Keeping It Up on the Road

I spent most of last week in a mediocre hotel outside of Dayton, OH. I'm what most people would consider a disciplined guy when it comes to working out so when I'm not able to hit up my normal selection of gyms in the city I panic a little. I didn't choose the hotel because if I did I would have checked in advance for a good fitness set up or gym access or something.

Like most hotels these days this place had a tiny room with a recumbent bike, and a flimsy treadmill. I looked in the corner however and there it was - a Bowflex. I think I started to drool a little upon seeing the Bowflex - my mind wandering to those images of the guy in short red shorts that used to come on late night TV for the infomercial.

I was pretty certain this little gadget would serve my needs and keep me feeling nice and on schedule with working out. After using it - I'm not sure I'd buy one. There were way too many things to switch and adjust in order to move on to a different exercise - it made any semblance of a circuit nearly impossible. Clasp this, run this cable through this wheel, move the seat, switch the bows, repeat on the other side. On a positive note this thing is constantly training you for greater stability so you're getting more bang for your buck with each set.

Still, all I need is a flat bench with a bar, plates, and a good set of dumbbells. That's what I grew up on and I still swear by it.

So I managed to get some good running in on the treadmill but I had to turn my music up so loud in order to drown out the creaking of the machine. I go two great workouts in with the Bowflex but the constant rubbing of cables on my arms from the chest press really tore up my forearms.

The bottom line is that even without this too-fancy-for-its-own-good gadget, you can, and certainly need to find ways to keep on sweating while you're traveling. Come on you know that flight attendants and other recurrent hotel dwellers have perfected this - a good cardio romp in the sack never hurt anybody - just keep it up for at least a good 30 minutes - and heck - do it standing for even greater caloric burn.

Another thing I noticed from traveling recently is that in some places (suburbia, and rural areas) it is nearly impossible to make good selections for eating unless you have access to a kitchen, and the time to prepare it - so staying in a hotel in Suburbia is like swimming in partially hydrogenated oil just for fun. At least in New York you can get some organic turkey breast on a whole grain pita 24 hours a day.