We’ve been happy to visit so many good gyms along our route, allowing us to keep up with our Heavy Stuff initiatives. We’ve trained at Guerrilla CrossFit, Jeannie’s Beach CrossFit, CrossFit Daytona, CrossFit Central, CrossFit Austin, CrossFit West Houston, and EmerFit so far, not to mention the amazing Olympic lifting facility “Carl and Sandra’s Gym” in Santa Fe, NM, and a host of Gold’s, Bally’s, 24 Hour Fitness and other non-box gyms that allow us full access to the barbells and plates we need to stay fit. Between gyms, however, we’ve been making do with impromptu side-of-the-road met-cons. We’re traveling with two KBs (a 16K and 24K), a set of parallettes, a set of rings, and a pair of jump ropes – more than enough equipment to kick our own butts, regardless of location.
Texas Truck Stop - Whole9 style
On our way out of Texas, we stopped at a road-side picnic area just west of Fort Stockton, ready to get our sweat on. With only a few truckers to keep us company, we set up our rings, mapped a sprint course and set our KBs up for action. We got a few honks from the truckers and more than a few quizzical stares from passers-by, but we managed to pull off a fantastic met-con in the most beautiful location the side of the road in West Texas has to offer.
“Texas Truck Stop”
Pick your poison – perform either KB DARC (alternating) swings with a 24K/16K, or ring dips. The burpees and sprinting are non-negotiable. Sorry.
- Sprint to the end of the line of trucks (about 150M)
- 21 burpees
- Sprint back to the KB
- 21 KB DARC swings, 16K (Melissa) – 21 ring dips (Dallas)
- Sprint
- 15 burpees
- Sprint
- 15 KB DARC swings/ring dips
- Sprint
- 9 burpees
- Sprint
- 9 KB DARC swings/ring dips
Rings and kettlebells - the perfect road trip accessories
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Love it. Reminds me of the times when we had to do jumpies (squats w/ a jump) at the truck stops when traveling to competitions.
Campgrounds are great for sprints given their loop oriented configurations….they are even better for being stared at as you box jump a picnic table!
You two have to be the most stinkin’ motivating people I know. I vow that if I hear anyone say “I don’t have time to workout and eat right,” I’m sending them to this site.
Thank you SO much for what you do (including answering silly questions about flavored sparkling mineral water).
Also, I feel like I owe you guys money for telling us to reach for a fat when the sugar cravings kick in. I am on day 5 and sugar is (normally) a slippery slope for me. Since day 1, I have gone straight to either avocado or coconut butter and today I have no interest WHAT SO EVER in the ‘crack’. Amazing. Truly. Amazing.
So when are you moving to Fort Collins? …
During the early spring, I would train in my shop (florist/gift shop) into a Crossfit gym. It was pretty fun. I always had people from the bar next door staring in the windows while they were smoking. My employees didn’t know what to think at first when they walked in the next morning and rings were haning right by the checkout area. I gave them a demo:)
well, judging by the pictures, you two have kept in excellent shape–! Quite a feat on the road-congrat’s! I have always answered the question: ‘why do you do these (meaning old school, sparse equipment) workouts?’ And my stock reply is always: ‘you should be able to get a full, complete workout in the space of your hotel room.’ But now I’m changing that philosophy seeing how effectively Oly rings travel! I’m buying some today ffrom Again Faster!
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK AND DRIVE SAFELY!
p.s….your Paleo blog and info. has been a LIFE-SAVER!! I haven’t even started a 30-day challenge and I’m down 20-25 lbs. and can see my ab muscles again!
BUT….anyone else struggling to find a satisfying replacement for beer? I love it waaaay to much to be healthy!
Dallas and Melissa,
Awesome meeting you guys in the Golden WF parking lot on Friday afternoon. Wish I would have had more of an opportunity to pick both of your brains a bit but I’ve added the blog to my reader so next time you guys do a seminar in CO, I’m there!
Enjoy the rest of the wild west and be safe
@Manzura: Jumpies! We’ll work those in at some point, thanks for the (awful) suggestion.
@Meredith: I got yelled at in my Dad’s complex in the Keys for box jumping on their picnic tables. Killjoys.
@Tracee: Thanks for dropping in again! Glad to hear you’re doing so well – breaking that sugar craving is HUGE, right? Good for you for sticking with it. Keep you posted as to when we’ll be back in Fort Collins, I’d love to spend more time with you, Marlena, Ali and the rest of the crew!
@J Spice: You are the hottest thing the Lakes Region has EVER seen. Miss you terribly – we think of you all the time on the road. Be back in town right around your birthday – and we WILL celebrate with a dirty martini and a nasty track met-con!
@Sully: Rings are one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. We haven’t yet run out of ways to kick our own butts with just the few things we’ve got packed (and making good use of the stuff in our training environment). Glad to hear things are going well with your nutrition, too… but unfortunately, there is no good replacement for beer. Your abs will thank you for giving it up.
@Clay: It was super crazy to get “recognized” in some random Whole Foods parking lot! Thanks for introducing yourself, glad to hear you’ll keep in touch via RSS. Hope to see you next time we’re in Colorado!
Hey Melissa and Dallas (and the rest of the wise readers here), I had a really tough time this weekend and I was hoping someone could offer suggestions for next time something like this pops up. First one to admit that I messed up, big time, but I need some ideas so I have a game plan for the future.
So M&D, you guys have posted some great suggestions about eating on the run and being prepared for when there’s no food supply available, and I’ve used all of those. This weekend, I was at a concert/festival thing. It started at 2pm and I had no idea when it would be over (I was figuring around 7ish?). I REALLY didn’t want to eat the crap food that I knew would be there, so I tried to prep by eating a huge good-for-me brunch (omelette/guac/salsa based). I get to the concert and here’s what happened:
1. They said “no food allowed” and they meant it. I saw a huge pile of snacks stacked by the garbage cans on the way in. They were rifling through the depths of bags. I considered bringing some Paleokits or something but there is no way I would have gotten them in. So, I couldn’t have brought food.
2. Here’s what was available: cheesesteaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, french fries, water ice, ice cream, soft pretzels, etc. I am not exaggerating when I tell you there was absolutely nothing redeemable there. Everything was fried or cooked in some horrible days old oil. Also, everything was SO expensive. $7-$8 for a teeny tiny hot dog, $8 crappy cheesesteaks, etc.
3. I figured I could just make it through til dinner if we were out by 7, no problem. But it turned out that everything ran late and we didn’t get out of there til 11:30PM. After a whole day in the blazing sun, I was literally faint with hunger. So I ate some nasty breaded chicken strips.
I guess this could come up as a whole list of excuses and/or you’ll probably say ok, brush it off and move on, but this is one of the most challenging situations I’ve ever been presented with. What do you guys think would have been the best game plan for something like this?
Meghan: First, I DO want you to take a deep breath and stop stressing about this. The situation you described is literally one of those one in a million worst case scenarios! You did the best you could, and that’s all that counts, so (you got it…) move on and eat a ton of fresh greens today to counteract all that fried food smell from yesterday.
It doesn’t sound as though you messed up big time… given those choices, you really had very little to work with. I probably would have done a few burgers (plain), or the breaded chicken but scraped off the breading. With no fruit or veggies, that low quality meat fest isn’t necessarily appealing, but it’s better than nothing. And if I was really feeling hot and tired and faint and in need of carbs… I might have had some fries. Potatoes and terrible oil will make me feel like I have a boulder in my belly, but at least it won’t kill my stomach like ice cream would have.
Chalk it up to a crazy day, understand that it won’t be the last time you’ll be practically forced to make less than ideal food choices (spending two days driving through West Texas was one of those scenarios for us…) and just keep on keepin’ on.
Thanks for sharing – I’m sure there are others who will benefit.
Best,
Melissa
Very cool post – we’ve got a road trip coming up (i.e. a move, I hope!), and I’ll be sure not to pack my rings too deep down…
@ Meghan : I’ve had a situation or two where I knew quality food just wasn’t going to be had, and packing it in was either impossible or impractical to the point of futility… so I just IF’d it (fasted). After all, once your carb cravings are in check, extending a non-eating period by a few extra hours isn’t a big deal at all. I just make sure to eat quality food once I do eat again, and shush any voices that point me towards “convenient” (i.e. crappy) choices.
I also find it liberating to know I don’t HAVE to eat every x hours; it decreases my old patterns of anxiety (oh no, gotta pack snacks!) for short trips, too.
In other news, just an update – I’m on Day 35 today, and according to the scale, I’ve gained a pound since I started. But, according to everything else, I’m down an inch or two in the waist, my workouts are getting heavier and faster, my energy levels are consistent, my cravings are down (if not out completely), etc.
Just a reminder to folks who don’t see progress on the scale; don’t get discouraged. Progress comes in many ways.
Thanks, Melissa and Adam. I figured as much! I think if I hadn’t been outside in the sun all day I would have been able to make it without eating, but I didn’t want to be that girl that passes out. LOL. Deep breath and….relaxing. And I”m off to eat a crapton of brussels sprouts.
@Sully
Definitely no replacement for beer, but I will tell you that I went 7 weeks relatively strict (NO BEER! a little red wine the first couple weeks, then cut it off), and when I did have beer again I noticed a huge change in how I felt. Allergies kicked in with a vengeance almost instantly (finally knocked those back out today, I think) and my muscles felt TIRED for a couple days after. It’s funny how much more clearly you notice all those little things after you’ve removed the bad stuff from your ‘diet.’ That’s why the Whole30 is so brilliant – get rid of all the junk, let your body remembers what it feels like to feel GOOD, and then slowly test the waters again. Every time I stray too much, I’m begging to get back to squeaky clean again.
Adam,
I have to agree with you on that statement “progress comes in many ways”. I use to be so addicted to the scale, even in the last year. But this time around on the whole 30, I haven’t even jumped on it. I figure I stopped my filthy habit of chewing tons of gum, I’m eating super clean, keeping consistent and getting plenty of sleep. If that’s not healthy, then I don’t know what is. And, that is progress for me.
Keep up the good work!