How to be a Good Guest When Traveling and Crossfitting

I've spent all of my coaching career working in tourist areas, first Savannah, GA and now Williamsburg, VA. Drop-ins are the norm, especially during peek travel seasons. Here's some suggestions on how to be a good guest this holiday season.

1. Make plans with the gym ahead of time. Look over the website and/or reach out to the gym via social media to find out their drop-in policy. Do let them know what your experience level is. Don't try calling the gym. We all know most places do not have a receptionist and trying to call you back is next to impossible due to the coaching schedules.
2. Expect that you will need to arrive early. 15 minutes before class is typical. Don't show up right as class begins expecting to jump in. You are being disrespectful of the coaches time as well as the regular members of the gym who now are going to be held up while the coach finds waivers and introductions are made.
3. Expect to pay. If you are traveling to your small hometown they may not be used to having guests and not have an established drop-in policy. Ask how much it will cost per class/week or at the very least buy a shirt and leave a facebook/google review.
4. Do not ask to do your own thing. Take the opportunity to learn from new coaches and different programming. Unless you are a professional athlete, ie someone is paying you to workout, there is no reason you need to stick to your Invictus, Outlaw, Misfit programming. 

***If you believe that you will lose all your gains over vacation and absolutely must continue your programming then either find a gym that follows it or find a globo gym in the area that you can do squats, deadlifts and presses at and skip the oly work. This is typically what I do when traveling. I get up early and workout before our plans for the day and the easiest way is to find a 24/7 gym with a squat rack and dumbbells. Do not be an idiot if you go this route. Don't drop barbells and don't expect to set-up a met-con in the lifting area and monopolize all the equipment.

If dropping into a gym won't work then here are some home workouts I created that utilize minimal equipment and can get the whole family involved. Workout One, Two, Three and Four.

Finally it is not horrible to take time off from working out while traveling. Do not beat yourself up for this. The brain and body can use a break. Just get back in the gym when you get home!

You don't need a Monday

Warm up - Speed and jumping work.

Workout- with a partner
200m waiters carry
100 barbell push press
80 sumo deadlift high pull
60 burpee jump over
40 goblet squats
20 tire flips

Equipment needed
Barbell/body bar
Heavy dumbbell

Weekend WODing at Home

Bonus Workout

25 Walking lunges, weighted (carry your dog, kid, groceries, books, frozen turkey you didn't defrost)
25 Squats
1:00 Wall Sit
1:00 Jump Rope
1:00 Plank
1:00 Handstand Hold
1:00 Deadbug Hold

Scaling Options-Accumulate the 1:00 hold or go for it and do it continuous. Want more? Do it over!

Friday WODing at Home

Workout 3

Partner WOD
6 Rounds
Partner 1- 10 Burpees
Partner 2- Hold a Plank of any variety
Then switch

Scaling options Do more rounds! Burpee, complete drop to the floor and pop up, step feet back and back up, drop to a high plank and pop up. Plank, low or high, alternate, side plank on elbow or hand, reach through, or star.

Burpee Options

Plank Options

Turkey Day WODing at Home

Workout 2
Warm-up
Google Flower by Moby and get the family moving. When they say "down" squat. When they say "up" stand. Modify by sitting down in a chair and standing up.

WOD
Deck O' Cards
Can be done many ways. Decide to pull cards for 10-20 minutes. Complete half the deck, or go for it and do the whole deck.
Clubs-Mountain climbers (Left+Right=1)
Hearts-Lunge (Left+Right=1)
Spades-Chair dip
Diamonds-V-ups
You complete as many reps as the card is worth. Jack, Queen, King 12 reps. Joker come up with something-run around the house, walk on your hands, hold the splits, somersaults, try to do a back bend...

Scaling Options-Dips the further your feet are away from your butt the more challenging it is. You can also add a weight to your lap (a pan, book, kid, frozen turkey you forgot to defrost). V-ups if you cannot touch your toes aim for your knees.

Wednesday WODing at home

I'll be posting four workouts. These can be done in any order and require no special equipment. These are family friendly. I'll make suggestions to scale up or down if you need it.

Workout 1

Warm-up

30 Superman pulses

30 Glute marches on the floor or feet elevated

Video example 

WOD

Complete as many rounds as possible in 11 minutes

40 Single jumps, or pretend if no jump rope is available

30 Sit-ups

20 Squats

10 Burpees

Scale up options-double unders, lateral jump after each burpee (jump over something if you're feeling fiesty).