Is the title a joke?

Who is traveling right now during the quarantine? As I searched around the house for a "workout bench" to do Bulgarian split squats, it reminded me of times I was stuck in a hotel unable to access the fitness center. And the time I was stuck at Aunt Vivi's over Thanksgiving with nothing to use for extra weight except her uncooperative bearded collie. The disruption in our fitness program can be an excellent opportunity to resist or recognize our weaknesses and not lean on our established strengths. We all like to stick with what we're already good at. It feels good! When the tendency to try and duplicate your normal routine causes frustration, fall back on one of the principles of CrossFit. The preparation for any physical contingency, the unknown.

1. Start with a plan just as you would for a grocery trip. Whether you travel to the same hotel regularly or you are staying for the first time, there are tons of pictures online of hotel amenities to view. Hotel staff in my experience have been service-oriented enough to send more detailed pictures when asked. Some hotels even offer group classes and Peloton bikes. Get together with your trainer and create a plan instead of just showing up and tinkering around with no purpose. Avoid what often ends up happening - 30 minutes on some nondescript piece of cardio watching The Food Network without breaking a sweat. Your workout can be as simple as something like this:  2 mile run on the treadmill, 4x12 incline dumbbell bench presses, 4x20 medicine ball Russian twists. Just have a plan before you even leave home even though it may change. Hotel gym under renovation or just unappealing?
2. Do something you don't do normally do at home. If you have multiple marathons under your belt or you are off the charts with sheer brut strength, time away from home can be the perfect opportunity to dedicate to extensive mobility. Towel pass-throughs and straddle stretches are a great start. Get with your coach for a custom sequence to take on the go. Pre-select 4 songs on your playlist you'll do these to instead of a timer. You CAN invest 15 minutes on yourself. Being alone away from home is also a great time for me to do exercises that feel silly in public. Shadowboxing and fire hydrants, we meet again.
3. Change other variables in the absence of external load to increase intensity. Yes, your suitcase might be good for about 40 lbs, but is the possibility of touching those dirty roller wheels worth it? Um, no thanks. Use volume, isometric exercises, and different angles using body weight only. This may sound a bit like the characteristics of  "prison workouts" but who needs that dark undertone while trying to exercise?  10 air squats easy, 50 air squats hard, 100 air squats unbroken hardest. So your workout can be as simple as: 100 air squats, and 50  push-ups with feet on the bed. 45-second hollow body holds.

If you must still have a piece of exercise equipment on the go, grab one or more of the following: resistance tubes, gliders, or jump rope. These options are compact and give the most bang for your buck(and space). I myself am a competitive light packer so just packing leggings and bulky athletic shoes is a win. When you do get back to traveling again, we hope you take a little bit of something you learned at Transform CrossFit.

Send us a pic in your Transform gear working out on your travels. It will fill our cup.

How confident are you in getting an effective workout when traveling? Do you see a vacation as an opportunity to recover and indulge or reinforce your discipline?

Let us know what you think.