day or two, but it works great.
Summary
There are my 6 tips to prevent the travel/vacation weight gain. I normally tend to lose weight on vacation and I do enjoy a dark beer (no piss water please) during the evening watching the sunset with Jodie.
If I have a great kiteboard run, my treat is pop tarts. You don’t need to be neurotic, but it takes a bit of planning.
What tips do you have? Let’s hear ‘em! Leave them in the comments!
The Professor Does Push Up Variations via Video from the Lab
The Professor is back in the ice cold lab here in Minnesota with his super warm lab coat to bring you some chest exercises for you using the TRX suspension trainer.
As you can see in the video above, it is always fun to do those push ups after a nice bench press session!
Comments
Let me know what exercises you want to see the professor do next time by leaving some comment love below!
The professor is back again in his lab conducting more experiments on unsuspecting athletes. Today we are playing around with TRX Suspension Trainer to do some new exercises.
The first question is
Is This Easy To Set Up?
The short answer is YES, as shown in the video above. It only takes a couple minutes (at most) to have it set up. No more excuses about getting to the gym, bring the gym to you in minutes!
Never Miss A Workout Again!
The TRX Gym in a Bag weighs in only at 2 lbs and can fit in your suitcase, even with all the crazy new airline restrictions.
I personally find it that is is awesome when you travel since you can hook it up to pull up bars, trees, overhangs, and they even have an option that lets you use it from a door!
Excuses, Take a Hike!
No more excuses to not exercise when you travel now! I love kettlbells, but they are a bugger to travel with and the TRX suspension trainer works great to do some unique exercises that you can’t do with just your bodyweight.
You can set it up almost anywhere!
It is also a great option for military personal that many times are left with less than stellar locations to get in a good training session or much equipment at times.
What’s In the Bag?
TRX Force Kit
From the Fitness Anywhere website about the TRX Force Kit:
Get into Peak Operational Readiness- or, in civilian terms, the best shape of your life. You’ll take your strength and endurance up to the level of America’s highest echelon of fighting forces when you follow TRX® creator and former Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick and Fitness Anywhere Director of Education Fraser Quelch through this one-two punch of a workout. Designed to be performed on alternating days, the two programs begin at a moderate level and ratchet up the training aggressively over a 12-week period, The DVD includes a bonus warm-up routine, two-real time workouts, exclusive tips and techniques from Hetrick and Quelch, and a handy workout log to track your personal progress.
Who Can Use It?
Just about any body can use it since the straps adjust and let you custom the effective weight to your strength levels. There are many professional athletes from NFL quarterbacks to extreme sport athletes to soccer players such as:
Drew Brees, NFL Quarterback, New Orleans Saints
Heather Mitts, Pro Soccer Player, Two-time USA Olympic Gold Medalist
Carmelo Anthony, Pro Basketball Player, Denver Nuggets
Ronnie Faisst, Freestyle Motocross (FMX)) Rider
Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, Freestyle Motocross (FMX)) Rider
Holly Beck, Professional surfer and Surf Stronger athlete
Summary
If you are looking for something to have in your home gym or start your own home gym and take it on the road with you, this is great and I would recommend it. If you have access to a full gym all the time it may not be for you, but even just taking one day “off” from the normal gym and doing some bodyweight and TRX exercises at home will save you some time.
Stay tuned for more TRX exercises coming soon!
Any and all comments, let me know below! I want to hear what YOU think!