Road Trip!
Wow, I had a great time this weekend on a road trip. Who else loves road trips? I bet you do too. What’s the best road trip you’ve ever went on?
For me, I had a chance to head to UFC 97 in Montreal this past weekend with one of my best buds, and we had a blast.
It was just like the first road trip we did to Montreal way back in 1994 (although this weekend’s trip didn’t include hitchhikers, an incident with a girl dressed as a cop at the bar, or hanging out with new friends on Mount Royal while the sun came up – but hey, I was only 18 back then and you just don’t get road trips like that anymore…).
This road trip was a little “quieter”, but still fun. And it has a few fat loss tips for traveling that you can use no matter if you are on the road for business or pleasure.
Our trip was a professional road tripper’s road trip. We came, we saw, we conquered. We got in, and got out. Heck, we left Toronto at 1pm on Saturday and were home by 6pm on Sunday.
Here are the top 5 things you should do on your road trip to burn fat and stay lean…
1) Workout Before You Go 
In order to set the stage for a good road trip, I got up early and went to the gym for a “depletion workout”. That’s what I’m calling my new style of workout (you’ll see more examples in the June 2009 workout of the month) that focuses on depleting energy stores in a short amount of time. Very little rest.
I did my workout with a few different variations of the barbell squat. After a 10 minute warmup, I did 20 minutes of squatting and then got back home to get my house in order so I could head out on the road.
And it doesn’t matter how early you have to leave, all you need to do is get up an extra 20 minutes early to cram in a short 10-minute depletion workout, using supersets, circuits, or intervals.
Here’s my latest bodyweight interval workout youtube video with plenty of short workout ideas for you…
2) Eat a Big Meal Stacked with Fruits & Vegetables
When I came home from the gym, I had a big breakfast of a 4-egg omelet (with peppers, broccoli, onions, mushrooms and spinach) plus an apple and 2 oranges. That filled me up and made it easy to pass when my buddy – a guy who doesn’t eat too healthy – stopped along the way for fast food lunch and cookies.
3) Pack Some Good Snacks…and Choose the Rights Ones at the Gas Station
I was traveling with an old high school buddy, and he’s known about my healthy habits for a long, long time. He even packed some apples and trail mix for me. So that’s what I had along the way.
4) Plan Your Reward Meals…So It’s Easy to Look Forward to that Meal & Avoid Other Temptations 
Combined with the right snacks, the perfect pre-trip meal, and plenty of jokes to tell along the way, I was never hungry or bored and tempted to eat junk food on the road tour. Plus, I also planned to have a ‘reward’ meal when we got to Montreal, but before we went into the fights.
And it worked out perfect. I had a big burger, and I allowed myself a few beers at the fights. That was easy. Not too much damage. A perfect road tour meal plan for the day.
5) When In Doubt…Choose the Option Offering the Least Damage
I obviously don’t recommend eating at McDonald’s every day, but we did stop at the drive through on the way home. Instead of getting a Big Mac, fries, and a coke like my buddy, I grabbed a couple of chicken fajitas. They were still good, and were enough so I wasn’t hungry for the last three hours of the ride home.
Alternatively, you could use the fasting for fat loss program for your road trip on the way to or from your destination.
So that’s it…easy steps to stay on track. Plan ahead, and you don’t have to worry about gaining weight on the road.
And the next time UFC comes back to Montreal, I’ll probably be on the road again!
Let me know your road tour trip tips below!
Having fun while losing fat,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
PS – Looking for a hotel room workout to do on the road. 
You can do these workouts without any equipment…