Guest post by Will Safford C.S.C.S a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach who trains under Andre Galvao at Atos Jiu Jitsu.  He received is purple belt in December of 2013 and competes occasionally in the heavyweight division. Will specializes in mobility training, injury prevention, and kettlebell strength and conditioning. Visit his website at http://www.ironwillathletics.com/.

I recently took a road trip to the beautiful Pacific Northwest for vacation. Along with its amazing coastlines, cities, and wildlife, the region promotes an active lifestyle with a wealth of parks, trails, gyms, and mountain sports. Unfortunately, for a guy who is routinely moving and training, the bulk of my trip was spent admiring the scenery from the front seat of my car.

Nights were spent on awkward mattresses, in cramped hotel rooms, and the buffet breakfasts left more than enough to be desired. Luckily, however, the Northwest is home to some fantastic Jiu Jitsu schools, and the only “gym” I need is a 6’x6’ area to call my own for 30 minutes.

This article intends to provide some useful tips, strategies, and workouts for the traveling grappler. Whether vacation, business, or unexpected circumstances cause you to be away from home, there is no reason to skip a workout, get out of routine, or fall behind on what you’ve worked hard to build. It just takes some creativity and commitment.

First, there are some things you’ll want to bring along if possible. All of these items are optional, as bodyweight alone is enough for an effective workout. These small items, however, are easy to pack and can enhance your fitness efforts while traveling.

• Exercise band
• Lacrosse ball
• Small foam roll (optional – if space permits)
• Favorite pillow (optional – if space permits)
• Water/shaker bottle

I prefer to bring a medium resistance exercise band, as it’s the most versatile and can be used for the greatest amount of exercises. The lacrosse ball is easily stashed in any luggage pocket and can be used to roll out tight muscles, including but not limited to, the lower and upper back, traps, hip flexors, glutes, feet, pecs, and legs. The same goes for the foam roll which can be harder to pack but valuable for rolling the IT bands, quads, calves, hamstrings, lats, and upper back.

Although bringing along your favorite pillow presents the risk of looking like an infant who can’t forfeit the comfort of their favorite blankie, it allows for a piece of consistency in an ever changing and somewhat unpredictable sleep environment. We all know how important consistent, deep sleep is for optimal performance and health, so anything that can bring us easy, restful slumber is worth it.

Finally, a water bottle is the last item on our list. You’d be surprised how much some hotels charge for bottled water, and how hard it is to find a decent post workout shake when on the road. If supplements are your thing, then a shaker bottle is a must, however, even a good water bottle is a smart choice for rationing the .99 cent gallon jug you picked up from the gas station on the trip up.

Before we get into the workouts I want to explain why bodyweight workouts are a smart choice for your travels. First, as mentioned, it’s convenient and requires no need for a gym/equipment, thus affording no excuse to skip a workout.

Next, if you’re like me, the majority of your off-mat weightlifting sessions consist of just that – lifting weights. Bodyweight workouts allow for an often much needed break from the weights. I make it a point, even when not traveling, to put the weights down for a week or so and get back into moving just my own body.

Many times we can be strong under a bar or kettlebell, but lack the ability to manipulate our own bodies as desired. Sometimes my squat game is strong but my bodyweight pistols need work. It may not be that I lack the strength, but I may have lost the mobility or coordination to execute the movement as I want. Or have you been so focused on the bench that you’ve neglected your pushups?

Besides, Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that requireds manipulating your own body to achieve a desired outcome. This time without weights allows us to explore our movement, strength-endurance, and mobility. Let’s look at those last two with respect to BJJ and travel a bit more.

There is a mix of qualities that are important for successful grappling; strength, flexibility, agility, endurance, etc. However, one of the most important may be strength-endurance, or the ability to maintain strength over time. This is the quality that allows us to execute that fourth pass attempt deep into the match, or successfully upa and hip escape from under that 200-pounder in our fifth roll of the class. Bodyweight training develops this type of strength, as unloaded exercises allow us to perform considerably higher repetitions.

The other quality that’s of serious importance to a grappler is mobility, or the ability to maintain full range of motion of the joints. As flexibility relates more specifically to the muscles, mobility relates to the joints, tendons, and connective tissue. Typically it’s our joints that suffer injury, so not only does mobility training help with fluidity and full expression of movement, but injury prevention as well. Conveniently, there are bodyweight exercises that promote mobility while training strength-endurance simultaneously.

The final benefit of bodyweight training is its ability to work the cardiorespiratory system. There are a variety of bodyweight exercises that will jack up your heart rate and get your lungs burning. With respect to Jiu Jitsu, cardio conditioning is again, a crucially important piece of the game and can’t be neglected, especially while traveling.

We all know that feeling of being off the mat for a few weeks and then the one who struggles to keep up because we lost our “gas.” I’ve never been a fan of treadmills or ellipticals (plus they require your hotel to provide them), so creatively using bodyweight circuits to elevate your heart and lungs will not only help you burn off that scone from the continental breakfast, but will also effectively transfer to your efforts on the mat.

Here are some workouts you can do in your hotel room or gym to help you get a full-body, Jiu Jitsu focused workout that will promote strength-endurance, mobility, cardio conditioning, and mental toughness. These workouts can be repeated, done for time or sets, and the reps/sets can be adjusted to your fitness level. Little or no rest is recommended between exercises, however 1-2 minutes of rest between circuits is suggested.

I prefer to workout in the morning before my day begins, as it wakes up the body and mind, and gets the body burning calories throughout the day, because who knows what you’ll find to eat when out and about. It also prevents you from having to “man-up” for a workout at the end of a long day in which you’ve probably been on your feet for most of, and are likely ready for a drink or bed, whatever your preference.

3-5 rounds of each workout.

No rest between exercises.

1-2min rest between rounds.

Bodyweight Workout A

Prisoner Squat 20

Push Up 15

Glute Bridge 25

Y-Raise 15

Jump Lunge 20 (10ea leg)

Bodyweight Workout B

Bulgarian Split Squat 12ea leg

Incline Push Up 12

Side Plank Leg Lift 12ea leg

T-Raise 15

Sprawl 10

Mobility Workout A

Hindu Squat 25

Hindu Push Up 10

Side Lunge 15ea leg

Supermans 10 w/5s hold at top

Sit Through 20 (10ea direction)

Mobility Workout B

Cossack Squat 10ea leg

Spiderman Push Up 12 (6ea leg)

Overhead Squat 12

Quadruped Thoracic Twist 10ea side

Leg Lifts 20

Bodyweight/Band Workout A

Band Deadlift 15

Paloff Press 12ea side

Squat Position Face Pull 12

Band Triceps Extensions15

Band Curls 15

Jump Squat 12

Bodyweight/Band Workout B

Backstep Lunge to Row 10ea leg

Banded Push Ups 10

Band Pull Aparts 12

Side Plank Hip Drops 15ea side

Band Skiers 20

Now that you’ve seen the workouts, let’s touch on an often neglected yet highly important component of health in general, but specifically for travel fitness; stretching.

Chances are you sat for an extended period of time to arrive at your destination, either on a plane, in a car, on a train/bus, etc. Sitting wrecks havoc on the muscles of the hips, lower back, upper back, neck, and chest to name a few. It basically promotes a slumped, dysfunctional body position, and affects our breathing, posture, circulation, mood, and energy levels. To combat these effects, stretching is a must.

This article was meant to focus on exercises for your travels so please go here for a list of passive stretches you can do in your hotel room to loosen up. As mentioned, I like to mobilize and exercise in the morning, and stretch in the evening. This is a recommendation, however, whatever format works for your schedule and ultimately gets you moving is best.

Traveling is an excellent opportunity to see new sights, meet new people, and have new experiences, and it doesn’t have to disrupt your fitness routine. If time permits, the best exercise is done on the mat, so try to stop in a local BJJ school. Most gyms let you roll for the day for a single $20-40 drop-in fee, so get out there and experience the Jiu Jitsu brotherhood. If not, exercise, mobilize, and stretch while traveling to maintain your fitness levels and performance on the mat.

-OSS