The schedules, or lack thereof, for a military family is… fluid at best. Throw in a PCS and the gloves come off. For those of us with a steady exercise routine, finding the time and resources during these transitions can be very difficult. While many hotels will have a gym, not all will have a large selection of equipment. One thing to remember is that base gyms are always an option.
Wherever you find a place to exercise, we still have the main issue to deal with: Time.
Most people like to train everything in one session. It’s efficient and requires only one trip to the gym. Another way to get things done is to break up your exercise into two sessions. You could, for example, separate weight training and cardio. This will allow you to squeeze in the exercise using smaller blocks of time. Something I like to do is to lift weights at the gym during my first session. Then, after my youngest goes to sleep, do my cardio on the treadmill at the hotel. You can also separate sessions by body parts. Both options are fine but keep in mind, if you are going to utilize two sessions in a day, make sure you are not training the same body parts/activities both sessions.
Separating body parts into two blocks may look something like this:
Monday
Session 1 – chest & shoulders
Session 2 – triceps & cardio
Wednesday
Session 1 – back
Session 2 – biceps and cardio
Friday
Session 1 – legs
Session 2 – abs & cardio
For those of you who have spent a lot of time and effort packing on the muscle, I have fantastic news for you. Research has shown us that as long as protein and calorie intake are sufficient, as little as 1/9 of your normal training volume can be used to maintain muscle mass. The older you get, that number moves closer to 1/3. Because of this, you can simplify your training by performing only compound movements like the squat, overhead press, deadlift, bench press, etc. This will allow for the most volume in the shortest amount of time. To take advantage of this, I recommend doing six main movements: a squat, a vertical press, a horizontal press, a vertical pull, a horizontal pull, and a hip hinge (deadlift variant).
Compound movements:
It may look something like this:
Monday – bench press and overhead press
Tuesday – Pull-ups and seated cable rows
Friday – squat variant and a deadlift variant
How you stay active isn’t that important, only that you do something. Movement in general is beneficial not only for your physical health, but your mental health too. Even if taking a walk on the hotel treadmill after the kids are asleep is all you can manage that day, just remember, motion is lotion.