Monday, November 30, 2009

***FOX HAS RESCHEDULED THE LIVE FEED – Monday’s schedule will be normal, no 5:00 a.m. session.***
Workout of the Day:
Front Squats
5-5-5
and then,
Rounds of 21, 15 and 9 reps for time of:
Front Squat (use 70-75% of today’s 5-RM)
Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
(Take barbell from the floor if you are capable of doing so.)

Lizzle rockin' some great looking push-ups

Eating on the Road
Written by Mark Riebel

We’ve posted several times on how to fit in a workout here and there while traveling, but we haven’t addressed how to fuel yourself when you’re away from your own kitchen.  Getting in the workouts is great, but if you’re putting crap in your body’s fuel tank, you’re really just taking one step forward and two steps back.  Seeing as how I just made a five day drive out to San Antonio and was temporarily residing in a luxurious extended-stay hotel, I figured I could offer a few thoughts and tips for those of you who find yourselves traveling regularly.

I’m being completely honest when I say that eating when you are away from home is far from ideal.  I spent somewhere around 24 hours in the car over those five days I meandered my way east, and I was staying in a lot of places that definitely weren’t the most Paleo-friendly, but it really wasn’t too hard to make it work.  Again, it wasn’t ideal or perfect, but it got me by.  Here’s what I did.

First, my dad and I packed a bag of food to take with us.  This is the easiest way to eat the things you’re looking for that match with your dietary goals.  We packed a few bags of jerky, nuts, apples, grapefruit, grapes, and some dried fruit and nut mix from Costco that I’m convinced was also made with crack based on how much of that I ate.  The paleo police would have ticketed me for the jerky (It’s not paleo.  Neither is lunch meat, sausage or bacon.  Hello, salt!), but I think it’s better than stopping at a gas station for a few chili cheese dogs of questionable origin.

I wouldn’t recommend trying to pack all of your food on a cross-country trip as this makes logistics quite a bit more complicated, and seeing as how I thoroughly pickled myself from eating so much jerky, so I eventually stopped at some restaurants.  Most restaurants these days are more than happy to do some substitutions for you so you can stay on the right track.  I had a few burgers with no buns, steaks and pieces of chicken with double veggies instead of mashed potatoes, and of course salads with some meat added are always a great choice.  Most places will have olive oil and vinegar too instead of the typical dressings which have about a 99% chance of containing high fructose corn syrup, which is in damn near every processed food these days (just read the label).  They can often go light on the salt for you as well.

Then there’s the option of finding a hotel with a kitchen.  Sure, my ‘full kitchen’ really meant I had to buy all cookware, utensils and plates, but at least it gives me a break from eating out and saves me some cash since I can go to a local grocery and pick up some wild-caught fish, organic veggies and fruit and make up my own meal.  I enjoy eating out as much as the next guy, but not for four or five meals a day.

There’s plenty of ways to make traveling and eating work, they just take a little bit of forethought.  What are some things you’ve done to eat well on the road?