Podcast Transcription: 11 Simple Ways for Staying in Shape While Travelling That Anyone Can Do with Ted Ryce

Ted Ryce: What’s up, my friend? And welcome back to another episode of the Legendary Life podcast. I’m your host, celebrity trainer, and high-performance health coach Ted Ryce. This is a podcast for men and women who are looking to boost their energy and upgrade their health. So, get ready to learn proven health fitness and mindset strategies to unlock your full potential.

And I have a great episode for you today, because it’s all about how to stay in shape while you travel. And maybe you don’t think that’s a great episode, but I’m going to tell you why it’s important. I’ve been in the fitness industry for nearly two decades, I was about to say 20 decades— not quite, I’m not 200 years old yet.

But I’ve been in the industry for nearly two decades now, and I’ve worked with hundreds of people. And one thing that I’ve noticed is that while my clients are in their routines, they are at home, they have their workout schedule, they have their meal planning. Most people eat the same thing all the time, because we’re just creatures of habit, especially if you’re super busy, it’s a way of simplifying your life, just to eat the same things.

You go shopping, and you buy the same stuff, you eat the same stuff, you work out on the same days, at the same times, you just have this routine, and it’s comfortable and it works. But what happens when vacations come up? And what are you going to be doing? You’re going to be traveling this summer, you’re going to be taking trips, you’ll probably take business trips.

And what happens is every time that I see a client doing well, but then they leave for a business trip, they go on vacation, they completely fall apart, the majority of people—not everybody, but the majority of people that I see, and I see this a lot, I’ve seen it even more since I’ve been doing the group coaching. I’ve seen it even more. I’ve seen the patterns emerge in a different way because I’m working with so many people at once.

And you see like oh, look at these guys, they’re on vacation, their weights went up, when I reached out to them they said they had gone backwards, they lost a bit of motivation, etc, etc. And I don’t want that to happen to you, because it’s unnecessary. In fact, I want to tell you that I lived what I’m about to share with you. I’ve been—I can’t call it vacation, because there’s been a lot of work involved.

In fact, I’m working right now as I do this, but I’ve been traveling for the past—well, I think over four months now, and I’ve been living on vacation in a way. Of course we come up with our routines, we find our places to eat. I’ve figured out a schedule that works, and I’m able to do all my workouts, etc. But, it’s because I have the right mentality, the right planning that I’m able to do this.

There’s nightlife, there’s the beaches, there’s plenty of alcohol around, there’s all these things that we could be doing.

So many treats, shakes, coconut ice cream, fruit shakes, it’s just incredible place, and you could easily overdo it here. You could easily eat too much, drink too much, you could easily skip out on your workouts. And I’m going to share with you exactly what I do, and exactly what I teach my clients to do, my coaching clients and my one-on-one clients to do to stay in shape on the road.

So, we’ve talked about how it’s that time of the year where a lot of people are traveling, and whether you’re relaxing on the beach or exploring a new city, a timeout from all routines can be a wonderful thing. But it can also make it so tough to stay on track; all those meals that we eat out, the temptations that we come across.

And wherever you go, you’re going to have those temptations, or like when we were in New Orleans, oh, my gosh, the pralines. We’re always faced with these temptations, and it’s so new and exciting when you’re traveling somewhere. And that’s great, you should enjoy those times, and you should enjoy those experiences.

But here’s the thing, whatever your reason for being on the road, whether it’s corporate, you’re traveling for your job, or it’s a vacation you’ve had planned, there’s one thing that you can count on, you are going to be challenged to stay on track with your workouts.

If you hit your workouts in the local gym, you may find yourself without the same equipment, or maybe even no gym at all. That’s happened to me a few times, recently. And if you cook most of your meals at home, you may find yourself without a kitchen or a refrigerator. Actually, most hotel rooms at least have a small refrigerator and a microwave, but what are you going to cook with that? And if you know exactly what healthy options to order at your local restaurants, you may find yourself in all new restaurants, or getting stuck eating airport food.

And here’s another thing that a lot of people don’t talk about but should, if you’re used to sleeping in your own bed, you may find it difficult to sleep in an unfamiliar place.

I don’t know if you listen to my episode where Gisele and I talk about our experience in Saigon, but we had an Airbnb apartment in this high rise condominium building where it was so noisy, you could hear the road traffic, all the beeping from the millions—literally millions of motorbikes riding around Saigon. You could hear our next door neighbor playing music at loud hours, I had to call the security on him countless times for him to stop, because 2:00 AM on a Tuesday night is just not when you should be doing that.

And you may find yourself dealing with those situations. Maybe you’re not in an Airbnb with people who live in the building, maybe you’re in a hotel room and people are partying. These are just a few of the things that you’re going to be experiencing, or could be experiencing. And staying in shape by the way has been one of the most common questions I’ve been asked in my 19 years of experience of being in the health and fitness business.

And my clients who travel the most usually have the greatest challenge to staying in shape. But again, it doesn’t have to be that way; it doesn’t have to be that way at all. You just have to what to do; you have to have a strategy for staying in shape.

And without further ado, let’s get to “11 Simple Strategies for Staying In Shape While Traveling, That Anyone Can Do”. And the first thing is mindset-oriented. So, what I want you to do is I want you to make staying in shape a priority, no matter what you’re traveling for, whether it’s going to be an amazing exotic experience to somewhere that you’ve never been before, but you’ve always wanted to travel to.

Or whether it’s just going to be the run of the mill corporate, I don’t know, not retreat, but get together where you’ve got to travel for work, and you go to one of those conferences, it doesn’t matter, make staying in shape a priority, commit to yourself, say, “Listen, I am going to you find a way to work out, even if I have to work out in my hotel room, I’m going to find a way to not overindulge, but still enjoy myself enough to have some nice experiences.”

Because part of the beauty of traveling to a different place is to experience the culture there, and the culture includes the food, and that goes for whether you’re living in California and traveling to New York, or whether you’re like me in Miami Beach, and you’re traveling to Thailand or Hong Kong, right? That’s part of the beauty, is experiencing not just the food, but the desserts, the way people do things differently, the culture.

So, make staying in shape a priority, and realize that living in the moment and being healthy aren’t mutually exclusive. In reality, being healthy allows you to get much more out of your experience; you just have to know how to balance it. And one thing I want to say with that is you’ve got to lose the “all or nothing” mentality, people say, “Okay, when I’m home I’m going to work out, I’m going to eat these terribly bland meals, because I know it’s the right thing to do for my health. And I’m going to go to bed at 9:00 PM.”

Of course, you’re not really doing that, right? But you’re staying on your phone or watching Netflix series. But what I’m trying to say is you stay on track, and you’re probably too rigid, but then it’s like you’re off your routine and you just go crazy. Get rid of that, so that’s number two, get rid of the “all or nothing” mentality.

Say listen, I’m going to do some of the fun stuff, I’m going to indulge in some of the temptations there, the unique cocktail that they offer at that bar in the hotel that you’re going to be staying in, and you’re going to have some dessert or whatever it is that you’re into. But you’re also going to commit to eating healthy meals, to staying on track with your workouts, to getting some steps in, to making sure that you get good quality sleep and all those other things that you should be doing already.

So, number three is pack your workout clothes and equipment. And this is one way to physically commit to staying in shape, while a lot of people will say, “Oh, yeah, I’m going to look myself in the mirror, look myself in the eye in the mirror and say, you know what? I’m going to stay in shape during this trip I’m about to take.” But it’s another thing when you actually take action, you pack your workout clothes, you pack your workout shoes.

For me, I travel with a band system that I use, which is just incredible, it allows me to get a great workout with something that fits literally in a small carryon luggage. So, pack your workout clothes and equipment. And by the way, I offer that band and body weight equipment program off either the band and bodyweight workout in the Legendary Lean program.

So, if you’re someone who wants to work out on your own, and not go to a gym, just try the bodyweight and band program. In fact, my recent interview with Tim, our Legendary Lean coaching member, he got into great shape, he’s also over 29 pounds now. He lost 14 in the first round of Legendary Lean, he’s lost a total of 29 in his second round of Legendary Lean that he’s doing. And he did the majority of it with a band and body routine that he did at home. Now, you can do the same. So, pack your workout clothes and equipment.

Number four, stock up on healthy travel snacks. One of the things that you’re going to be faced with when you travel is the terrible food in the airports. And I’ll tell you, it’s not that much better in the places in Asia that I’ve been. Of course, in Thailand, you can find much better healthier appeals than in America. I’ve been to so many airports in America, and it’s just impossible to find good quality food, you get burgers with bacon and cheese, and that’s the good quality food.

Or you get the crap pre-made stuff that’s in the little refrigerated areas at those stalls in the airport, it’s just terrible. It’s slightly better in Thailand, it’s slightly better in Hong Kong, also Saigon, you can get a little bit better quality food, because Asian food in general is more healthy, they don’t eat the same amount of fat that we do, although they eat a lot more carbohydrates, they’re way less obese and overweight, and it’s obvious when you see the types of foods they eat, and the portions.

So, what I’m trying to say is, when you’re faced with those travel situations and challenges, make sure you come prepared. So, some of the things that I take with me is, I take 0% fat plain Greek or Icelandic yogurt, I take hard-boiled eggs. Now, you might want to be a little careful with these, because opening up a bag of hard boiled eggs on the plane isn’t going to make you any friends, but if you’re traveling in a car, if you’re by yourself, or if you don’t mind, getting dirty looks from those around you on the plane, or however you’re traveling, then that’s a solid option.

Preservative free jerky is another good option; it’s very portable and high in protein. Just watch this sugar content on some of the brands, because certain brands will have a lot more than others. Make sure you read the ingredients list. Also, vacuum pack tuna or salmon packets. Again, this isn’t going to be a way to make new friends on the road either, but it’s a way for you to get in your protein, and a way to avoid eating some of that unhealthy fare that you get on the road.

Low carbohydrate protein bars, although I’m not a fan of protein bars at all, in case you didn’t know. Protein bars, by the way, is processed food, okay? It’s a glorified candy bar, that’s all a protein bar really is. That said, in a situation where it’s not all or nothing, because if you’re at home, yeah, you shouldn’t really be eating the protein bars and telling yourself, “Oh, I’m doing such a good thing for myself.”

What you should be doing is eating whole foods, maybe supplementing with a whey protein shake. You should be staying away from the bars, they’re just junk, and they’re loaded with too many carbohydrates, because it tastes terrible, unless they put some sugar in them. So, what I’m trying to tell you is in a situation where you have to do the best that you can, low carbohydrate protein bar like a Quest bar, or some of the other ones.

Again, I don’t have any great recommendations here, because I don’t really use these, although I do have Quest bars on occasion, but those are good examples. Roasted edamame. Meat and dairy aren’t the only sources of a high protein healthy snack. Edamame is a great vegetarian source of protein, and by the way, it’s a good thing to get some of your protein from vegetarian sources.

Although it’s not going to be the most helpful to build muscle and make you look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, it will help with your health, because of the methionine and glycine ratio, you’re getting much more glycine, and less methionine from plant-based sources of protein, which that’s something I’ve covered in the past.

Go ahead and go to legendarylifepodcast.com and look for my articles on collagen if you want to learn what the hell I’m talking about, in case that sounds completely crazy to you. 

And something that I’d rather you do than take a protein bar—although again, that’s not a terrible option— is to put a protein powder in Ziploc baggies. If you already have a ton of this stuff at your house, just measure out some servings, put them in plastic baggies for portability and convenience, and you’re good to go. So, those are just a few options on how to make sure that you have some decent food to eat while you’re on the road.

Now, let’s get into number five, which is researcher hotel and city. There’s a saying that failing to plan is planning to fail, and I can’t tell you how much I agree with this quote. So, instead of showing up with no idea about the gym options, or the food options in the area that you’re traveling to, do a little research ahead of time, this will help you avoid being caught off guard.

And if you’re not sure, for example, in traveling around Thailand, it’s very difficult to do research, because you’ll look at the places to eat, a lot of them, they don’t have website, it’s just not easy to do here.

But another thing you can do is call up your hotel and ask them about gym and healthy dining options in the area. You should also ask your hotel concierge if they have passes for the local gym, if they don’t have a gym site. 

So, number six is do body weight workouts. Again, this is part of getting rid of that all or nothing mentality, where, “Oh, I have this amazing gym workout that I’m falling, but oh, I don’t have a gym in this hotel room that I’m staying in, or the hotel room isn’t properly equipped for my workout so I guess I’m just going to skip it, right? because it’s all or nothing.”

Get rid of that mentality, it’s going to ruin your progress, it’s going to keep you stuck, and also, most people who think like that by the way or successful people, that are successful in their career, they’re hard-working, they’re Type A, they’re ambitious. So, that’s why I’m telling you this especially, because you my friend are probably suffering from this mentality.

I used to suffer from it too, if I couldn’t go to the gym and workout for an hour, an hour and a half, I felt that it was a waste of time. So, I just would sit on my butt and do nothing instead and wait for the next day. Don’t make that mistake. It may work while you’re in your 20s, but in your 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond, you need to get in exercise frequently.

So, what I want you to do is figure out a workout you can do, plan a workout, have a backup. So, let’s say there’s no gym there, let’s say the concierge is going to give you some passes, but then you look up the location of the gym, and you’re like, “Oh, I’m going to have to take an Uber over there, or it’s a 20 minute walk, just the chances of me really going and getting to the gym and doing my workout consistently, it’s just not hot.”

So instead, come planned, always have a planned workout. I never know where I’m going to stay in the next month, right? Now, at this time, I’ve already planned, and I do know where I’m staying, but the month after that, I’m not sure.

So, I need to be ready to do a workout on my own in case I’m not going to be in the ideal situation with a fully stock gym, or with some dumbbells or something, I need to know what I’m going to do. By the way, the place that we were looking at in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, it has a boxing ring, and this is in a condominium—I’m sorry, this is total not too relevant, but I had to share it, because I was so amazed by this apartment complex, or condominium rather in Malaysia.

This place had a boxing ring, a squash court, and a swimming pool. And it was a fully stock crazy health gymnasium, like not a gym, but like a gymnasium, where they have racket courts and all that crazy stuff that, I don’t know, we used to have maybe in the 70s or 80s in the United States. So, it just is crazy how equipped it is, but I’m not sure when or if I’m going to be there, because things can change.

So, what I have planned instead is, I have a body weight routine that I can always do. Now, in my case, as I told you earlier, I travel with a band system, which if you go to the show notes for this episode, you can look and find the band system that I use, but I use a band system so that I can get a killer upper body workout, and lower body workout, but the bands really work mostly for the upper body.

I get a killer upper body workout, and I’m still able to get a great lower body workout. So, I don’t go backwards, because body weight workouts where you’re just doing pushups and some crunches and lunges and squats and side planks, and front planks, it’s okay, but you’re really selling yourself short, you could do a lot more. And this band system, it allows me to do rows, resisted pushups, shoulder presses, shoulder flies, reverse flies, bicep curls, triceps, I can work everything with this band system. So, make sure you check that out on the show notes of this episode.

Another thing I want to tell you, or I should say tip number seven is go on an adventure. It’s crazy to see how many steps that Gisele and I take when we go on an adventure. For example, not too long ago, I did an episode where Gisele and I talked about the incredibly beautiful, all-inspiring Buddhist temples in Thailand.

I mean, these places are gigantic, their compounds and the temples are just so well decorated, like the temple of the reclining Buddha, where you have this huge gold plated, gold leaf plated Buddha laying down, it’s like, I don’t know, 150 feet long or something, it’s just incredible.

And by going on these adventures and walking around, we get in a lot of exercise, or we went to the Mekong Delta, and we went through this tour through the villages and on the river, and did some bike riding. There are so many opportunities for you to go on an adventure. If you’re in Europe, you can go sightseeing, and see some of the amazing historical landmarks, you could go scuba diving, we did some zip lining and some ATV-ing and some other adventures in Cancun.

Something I haven’t done, but it’s something I really want to do, is go to Machu Picchu in Peru. Go snorkeling, if you’re not into scuba diving. But the list is endless, it’s limited to your imagination. And I want to tell you, even if you’re traveling for business, it’s something you should always look and take advantage of.

And I know I’ve mentioned some exotic locations, but I’ll tell you, when we went to New Orleans, we made sure we went to the famous—we went on a ghost tour there. We saw some of the famous sites that were there, including Nicholas Cage’s creepy tomb that he had built for himself in this famous cemetery, so that he gets buried in it when he dies, it’s super creepy and weird, but it was so fun and interesting to see.

And the ghost tour was just incredible as well. We were walking around the streets of the French quarter in New Orleans. When we went to New York we were walking around there and seeing the sites, 5th Avenue. So, no matter where you are, how exactly or how local you are, there’s always a way to find an adventure, but you’ve got to be creative about it.

Number eight, make sure you optimize your hotel room for sleep. Now, these days the majority of hotel rooms are set up for sleep. In most places that I’ve stayed in, I have blackout curtains. So, in fact, you get blackout curtains in just about every hotel room that you stay in. In all the Airbnbs in Asia, the majority of them have blackout curtains. In all the places I’ve stayed in Saigon, in Thailand, in Hong Kong, they all have blackout blinds.

But one thing that they do also is they have a lot more technology usually, and there are a lot of lights that are on. So, make sure you bring some black electrical tape to cover up all those little lights that you can’t unplug. Like, you don’t really want to unplug the router, right? You can unplug the digital alarm clock, but you don’t really want to unplug the router, the other things that might be important to keep on.

Make sure you bring some blue light blocking glasses, if you are going to be up working late returning emails on your computer. Make sure you cool your room down before you go to bed, somewhere around the 69 degree range Fahrenheit, or 18 degree Celsius, is a good place to be there. Or I’m messing up my Celsius, I think it’s 20 degree Celsius. Sorry, my European listening friends or basically the entire world, except for the United States. But it’s somewhere around 18 to 20 degrees Celsius I believe.

So, you may want to also bring some earplugs and asleep mass just in case.

And tip number nine is have protein and vegetables at every meal. So, how do you make sure that you stay on top of your nutrition while you’re traveling, if you’re going to be in a place where you’re not even sure the types of food. Like, if you go to an exotic place for example, exotic for you, you may not be familiar with the cuisine, but you know what vegetables are, don’t you? You know what protein is, don’t you?

Well, that’s what you stock up on, that’s what you eat. I’m not going to go over the details of why protein and vegetables is so important, but just make sure on the days that you’re more relaxed, that you’re not doing so much physical exercise, focus more on protein and vegetables.

On the days where you’re going to be quite active, make sure you have plenty of carbohydrates, and get the carbs from good sources like potatoes, and if you’re in Thailand, I’m eating a lot of sticky rice here, there’s not a lot of potatoes that are easily available, so we’re eating a lot of sticky rice, and that’s probably making some of my Keto and low carb high fat listeners roll or squirm in their seats, rather. But those are things that you can do.

Number ten is implement the “Never Eat Two” rule, now this is a simple yet powerful rule I’ve been teaching my clients for years. The Never Eat Two rule means, that you never have two “bad meals” in a row. And while bad may be a bit subjective, I think you know what I’m talking about. Where you have French toast, a mimosa and a large latte filled with sugar for breakfast, and a ribeye steak, a loaded baked potato, and several cocktails, then finish it off with a Creme Brulee for dessert.

If you’re eating like that every single meal, you’re going to be coming back, and you’re the type of person who’s going to be unhappy when they get back home and they step on the scale, and they look at their bloated, alcohol-intoxicated, sugar-poisoned body in the mirror, and say, “Oh, what did I do to myself?”

And what I want to tell you is those meals tend to happen more often on vacation. So, a simple rule to follow is never to have two meals like that in a row. So, if you have a bad meal, make sure you follow up with something light, or even better, skip a meal, do some intermittent fasting.

It’s not for everybody, especially if you get headaches if you skip meals, or you get angry, and you’re going to be completely unbearable, and you have a whole day of being in a conference. So, maybe you don’t do that, but make sure you either skip the meal, or you have something light, like an egg white vegetable omelet, and nothing else.

Maybe a little bit of fruit, maybe. Or a sirloin steak with grilled vegetables, or salad with lean beef chicken, or fish with the dressing on the side. It’s a simple rule, but a powerful one, especially if you’re the type that have one to calorie-loaded, alcohol-infused meal after another while you’re on a business trip or vacation.

And number eleven is have a two drink maximum rule. So, we all know that going without drinking is the best thing to do. In fact, I don’t even drink these days, I don’t know what exactly happened, I’m not trying to be a saint, I never will be, it’s not possible with my past. But it’s just not something that I’m really into these days, I’m not enjoying it, even though I enjoy the taste of a nice scotch, I just don’t enjoy the alcohol these days, the effects of the alcohol.

If they had alcohol-free scotch, which I don’t know if that’s ever possible, but I would be drinking it, but I just really hate the feeling these days, it messes with my sleep, I just feel like crap, so I just stopped doing it. It just wasn’t like a hard rule, I just let it go.

But I know a lot of you aren’t like that, and you’ll enjoy a nice glass of red wine or a beer, or whatever it is, mixed drink. So, what I want to tell you is, those drinks are a source of liquid calories that can add up to expanding your waistline, even in a short period of time, particularly when you’re paying less attention to what you eat. So, when a 5 ounce glass of red wine is 125 calories, it doesn’t take much to tip your scale in the wrong direction when you’re having four or five of those at dinner.

So, what I like to tell people is have a two drink maximum, that’s two drinks per a day, not per meal. And what I want to tell you is you’re probably going to have some times where oh, well, we’re going to meet at the bar, we’re going to connect and network, and that’s where all the great business happens, I understand that happens, right? But try to have that two drink maximum.

And if you can’t, at least on the days where you’re not doing the networking at the bar, and it’s not for any other reason, don’t just be a careless, sloppy, food orderer, where you’re like, “Oh, I just might as well have a beer cocktail because…” Don’t do that. When you want to have a treat, have it and enjoy it, but when you just carelessly order food that just is way too high in calories, or if you ordered too many drinks, just because you’re being careless about what you’re doing, stop that, okay? So, have that two drink maximum per day.

And the last thing, a little bit of a bonus tip is stay connected with your coach. One of the most powerful ways to stay on track no matter what you’re doing, or what you’re trying to achieve, is having a coach. Having workout and nutrition strategies for the road is only effective when your level of commitment is high. But the problem is, most people who are listening to this right now, and yes, that means you, you’re going to listen to these strategies and think, “Oh, wow, these are great, I should do some of these for my upcoming trip.”

And then when it comes down to putting in the work and the action, you don’t do it, especially when you’re thinking about it now, and there’s none of that travel stress, but then all of a sudden, you’ve got to book your flight, you got to pack, you’ve got to make sure you took your contact solution, and all the other things that you’re going to make sure, then you forget about it, and then the fun starts going, and then it’s all over.

And what I want to tell you is I’ve even gone as far as doing workouts and/or consultations on Skype with my clients who are away and having trouble sticking with their plan. Having someone to hold you accountable can be a powerful way to ensure you end up doing what you set out to do.

So, you can either hire a coach or you don’t even have to do that, you can have accountability buddy. Or you could join a group where you get the necessary knowledge and support, so that you stay on the track and make it through your vacations and business travels without sliding backwards with your health.

So in conclusion, I want you to listen to your body. If you’re tired, rest, relax, and eat healthily to recharge and rejuvenate. And while you’re away, find workouts that seamlessly fit into your day, and look for opportunities to explore a new environment, whether its cityscape, seascapes, or all inspiring landscapes. 

Remember, regular short quality exercise sessions also create lasting change. It doesn’t have to be that all or nothing approach where you have to spend an hour or 2 in the gym. Health and fitness, when it comes down to it is a lifestyle and a daily practice, no matter where you are, or what your goals are. Remember, health and fitness is a lifestyle, that means it’s something that you practice every single day, even in less than ideal circumstances, even if you drank too much the night before, you should find a way to do something healthy to help you get back to baseline.

Don’t have that all or nothing approach, and make sure if you have something planned, whether it’s vacation, or travel for business, that you take some of these strategies and put them into work for you. I’ve tested them, I’ve tried them, I shared them with my clients, they work, all you need to do is listen, learn and apply. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I’ll speak to you soon.