[kinginthenorth]

My business partner and I are about to start on an epic road trip around the United States. We will be primarily using Couchsurfing for lodging and both earn a decent income freelance writing. We will be staying in each city for around a week.

The question I have is how do you recommend approaching food? I am a skinny guy who recently gained 15 pounds of muscle, and I don't want to lose that while travelling. I've joined Planet Fitness, which means that hitting the gym in each of these cities will not be a problem. When it comes to getting enough calories without breaking the bank... that is what I am not sure of right now.

Any tips?

[RichieP]

Bulking on the road probably isn't a worthwhile focus. It might be doable, but if you're couchsurfing... ehh. Focus on enjoying your trip. But in terms of maintaining your gains, yeah that's definitely possible.

The main thing is to keep working out hard. If you can hit each muscle group at least once a week, or even just every 8-9 days, you should retain most of your muscle if you're eating decently.

In terms of calories, main focus should getting enough protein - meat/fish/eggs with each meal, and maybe a bag of cheap whey protein and a shaker for extra protein. Cans of tuna and sardines are quick and convenient too.

For extra calories, go with cheap, healthy fats. I recommend coconut oil + grass-fed butter... you can eat a spoonful of one or the other with each meal. It takes about 3 days to get used to it, and then it's actually pleasant. You can also glug olive oil, which is pretty much fine and easily washed down. 1 tablespoon/glug with each meal adds 300-400 calories to your daily intake.

If you can keep the protein up and get to the gym for good workouts, you should be fine for maintaining strength and size. Worst case = you lose 10-20% of your gains, then get them back in 2-3 weeks of serious lifting + good eating at home when you return.

[Hencredible Casanova]

(06-02-2013 05:28 AM)kinginthenorth Wrote:  

I've joined Planet Fitness, which means that hitting the gym in each of these cities will not be a problem.

Any tips?

Yeah. Cancel your Planet Fitness membership. I know it's cheap. I recall when I used to work in the financial district in SF that they would post up on the street passing out fliers to sign up for no money down and $10/month, or something like that. But they don't have a squat rack. Pretty much all machines and a few dumbbells. If you really want to bulk up, you got to do those squats and deadlifts. It's also more efficient because you can hit major muscle groups at once and, if you're pushing yourself, will not need to hit the gym as much. The T-boost you get from those compound exercises go hand and hand with pickup. You'll feel like a man after those workouts, and you'll look like one too!

[kinginthenorth]

(06-02-2013 08:55 AM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

(06-02-2013 05:28 AM)kinginthenorth Wrote:  

I've joined Planet Fitness, which means that hitting the gym in each of these cities will not be a problem.

Any tips?

Yeah. Cancel your Planet Fitness membership. I know it's cheap. I recall when I used to work in the financial district in SF that they would post up on the street passing out fliers to sign up for no money down and $10/month, or something like that. But they don't have a squat rack. Pretty much all machines and a few dumbbells. If you really want to bulk up, you got to do those squats and deadlifts. It's also more efficient because you can hit major muscle groups at once and, if you're pushing yourself, will not need to hit the gym as much. The T-boost you get from those compound exercises go hand and hand with pickup. You'll feel like a man after those workouts, and you'll look like one too!

The reason I joined planet fitness is that they have gyms EVERYWHERE.

[Pierre]

The good thing is that you will be travelling by car a lot, therefore sat on your ass and not expending a terrific amount of calories