Summer Travel Tips

by Grace Lin

Summer is upon us!  With the summer season, usually comes summer vacation trips.  Now, vacations are for relaxing, but that doesn’t mean your fitness should take a halting stop.  One of my favorite things to do when I travel, whether it be out-of-city, -state, or –country, is to drop into a local CrossFit affiliate.  I enjoy seeing different gym layouts, cultures, and coaching styles.  In addition, I always have a few key items I bring on every trip, regardless of working out.  Here are some helpful tidbits I’ve learned from past trips:

Nutrition – Always, always, always bring water or a water bottle with you!!  Hydration is imperative.  I usually bring an empty water bottle, so I can fill it up after passing security in the airport.  Airplanes are an extremely dry environment, and our bodies get very dehydrated during the flight.  Also, bring some snacks!  We all know airport food is the worst (with the exception of Taipei – their cafeteria is AWESOME, but I may be biased), plus it’s marked up triple what you’d normally pay.  Better to play it safe and bring your favorite snacks so you won’t have to deal with the airport hassle.

Gear – On every trip, no matter where I am going, I always pack these 4 things:

Jump rope – I can use it anywhere.  This is especially helpful if there is no time to drop-in at a local affiliate.  You can bring it with you to any hotel gym.

Workout clothes – self-explanatory.

Workout shoes – also self-explanatory.  No one wants to workout in flip flops.

Supplements (e.g., protein) – because GAINZ.

Mobility – I always bring two mobility tools on every trip.  A lacrosse ball and my voodoo floss band.  I pack these in my carryon, so I can break them out on the plane if needed.  Airports and airplanes are not conducive to mobility at all.  The seats are terrible and make our shoulders round forward and our hips tight.  I’ll often take out my lacrosse ball during a flight to dig into my shoulders, hamstrings, and glutes.  Sure, I get some looks, but who cares.

Drop-ins – Like I said before, I love dropping into different affiliates.  Even though we all do CrossFit, each gym is independently run, so each is unique in its own way.  Here are some rules I follow when visiting another gym:

Research beforehand – Do your homework if you plan on dropping-in somewhere.  Look at the reviews.  See if it’s a small, medium, or large gym.  Make an educated decision because not all gyms are created equal.  And send them an email letting them know you will be stopping by.

Be courteous – Show up early for class.  Take note of the gym culture and etiquette.  BE FRIENDLY.  Basically, treat them as we treat our drop-ins at CFCH.

Have humility – When visiting another gym, you’re essentially coming into someone else’s home, so show respect and humility.  Don’t assume anything.  Ask appropriate questions.  And as always, drop your ego.

Be open-minded – As mentioned earlier, I particularly enjoy seeing different styles of coaching, gym layouts, and culture.  Each coach has a unique type of coaching, so be open to it because it will probably be different than what you’re used to at CFCH.  Also, different gyms have different cultures.  I have been to many gyms where the members start cleaning up equipment as soon as they finish (this is actually more common than not).  People do things differently, and it should be respected, even if it’s not how we operate at CFCH.  Ultimately, we’re here to learn and better ourselves.

If you’re planning on taking a summer vacation this year, keep these things in mind and I hope they help!  As always, stay safe and have fun on your travels.