How to Train, Eat and Stay on Track Whilst Travelling

Training and Travelling 

1. How can you maintain your strength routine without access to a gym? 

This question addresses one of the most common concerns for travellers who lift, losing progress when a gym isn’t available. Your answer can explore bodyweight alternatives, resistance bands, and creative use of outdoor spaces. It could also include training types of people might not be aware of i.e BFR  

If you could provide a sample template, that would be great! 

If I couldn’t access a gym, my first move would be to plan for it in advance by incorporating it into a periodised structure. Every few months, I reach a point where accumulated fatigue calls for a step back, commonly referred to as a deload. This might mean reducing training volume, intensity, or even taking a full week off. So, if I had the foresight, I’d intentionally align my time away from the gym with a deload. It’s not a step backwards, but a lateral move to enable bigger steps forward. 

If a deload wasn’t appropriate perhaps because the break from the gym was longer than a week I’d remind myself that muscles don’t recognise what is lifting the load, only that there’s mechanical tension. They’re essentially just dumb slabs of meat reacting to stimulus. Whether it’s a barbell squat or a bodyweight lunge, what matters most is applying sufficient tension, close enough to failure, with enough volume. 

Here’s an example of a home-based upper body session that could work well in that context: 

• Deficit push-ups w/ 2s pause at the bottom – 5xAMRAP 

• Pull-ups – 3xAMRAP 

• Inverted rows (using a tabletop & feet on a chair) – 4xAMRAP 

• Single-arm lateral raises (weighted backpack) – 4xAMRAP 

• Tabletop skull crushers – 2xAMRAP 

• Single-arm bicep curls (weighted backpack) – 2xAMRAP 

All AMRAPs are taken to safe concentric failure to maximise stimulus. 

2. What are the best travel-friendly tools or equipment for strength training on the go? 

This gives you space to recommend compact gear like resistance bands, TRX systems, or even adjustable dumbbells, and explain how they can be integrated into a mobile workout routine. 

• Resistance Bands – Lightweight, versatile, and great for replicating cable-style movements. Their variable resistance makes them usable across different strength levels. 

• Suspension Trainer (e.g. TRX) – Excellent for expanding bodyweight options, particularly unilateral movements like single-arm rows or supported pistol squats. 

• BFR Bands – By occluding blood flow, these allow for effective hypertrophy with as little as 20–30% of your 1RM, which is ideal when load availability is limited. 

3. How should you adjust your training and nutrition goals while traveling? 

A realistic look at how to adapt expectations, modify workout intensity/frequency, and stay on track with nutrition without being overly rigid, perfect for keeping readers grounded and motivated. 

I approach travel with a flexible but focused mindset. Perfect adherence isn’t always realistic, and I remind myself that the best bodybuilders are often the most consistent over the long haul, not the most obsessive. For sustainability, this lifestyle has to complement my life, not dominate it. 

Training: 

• If necessary, I treat the trip as a deload. 

• I use time-saving strategies like antagonist supersets. 

• I consolidate volume; for instance, focusing on a big compound quad movement and a hamstring isolation on leg day, while skipping calves, glutes, or abs if needed. 

Nutrition: 

• I may stop tracking macros but stay mindful: prioritising lean proteins, lots of plants, and avoiding overeating or undereating. 

• If eating out, I aim to make smart swaps or adjust the rest of the day to accommodate the meal. 

Ultimately, I aim to stay as consistent as possible without letting it negatively impact the experience of travelling. 

Training with limited gym equipment 

1. What are the best exercise substitutes when your go-to equipment isn’t available? 

This opens the door to sharing smart swaps for movements like barbell squats, deadlifts, or pull-ups, so travellers can stay consistent even if their usual setup is missing 

• Hack squat → Barbell back squat 

• Lat pulldown → Pull-ups 

• Machine press → Dumbbell or barbell bench press 

• Leg curls → Gliding leg curls 

• Leg extensions → Sissy squats 

• Cable curls → Dumbbell curls 

• Triceps pushdowns → Dips 

These alternatives maintain the same movement patterns and muscular targets with slightly different mechanics or loading. 

2. How can you maintain training intensity with minimal or unfamiliar equipment? 

Here, you can dive into techniques like tempo training, drop sets, supersets, or high-rep volume work to keep workouts challenging despite limitations. 

• Pauses in the lengthened position – Increases time under tension and difficulty. 

• Myo-reps / Rest-pause sets – Multiple mini-sets to failure with short rests extend stimulus. 

• High-rep sets to failure – Pushing up to 30 reps when needed. 

• Slow eccentrics – True 4–6 second negatives create intense mechanical damage. 

• Agonist supersets – Pairing two exercises for the same muscle, like sissy squats into walking lunges, massively increases local fatigue. 

Nutrition on the go 

1. How can you make smart food choices when eating out or grabbing meals on the go? 

This lets you cover practical strategies like scanning menus ahead of time, prioritising protein and vegetables, or choosing “better, not perfect” options at airports or convenience stops. 

These days, it’s easier than ever to make smart decisions on the go. I focus on: 

• Calories and protein as the two most important variables. 

• Prioritising lean proteins and plants – You can often find lean dairy (like skyr or low-fat yogurt), and fruit or raw vegetables (bananas, apples, tomatoes). 

• Being assertive with the menu – Ask for sauces on the side, remove butter, and swap high-calorie sides for better options. Often, staff are happy to accommodate if you ask politely. 

• Flexibility across the day/week – A higher-calorie meal out is manageable if the rest of the day or week is adjusted to maintain your targets. 

2. What are some easy, travel-friendly foods or snacks to help you stay on track? 

A great chance to share portable, nutritious options like protein bars, nuts, instant oats, or even pre-packed supplements that support your goals without requiring a kitchen. 

• Naked bars – Just fruit & nuts. 

• Protein bars & sachets – Easy, portable protein. 

• Fruits – Apples, bananas. 

• Raw veg – Carrots, tomatoes, peppers, sugar snap peas. 

• Snack a Jacks or oatcakes – Simple carb sources. 

3. How do you balance flexibility and discipline without feeling guilty or restrictive? 

This question lets you explore the mindset side of nutrition, encouraging balance, self-awareness, and consistency over perfection, which resonates with real-world travel challenges. 

I follow a flexible dieting philosophy based on inclusion, not restriction. No food is off-limits, I just manage the amounts. This fosters long-term adherence, autonomy, and enjoyment. 

My mindset works like a dimmer switch, not an on/off switch. I’m never “off” my diet, just more or less strict depending on context. 

For example: 

• Offseason weekdays: Meal plan-based eating, 90% whole foods, 10% room for things like biscuits or chocolate. 

• Weekends: Looser structure, still meet protein/calorie goals but include a takeaway or meal out. These are not “cheat meals”; they’re planned and accounted for. 

This approach lets me live my life and stay in control, my diet works for me, not the other way around. And honestly, I love how I eat. 

4. What are your go-to nutrition principles when on the go / travelling? 

This question lets you discuss some principles or tactics you use, such as eyeballing foods, guestimating calories, high fat/low carb meal scheduling etc.  

• Plan ahead – Bring protein-rich snacks, research supermarkets or local restaurants. 

• Be ready to guesstimate – especially now with AI, it’s easier than ever. 

• Prioritise protein and plants – Every meal should include both. 

Maintain perspective – Just because something’s available doesn’t mean you have to eat it. You’re in control of what you consume.