Jump to content

Traveling


Secretninjanut
 Share

Recommended Posts

I don't know where to post this topic, so I'll just put it here.

 

 

I am wondering what everyone's strategies are for staying vegan and also maintaining some level or workout while you are traveling.

 

I will be in the UK for 20 days over the Christmas holidays, and as an independent traveler, I'll be staying with various friends along the way, as well as a few hostels here and there. I've been thinking about bringing my protein powder along so I can at least have a good breakfast and snack if I need to. I will look into gym day passes, but any other thoughts?

 

 

Thanks!

Jenn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hrmm. Cardio workouts are easy enough, you can go for a run or a walk anywhere. Weights though, I'm not too sure about...there's usually good ways to improvise in a pinch though. And resistance bands are very portable, those might be good to bring along if you have them.

As long as there is a grocery store around you should be ok for food though right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Jonathan, being vegan in the UK is easy. Of course the entire 10 days I was there I stayed with him.

 

There was a lovely vegan supermarket within walking distance. One convenience store, sainsbury's I think, had several delicious hummus and sprout prepackaged sandwiches clearly labeled vegan. They came in handy many times. Any supermarket had basics like hummus and soymilk. Plenty of vegan and veggie places to eat in Manchester. Oh, must not forget flapjacks. One cannot have too many flapjacks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

britain is very easy to be vegan in...evrything labelled clearly and all...

The US is pretty shit though... even the "vegan" foods are so full of supplements. and there seems to be a tendency towards pre-proccessed convenience food as well.... i guess they deserve the rep they have for the worlds laziest nation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

britain is very easy to be vegan in...evrything labelled clearly and all...

The US is pretty shit though... even the "vegan" foods are so full of supplements. and there seems to be a tendency towards pre-proccessed convenience food as well.... i guess they deserve the rep they have for the worlds laziest nation.

 

Isn't anything that has to be labeled to be known as vegan a pre-processed convenience food? Seems to me you either have whole foods, which you know are vegan and don't need labels (e.g. an apple) or you have foods that have been made by some company and either have to be labeled or you have to check the ingredients - thereby being a 'pre-processed convenience' item.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually bring some food when I travel, I leave for Mexico on Sunday morning, and just bought 8 cliff builder bars and half a dozen or so bags of Stonewall's Jerquee for the week I will be gone. Just to make sure I am getting a little extra protein in. When I travel for longer periods, like a few weeks or a month, I just shop as I travel, I have been to Australia, Holland, England, Canada, Mexico & Jamaica and have never really had any problems getting vegan food. One exception which really stank was on a live-aboard scuba diving boat on the barrier reef in Australia, where their vegetarian options weren't vegan friendly and I ate plain white pasta and salad for dinner a couple nights

Link to comment
Share on other sites

britain is very easy to be vegan in...evrything labelled clearly and all...

The US is pretty shit though... even the "vegan" foods are so full of supplements. and there seems to be a tendency towards pre-proccessed convenience food as well.... i guess they deserve the rep they have for the worlds laziest nation.

 

Isn't anything that has to be labeled to be known as vegan a pre-processed convenience food? Seems to me you either have whole foods, which you know are vegan and don't need labels (e.g. an apple) or you have foods that have been made by some company and either have to be labeled or you have to check the ingredients - thereby being a 'pre-processed convenience' item.

more refering to how much easier it is to find pre packaged "cake mix" etc than buy all the individual ingredients.. but nice effort nonetheless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

travelling is good for me, cause during that time I travel and dont workout...I just eat like crazy and bulk up. but I usuaully try to find somewhere to work out. a friends place who has equipment, a gym pass for 1 day, or even just ghetto lifting (pullups on tree branches or signs, picking up random heavy objects and curling them, etc.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I pack tons of vegan products like Clif bars, Vega bars, Odwalla bars, nuts, and things like that. Even protein power, why not?

 

Here's some training info. It's from the main website and I wrote it a couple of years ago but I'm sure some of it will be helpful:

 

What can I do if I want to get in shape and gain muscle but I don’t have a gym membership?

 

Sarah N.

Boston, Mass.

 

This is a common situation for a lot of people. Gym memberships can

expensive and you usually need some means of transportation to get there.

So if you are in a situation where at the present time you can’t afford a

gym membership, you don’t have a way of getting there, you live too far away

from a gym, or don’t “make” the time to get to the gym, here are some

suggestions for you.

 

Keep these questions in mind. Do you need a treadmill to run? Do you need

a stair-stepper to climb stairs? Do you need a stationary bike with a TV in

front of you to cycle? Do you need a stretching room to stretch your

muscles? Do you need a special machine to do pull-ups or sit-ups? Do you

need dumbbells to curl weight? Do you need barbells or machines to move

weight?

 

I grew up on a farm, where I had access to countless muscle-producing tools,

although I didn’t realize until I became a bodybuilder. Now when I go back

to the farm, I take the opportunity to shrug buckets full of dirt or water,

jog outside in the fresh air, and do pull-ups from a tree limbs.

 

Here are some exercises you can do for different muscle groups outside of a

gym. They can be done at home, at a park, or anywhere that you have access

to some of these “tools.”

 

Cardio is something you can ALWAYS do for free and do anywhere. Running,

jumping, walking, are things you can do in nearly every situation. Biking,

swimming, and climbing stairs, are great cardio exercises that are also

pretty easy to come by.

 

First of all if you want to warm-up, just go for a jog, climb some stairs,

or even a bike ride. Stretch out your muscles and decide what you want to

do in your workout.

 

Back—Pull-ups are a great exercise for the back. All you need is something

to grab onto to pull yourself up, a sturdy pipe, a tree limb, or even a

structure at the park. Variations can be included as well, close-grip,

wide-grip, partial reps, etc. You can perform bent-over rows with buckets

full of sand, dirt, gravel, or water. Use them like dumbbells. You can do

deadlifts the same way. Find heavy objects that are not too awkward to pick

up and perform your exercise. One-arm dumbbell rows can be done kneeling on

a park bench using a heavy bucket, or other device with a handle on it.

 

Chest—Push-up variations are something that can be done easily, close, wide,

one-arm, super-sets and drop-sets included as well. Dips aren’t too hard to

come by outside of the gym either. Find a structure at home, at the park,

on the farm, downtown, that you can grip and lower yourself, and push

yourself back up. You can do flys with gallon jugs filled with water. Lie

on a bench and perform the fly movement you would if you had dumbbells.

Other objects can be substituted for the gallon jugs, whatever you can find

that is heavy enough to get the job done.

 

Shoulders—Shrugs are one of the easiest things to do. Find heavy objects,

my favorites are large buckets filled with something dense, and use them for

shoulder shrugs. Lateral and front raises can be done with the gallon jug

filled with water, or even buckets, just vary the weight. Shoulder presses

can be done with a heavy piece of wood, heavy box, an old car tire, or

anything of the sort, be creative.

 

Arms—Bicep curls with heavy buckets, wood, gallon jugs, pipes, or even

random items like a vacuum, bicycle, wooden chair work just fine. You could

even find a rope and tie a heavy object at the end and use it for biceps and

many other muscle groups. Find objects to curl with one arm and two arms.

Select a grip to perform concentration curls, hammer curls, and supinated

bicep curls. Triceps kickbacks can be performed with the filled gallon jug,

or even a heavy tool or wood or metal object. Overhead extensions can be

done with the same items. Dips for triceps can be done as well. Just

change your grip and position to take the stress off the chest and direct it

to the back of the arms.

 

Abs—Hanging leg raises are probably the best exercise you can do for abs.

Hang from a tree, steel bar, pipe, or wooden ledge and perform this

exercise. Sit-ups on the floor, in the grass, or any other soft surface can

easily be done anywhere. I have even done them on the side of the freeway

on long road trips. There are countless variations of sit-ups so this is a

muscle group that can really be targeted anywhere.

 

Legs—Free squats without weights can be done as well as with weight. Lift

up an object and place it over your shoulders. Perform squats just like you

would in the gym. In this case you won’t be able to go as heavy as you

could in the gym, unless you build a devise to rack the weight on to allow

you to walk under it to get started. Lunges can be done with the heavy

object over your shoulders as well, or with weight in your hands. Buckets

would probably be too tall and hit the ground when you lunge, but filled

gallon or 2-gallon jugs would be fine. Supersets, and rest-pauses can be

implemented to get a burn since the weight won’t be as heavy. Calf raises

can be done on stairs, one or two legs at a time. You can add weight to

this exercise by using your weighted bucket, gallon jug, or other object you

find at home that has significant weight to it.

 

Keep in mind that these are just a few exercises that I came up with. You

can also take these exercises and apply them with different strategies using

drop-sets, supersets, rest-pauses, partial-reps, isolated movements, High

Intensity Training, and other training principles. Use your creativity to

find objects around the house, at your workplace, or in the park to build

your physique and achieve your fitness goals. Remember that nutrition is

more than half the battle, so refer to some of our nutrition pages for

guidance for the most important part of the equation.

 

Good luck, invent some new exercises, and build your body, no matter where

you live or what your situation is.

 

Big Rob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...