Do you workout on the road?

[B-J-J Fighter]

I was wondering if its possible for most of you to workout on the road? I fly 135 weekdays and Im home every night. I cant stand missing workouts. I love lifting weights and running. One thing that scares me away from the Fracs is being gone 7 days sometimes. I love having a set schedule and woudnt mind 3 or 4 day trips if a made a career at a regional. My queston for the other people on the board that lead a life of fitness is it hard for you to workout on the road. What are ways you use to get your workouts in? What about you fractional guys, do you have time on overnighters to workout? Thanks for the info.

"Flow With The Go"

 

[hawkerjet]

One of the pilot's I fly with, placed fifth in the stongest man weight lifting competition 7 years ago. He has had to change his weight lifting ways and become a body builder because of his travelling.There aren't that many companies out there, that are on the road as long as we are. (We have brokers in most major cities world wide) If your disciplined enough you can find the time. Most hotels have agreements with local gyms( for free or usually $5/day). Also there is a Gold's or World gym in over 90% of the places we stayed at. A call to the FBO where you will be RON'ing (that sure sounds funny)might give you a heads up on the areas gyms and discounts. If that fails the front desk of your hotel will have some details. If all else fails you're left with 2 options; use the hotel's 30 year old universal equipment, or put your sneakers on and run. It should be no problem for you to work out on the road unless you are consistantly getting the minimum 10 hrs rest. In that case life sucks.

 

[FlyToVegas]

workout

I used to fly as a F/A for a fractional (until it became obvious it was the worst company that ever existed, but that's another story) and it was easier for me to accomplish a workout with the fractional as I could, well, bring more "stuff." Once I met my airplane, I generally stayed with it all week, so as long as I could stuff it in the plane, an extra bag could be carried. If I needed it, I could bring it with me to the hotel and if the layover was too short, I could leave it. BTW, one hotel workout I have is to get to the tower or a nearby hotel's tower, and run up all the stairs, then go down the elevator and repeat that over again.

I noticed you are "BJJ Fighter." I used to do BJJ. Just try to employ some ground work in your hotel and try to hook a co worker on the sport (which is not easy) so you can fake a workout.

 

[TurboS7]

If you don't work out you become a "wide-body." On the road you will find out that it is a pilot's passtime. Always a place to workout one place or the other. If you wind up in a cheezy hotel just run the stairs up and down a few times, that will get you winded.

 

[B-J-J Fighter]

Thanks for the replies guys, I guess you just have to be creative to workout on the roads sometimes. Very occasionally when I do overnighters I can get in a workout. I just want to make sure when I astart doing overnighters a lot, I will be able to workout mosst of the time.

Yes I train BJJ, have been for 4 years, I tain with Jacare, who did you train with? John Lewis in Vegas? I have trained at his school a few times. Thanks for the info, theres no workout like BJJ though.

 

[airspeed]

hey there. Its really hard to train on the road #1 because your enviroment is always changing. You may be in a nice big room one day then a really tiny one the next. With a commuter it can be tough because you sometimes get min rest and even if you have lots of rest when you do 6 or more legs in a day it can be taxing. I box amatuer and I would have turned pro by now but because of this lifestyle Its hard to be consistant. I have done BBJ and no offense but I really don't think it compares to boxing, especially sparring. Good luck

 

[Two-9-9-TwoSet]

I work out religiously when i'm home..it's really tough to work out on the road, especially after flying 8 legs, with duty times that often exceed 14 hours, The bed looks much more attractive than the treadmill if you know what I mean.

Bid reserve, stay home, GET BIG.

 

[B-J-J Fighter]

Airspeed, I have also done some boxing, its a very good workout but not the best in my opinion. Amateur wrestling is the best workout in the world. I wrestled on a scholorship in college and I was 190 lb brick sh#t house. Of course I did a lot of lifting weights as well.

Im trying to work off this little gut I have now and get back my six pack for all our female friends. ANd yes Im tring to get big, I want to be back in the single digit body fat percentages. I just need to keep sucking down a few protein shakes everyday.

 

[airspeed]

Yes, keeping a six pack can be a full time job. Diet means alot but so does a great ab workout. I'm sorry but i still have to disagree with you on wrestling as I too have tried it and while it is taxing I have never felt so worn out after sparring for an hour. I see you have flown some interesting A/C. How did you end up flying the Concorde? Are you French or British? How old are you? Doesn't BJJ require 2 people to workout or are there techniques you can do on your own?? Thats whats great about shadowboxing, Have you competed on the NHB circuit?

 

[StaySeated]

Speaking of six packs, that is my work out. I focus on my lower back while seated at the hotel bar and my huge biceps while drinking beers. Very good workout, in fact I do not need my belt anymore to hold up my pants.

 

[hopper]

yoga!

Hello all!

I was going to write this as a stand alone post, and maybe I will one day but for now I'll write it here. YOGA!!! I know, I know, a lot of people have very funny ideas about what yoga is, but I assure you Yoga is about the best thing you can do for your body. You will build strength, flexibility, balance, concentration as well as improve the connection between your mind and body which is something very useful to all pilots. I recently took a friend who is a slave to the free weight room to a yoga class. He was extremely sceptical as to how intense yoga could be. Anyway, the class kicked his ass. It's funny when you realize how great a workout you can get using your muscles to work against each other and gravity.

Another plus is that you can do yoga anywhere, with out any other equipment other than yourself, which makes it convenient as well as cheap once you have learned what you're doing. Before those of you write me off as some kind of a loony nut, look at your fellow pilots. Look at the round bellies hanging over blue slacks. Look at the sagging backs from years of poor posture. I find it strange that our profession, which requires a certain medical standard, leaves so many of us in poor health. For those of you who want the best and most brutal workout you can find, check out a Bikram Yoga class. It is a series of classic yoga poses done in a very hot room, so the muscles are very loose and pliable. Yesterday, I got my heart rate up to 161 bpm while basically standing perfectly still on one leg while holding my foot. Sounds crazy, but if you try it you'll see what I'm talking about. I hope some of you check it out, it'll make you better. Try www.bikramyoga.com for a class near you, or try some other type. Some Yoga is fast and difficult, other kinds are slow and deliberate. Best of luck to all!

 

[TurboS7]

Wait till you are fifty, when you wake up in the morning you are tired and stiff just from carrying your flight bag through the terminal. Then you have to work out not to get a six pack, but just to keep the ol' ticker going. Women say they like a six pack but they sure like to rub those big bellies...

 

[Huck]

I knew a big ole' fat check airman at ASA - he bought a catamaran, and holding that rope on the sail was wearing out his right arm.

So he bought one 20 pound dumbbell, and sat in front of the TV every night, doing curls with his right arm. Not the left - no need to work out too much!

 

[B-J-J Fighter]

All of the a/c listed on my profile are meant to be a joke. Im 25 and have time in various singles and a lot of time in BE 58's and a CE550 type.

Yes you do need 2 people to wrestle or do BJJ. I have done shadow boxing before, I agree its a good workout, BUT you will never duplicate the shape of a world class wrestler or even a good D 1 college wrestler. We woke up in the mornings at 6 for a 2 hour conditioning practice, followed by lifting weights after lunch. I would go back to my room to study from about 1-4. Then we had our real practice from 5-7ish. I was sucking down 3 proten shakes a day and consuming around 3500 calories a day. I was in the single digits in body fat and felt fantastic.

I could get by on much less sleep then and hardly ever felt tired even if I didnt get much sleep. I know I probably wont beable to duplicate that now because of time contraints. I would be very happy just getting half way back to where I was. Im almost embarissed (SP?) taking off my shirt now at the beach even though I still look better than most of the other guys. I just really miss all the benefits of being in great shape ie fell great and getting lots of looks from all the girls.

 

[airspeed]

I kinda figured since I don't really know of any American Concorde pilots! Yeah, you really can forget about training that much on the road. I used to plan everyday saying to myself yeah when I get too the hotel I will do this and that and the next thing ya know your holding and going to your alternate and waiting all night for the hotel van. Your plans can easily change. Yes, most boxers don't life weights. Weightlifting makes you alot slower and stiffer for the most part. thats why you really never see any big bulky fighters because they would get killed in the ring. Tyson though is another animal. Yes, I would gobble down 2 shakes of designer protein a day. At 160 though i had a hard time keeping at that weight but really don't want to move higher up. We do about five miles of running and roughly 1000 different repitions of fifteen different type of ab exercises. No joke either. For upperbody we just do pull ups and pushups. Like I said we don't life because of the way it effects your handspeed. Good luck man.

 

[DesertFalcon]

I don't work for a FRAC but I do work out on the road.

Like you, I hate to miss a workout. I do everything I can to find a gym to complete my workout.

If, I can't find a gym then I walk and do "Isometrics," in my room.


DesertFalcon