Lifters' Corner: Training on the Road
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(reposted from our May 2018 newsletter)
As the season of summer vacations is upon us, some of you may be traveling a bit more frequently. With travel comes the opportunity . . . or the curse . . . of training in other gyms around the country (or perhaps the world!). Here are a couple of tips that might help your training experience - wherever you might end up lifting:
- Check in advance if the gym you'll be using has chalk. If so, great - you've found a rare gem. If not, bring some of you own in a little plastic bag (talk to us if you need some!).
- Try to avoid squatting or pressing front of a mirror. Squatting isn't usually too bad as you'll be looking down anyway, but pressing in front of a mirror can be extremely distracting. Besides, mirrors are for curls and sculpting your guns.
- It is highly likely that someone will come over to you and offer you advice. Say "thank you" and then proceed to ignore them . . . especially if they tell you to look up when squatting. Neanderthals.
- Try to avoid laughing too obviously at the nonsense you see. Seriously. You will be astounded.
- Your lifting belt will pack up quite nicely if you outline the inside of your suitcase/bag with it.
- Your gym might not have bumper plates, which can pose a problem if you deadlift less than 135 lbs. No worries - you can use smaller plates on the bar to get the correct weight and simply create stacks on each side of the bar to raise the bar to approximately the right height (you can use other plates or even mats for this).
- In general, prepare yourself for the likelihood of training in sub-optimal conditions with sub-optimal gear. It's ok. You can adapt to the situation, reduce the weight if necessary, and you can still have a productive training session. Most importantly, you are still training.