Travel Careers and Training

[Girth]

I did some looking but couldn't find any threads on this. I also didn't know whether or not to post this in the Anabolic section, but I did so here, as it's about the only forum I use.

I'm teetering on the brink of a career change. I currently have a good job that gets me home every night, no weekends, and decent pay. I've been recently offered a position that will put me on the road about 40% of the time. 2-3 days/week away from home, I'm told. However, it nearly doubles my salary and would put me at 6 figures should the bonuses kick in.

I have some primary hurdles to jump, those being my wife and 9 month old. Both of which I don't know how well will handle my being gone. And the area would not be near as nice as what I live in now. But for the purposes of this forum, I'm concerned with how traveling will affect my training, eating, and physique. Granted I'm not a professional with regard to my training. But if something is worth doing, I will not do it half-assed. So I'd like some experince from those out there who travel.

- How do you handle the eating? Airports don't exactly offer the best food. And unless I've missed one, I don't think may MRP bars are much more than candy bars.

- If you are always going to a new gym, granted I'd get a Bally's membership or such, do you find it difficult to gauge your progress. I'm sorry but 45lb plates are not always 45lbs. The variance does exist.

Any other anecdotal/testimonial offerings would be greatly appreciated. As this decision must be made by week's end, and will affect at least the next 2 years of my life.

 

[Grizzly]

Tough call, bro. I would imagine that nutritionaryeek: ) hurdles would be the main one. I guess you cook up 15lbs of meat on Sunday and eat it the rest of the week on the road. At first, you'll probably suffer but you'll eventually figure out the best way to handle it after a month or two.

Training doesn't seem too difficult. Maybe you just train one day on, two off, two on, three off, two on, one off, etc. It's doable, anyway.

Wife and kid? I dont' know how they'll take it, but, quite frankly, if my woman said no to more than twice the income, I'd divorce her ass for being retarded. Of course, I'd divorce her before taking the job so that she only got half of my shitty income and not half of my good income.

 

[chiseled21]

I am on the road two to five days per week. 45,000 miles per year. Diet is the hardest part, I try to wake early enough to get in my first meal and make a shake for the road. My lunch meal is almost always at a restraunt so I try to make a healthy choice(ie chicken sandwich instead of the double whopper with bacon and a large shake) unless I am bulking. My workout is either the 5X5 or dfht; when doing dfht and I can only get in 3 workouts a given week I begin the following week with the workout that I missed. It took me a long time to realise but with working out good quality core based programs three times per week yields far better results than 6 day per week BB'er workouts. Hope this helps

 

[Freddy]

I'd get a Gold's membership, I think they offer a plan that lets you use all their gyms nationwide, correct?

You're right about the weights...Ballys doesn't use 45 pound bars, they use 35 pound bars (at least the one I trained at for a few weeks did). I thought all my lifts jumped up but it was just their pussy ass weight collection.

 

[Girth]

Thanks gents. Great point Grizz! HAHAHAAH.....I love the logical approach to ALL situations. The wife has agreed to the change, so that's not the issue. It's more with me and scheduling all of my activities/responsibilities.

Thanks for the Gold's tip Freddy. I totally forgot about those guys. I've been training in my garage for too long I guess.

Right now, I'm at a point where my activities outside of work define me. If I take this job, it will be my career that defines me. I'll become the job. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that?

 

[Freddy]

Thanks gents. Great point Grizz! HAHAHAAH.....I love the logical approach to ALL situations. The wife has agreed to the change, so that's not the issue. It's more with me and scheduling all of my activities/responsibilities.

Thanks for the Gold's tip Freddy. I totally forgot about those guys. I've been training in my garage for too long I guess.

Right now, I'm at a point where my activities outside of work define me. If I take this job, it will be my career that defines me. I'll become the job. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that?

Don't change your spending habits after you take the job, save up as much of the extra money as you can. Take the wife and kids out and have fun with them, but don't go buying yourself plasma TVs or flashy toys.

If after a year you decide you don't like it, return to your normal job, but have the extra cash to show for your hard work. Who knows, maybe you'll like the job and the money.

 

[Girth]

That's essentially what the wife and I came to a conclusion about last night. I'll do this for a couple years at most, and see where we want to go at that point. Owning a business is an option. However, the head guy I met with said, "If you do this, you'll be able to decide where in the world you want to go, and what salary you want."

As for spending.....HAHAHAHA. The only expenditures I ever have are caloric. Seriously, I live like I'm in college. With a wife and kid, I barely can justify spending $ on enough food for me.

 

[Phreezer]

One of my best friends travels for his job and he's gone about 50% of the time.. He's 5'11" 230lbs and he's about 9% BF .. so yeah you can train and travel..

I spent all winter traveling for my job.. I am a member of the YMCA... They are a national chain and usually honor all other Y memberships .. especially for those who are traveling... I just found out where the local YMCA's were and that's where I went.. hell, Honestly, I did better traveling as I was bored as shit sitting in my motel room so I would spend more time in the gym working hard... And I've met some really cool powerlifters at different gyms all around.

 

[Girth]

Great point Phreez! I have traveled previously...but it was the kind of travel for which I stayed at one place for 3 months to 1 year. Basically, like contract work. And in that time, I did meet a great deal of DIFFERENT people. I found that this was the best way to open up my mind. You'd never even consider some points of view until you meet those people, which possess them. It really helps to round you out, as a person, and will be applicable in how you approach all situations.

Alas, the decision has been made. So I will simply thank you all for your take on the conundrum.

 

[Girth]

Phreez.....does your friend post on here? I'd like to possibly contact him and/or you for specific questions, should I run into such a circumstance. Provided you don't mind of course.

 

[CyniQ]

I don't think that Gold's offers a program that allows access to all gyms nationwide. Gold's corporate only owns about 60 gyms (??? something like that). You'll get 12 visits to out of town gyms per year. I don't know if that's per gym or total though. Anyway, I don't think it's an option based on the info you've given. Lifetime owns about 40 gyms and their membership covers all of them. Still, it's not likely that you'll be able to find one in every port of call.

When I travel I usually find a small local gym and work a deal for the amount of time I'll be there. Day, week, month, whatever. That's a tough one though.

As far as nutrition. I'm on the road locally all the time. I spend lots of cash in fast food places. Once you get the hang of it, you can eat right, more or less, in a hamburger joint. Plus places like Jason's Deli offer good choices for about the same money as a Super Size combo at McD's.