Each day I try to put aside 45 – 60 minutes to do a Fitness Training session of some kind, otherwise I’m like a bear with a sore head, if I can’t get my fix! On a recent city break to Berlin with my wife Nicky, I realised that I hadn’t actually packed any of my training clothing, which is usually second nature to me.
Mr Negative, who puts in an appearance every now and again, and usually comes to gloat when things aren’t going quite right said, “that’s you not doing any fitness for the next 3 days……eh?”.
I always listen to what he says but I always try to laugh at him and simply flick him off my shoulder, once he’s finished with his useless comments. Some days it’s harder to succeed in doing this. With this in mind, I immediately get into a more positive frame of mind and this is where Mr Positive pops up to say “hello”.
I knew I wanted to do a circuit style, cardio / strength session, so I started to look around the tiny hotel room to see what I could use and adapt, to help me. There wasn’t a lot there to be honest, but there was a small floor space, a relaxing chair, the edge of the bed and a bedside table to play with. “Perfect”.
Now here’s where it gets funny. My session involved a set of exercises, one after another, continuously in a circuit style, but I still had no training clothes. I decided to put all my cares and inhibitions to one side and do my training in my boxer shorts. That was it, just my boxers.
Tricep Dips on the relaxer chair, Incline Press Ups on the edge of the bed, Full Squats in the bathroom doorway, Full Lunges beside the bed and High Knee Raises in-between. 200 of each would set me up perfectly for the rest of the day.
My wife was loaded with cold, so was still dozing at this point. Every now and then she would just catch a glimpse of me nipping past her eye-line to use the various bits of furniture in the room, huffing and puffing my way through the circuit. If people on the outside were to look into my room that morning, watching a 6 ft guy running around a small room in just his underpants, well they would think I had totally lost the plot. Maybe they would be right, but never the less; I had to get my fix, no matter how bonkers I looked!
There are however a few good life lessons to be learnt from this situation:
LESSON 1: No matter where you are or how small the space is around you, you can always do some form of fitness training.
LESSON 2: Always make sure you tell Mr/Mrs Negative to go away. Humans have an inbuilt design flaw, of ‘doubt’ in their system. Always remember though that Mr/Mrs Positive wins every time.
LESSON 3: Really don’t worry about what other people think. Go at your own pace and do what makes you feel great. Time for YOU is quality time well spent.
LESSON 4: If you want to do something specific whilst you’re away on your jolly holidays then pack the right clothes. Some may like the underpants look, but its definitely not a good look in public (although my wife found it highly amusing!).
“Happy training wherever you are”.
Chris 👍😎 OAX Life Coaching