Well thanks for the hospitality, but unfortunately I won’t get close to Holland. I’ll be in Switzerland, southern France, northern Italy and southern Germany. Enough good food between all those regions to keep me full surely.
[quote]yeah dude I went for 3.5 months and you will lose strength anyhow you sling it. The most optimal route would be to just try and pick the best foods [ie. most protein] and enjoy yourself.
I doubt you’ll get fat. From what i hear the dames [and/or dudes if your roll as such] will keep your cardio up and morals low.
So yeah when i got home after 3.5 months out I were POW skinny but then i packed the treats away at christmas and I’m thicker than ever. I was down to eating only at breakfast and dinner it was too hot during the day to eat shit and i love eating.
So i would not worry about it too much. an occasional gym visit when it’s convenient is good for your mind. Try and get into some other shit like climbing or other outdoor sports shit. It’s fun to do shit you suck at.
In other news: small children are having a screaming contest outside my appt. WTFH is with that?
-chris [/quote]
I definitely won’t be sedentary during the trip. My girlfriend and I have planned some hiking in Switzerland and bike riding in Italy, plus lots of walking with a heavy load on my back. I’m not worried about getting fat since I naturally have a high metabolism, and that’s on top of the daily cardio I’ll be doing. My main concern will be to eat enough to maintain mass rather than limiting my food intake to prevent fat accumulation.
[quote]If these 2 months are the only major setback in your entire lifting career it really won’t make a difference in the long run.
The gym will always be there for you once you get back. Opportunities to travel for 2 months in Europe don’t come by often in life.[/quote]
That’s right on the money in terms of the psychology of the situation. Two months is only a drop in the ocean of life, so I don’t think I’ll be mulling over it in a few years. I just wanna limit the damage for the time immediately after my trip.
[quote]Well, you need to know if you’re the kind who loses muscle easily when not training.
I, for one, usually tend to deflate just a wee bit when laying off training for more than 3 weeks, but it’s mainly due to a decrease in muscle tone. It’s old muscle, so to speak, that’s not lost in a matter of weeks, especially when I’m eating enough.
If, however, most of your built muscle is quite “new” (meaning your body hasn’t got used to carry it around for a few years), you could end up losing some if you’re not training for two months and moving around a lot (what you usually do as a backpacker).
Here’s what I’d do in that case: find a gym and train at least once a week, heavy compound movements with a bit of direct arm work thrown in for good measure.
If that wasn’t possible, I’d at least bring two strong therabands (gold and silver). They’re light, small when rolled up and provide a lot of resistance. Fold them twice or thrice to increase resistance. You can do squats, deads, push-up, curls, overhead presses, rows etc. I shit you not.
You could also use your hawt companion as a weight. Again: I shit you not. [/quote]
Yes, I definitely deflate during a long period of inactivity. Like you said, that’s the new muscle I put on just prior to the lay off period. When I first started training my natural weight was about 150 lb, whereas now it’s around 180 lbs. I’ve always maintained 10% body fat. Currently I’m at 190, so I won’t be surprised if I drop back to the low-mid 180s over the course of my trip. Also, I’m 5’11" and 23 years old.
The resistance bands sound like a great idea, I’ll be looking into getting a few of those. And I’ve tried “weighted-companion” exercises before, like push ups and squats, they’re kinda fun!