Week 2: Travel Fitness Part 1 – Sydney Prep

Hey {{first name | reader}},

It's Tuesday morning, which means it's time for your weekly fitness check-in. Welcome to Week 2.

I'm still on a high from Saturday’s hike to Hawk Hill, and I’m preparing for my first trip of the year. It’s a long one. I leave for Sydney in two days.¹ Two weeks in Australia for work. Fifteen-hour flight. Seventeen-hour time difference (hoping an upgrade comes through). Hotel gym with questionable equipment. Work schedule packed from morning to night.

I’m not going stress about it, trying to figure out how to replicate my exact training routine in a foreign country. I'm not going to pack half my gym in my suitcase or set impossible expectations and then feel like a failure when I couldn't maintain my normal routine while also working.

This week's topic: Travel Fitness Part 1 – How to Prepare for Extended Work Travel Without Losing Your Sanity

Let me be clear: I'm done deceiving myself about travel fitness. I’ve learned after years of beating myself up for not working out enough while traveling that I’m not going to be able to keep up with my “home” self. I’m not going to maintain my regular fitness routine in Sydney. That's not realistic, and pretending it is just sets me up for disappointment, and nothing zaps motivation like disappointment.

What I AM going to do is have a plan that acknowledges reality: I'll be working long hours, dealing with jet lag, and operating in a city I don't know well. My training will be different. And that's fine.²

The Old Approach (That Made Me Miserable)

I used to be insufferable about travel fitness.

In my 20s and 30s, I'd research hotel gyms before booking rooms. I fantasized about building a hotel gym review app (and maybe I still do). I'd pack resistance bands, running shoes, and workout clothes that took up half my suitcase. I'd wake up at 5 AM in whatever city I was in, force myself through a workout in a sad hotel gym usually in a basement with broken equipment, and feel virtuous about "staying consistent." 

Now? I'm older, hopefully wiser, and significantly less interested in making myself miserable in the name of fitness purity (although I may pack a jump rope).

Here's what I've learned about staying fit while traveling—especially international travel with multiple time zone changes and brutal jet lag.

The Reality Check: Your Normal Routine Is Gone (And That's Fine)

When you're traveling—especially for business—your usual training routine is not happening. Accept that and save yourself the stress.

You're not sleeping in your own bed. Your eating schedule is out of whack. You’re eating out—you have no idea what’s really in your food. You're in long mind numbing meetings, dealing with jet lag, navigating an unfamiliar city, and trying to do your actual job. Expecting to keep your 4-day hypertrophy split with perfect nutrition is delusional.

The goal isn't to maintain everything. The goal is to maintain something—and not feel like garbage when you get home.

The New Approach (That Actually Works)

Now, I prepare for work travel by asking myself three questions:

1. What's realistic given my schedule?

I have meetings and work commitments from roughly 8 AM to 5 PM most days. Add in team dinners, mandolin practice, and the fact that I'll be jet-lagged for at least the first week, and I'm looking at maybe 30-45 minutes for movement, max.⁷ I also don’t want to just work and pretend that I’m not in a world class city like Sydney.

2. What will actually help me feel good?

When I'm traveling for work, what makes me feel best isn't replicating my gym routine. It's:

If you do nothing else while traveling, walk. A lot. It's enough.

Notice what's NOT on that list: Heavy squats, intense cardio, complex training programs.

3. What's the bare minimum to maintain?

The truth is, two weeks won't undo months or years of consistent training. But if I want to maintain some baseline fitness, here's what matters:

That's it. That's the plan.

The Mental Shift That Changed Everything

The biggest change wasn't in my training plan—it was in my mindset.

I used to think: "If I can't train like I do at home, I'm failing."

Now I think: "Travel is part of my life. My training needs to adapt to my life, not the other way around."

What About Losing Progress?

Here's the truth: You don't lose significant fitness in two weeks. You just don't.

Will I come home weaker than I am right now? Maybe slightly. Will my cardio capacity drop? Probably not—I'll be walking 15,000+ steps daily in Sydney.

Will it take me a week or two to get back to my current training intensity when I return? Yes. That's normal. That's how bodies work. Am a little sad about that? Yes.

What WON'T happen: I won't undo months of training. I won't lose all my progress. I won't have to start over from scratch.

The biggest risk isn't losing fitness during the trip—it's coming back and pushing too hard too fast and injuring myself. That's what I need to watch out for.

Myth: You can't maintain fitness during work travel.

Reality: You can't maintain your EXACT routine during work travel. But you can absolutely maintain baseline fitness with minimal effort.

The fitness industry loves to make this complicated. They sell you:

Here's what actually matters for maintaining fitness during 1-2 weeks of travel:

1. Move daily:

2. Resistance training 2-3x

3. Sleep and eat reasonably well

The myth that you "can't maintain fitness" during travel usually comes from trying to maintain your EXACT routine, failing because it's not realistic, and then giving up entirely. The solution isn't to try harder—it's to adjust your expectations and focus on the basics.

Two weeks of walking 15,000 steps daily and doing 2-3 simple strength sessions will maintain your fitness just fine. You don't need more than that.

I'm packing these for the Sydney trip—especially helpful during the long flight and first few jet-lagged days when I might not want full meals.

Travel-Friendly Protein Snacks (TSA-Approved):

For the flight:

For the hotel room:

What I DON'T pack:

My actual Sydney packing list:

This isn't all I’ll be consuming—I'll eat real meals in Sydney (it has great restaurants). But having these on hand means I can hit my protein targets even on days when work runs late or I'm too jet-lagged to find food.

Pro tip: Buy a shaker bottle at the airport after security. Fill it with protein powder + water when you need a quick meal. I used to do this on the plane and in my hotel room. This trip, I’ll be taking a portable blender. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Article: "How to stay in shape when you're busy" - Precision Nutrition

This is the most sensible guide to maintaining fitness during busy periods—whether that's travel, holidays, or work deadlines. No BS about maintaining peak performance. Just practical strategies for staying active when life gets hectic.

Key takeaway: "The goal isn't perfection, it's good enough to not feel terrible when you get home."

Includes a do-anywhere workout that takes just a few minutes daily with minimal or no equipment. Perfect for wherever you find yourself during work travel.

Pre-Travel Planning Challenge

If you have work travel coming up (or even if you don't), practice this approach:

Why: You plan so you’re not making fitness decisions while jet-lagged and tired.

Stay strong, {{first name | reader}}

P.S. I'll report back from Sydney in Week 3. I'm curious to see how this actually plays out versus my plan. My prediction: I'll walk more than I expect, use the hotel gym less than I hope, and come home with interesting stories about Sydney and zero regrets about my training. We'll see.