Let me start with a big shout out to all of the olympic athletes who gave it their all in Paris this year. It was inspiring to watch. Most of us can’t train for the olympics, but we can certainly workout for an event. We can create our own special event to train for!
I usually write at least one blog article per year about the topic of keeping yourself motivated by setting a date and planning for a fitness oriented vacation. I think it is super important to take a vacation, when you know that you’ve earned it, so you can reset your mind and your body. A fitness oriented vacation like that of a ski trip, or a surfing trip, or a yoga retreat immediately come to mind. There is nothing more motivating for a workout than the thought of how you will perform for an upcoming event, or how you will look for it too. The right vacation can turn back the aging clock for you, both physically and mentally.
About four months ago, I set up a fitness vacation to begin one week following our company convention. I knew that after the countless hours of preparing for the convention and working with the team to execute that event for the benefit of our franchisees, a little R & R combined with a fitness excursion would be just what the doctor would order. Of course, how you go about planning your fitness vacay is bounded only by your imagination, but make it exciting enough that you will train harder as it gets closer. The best way I can advise you on this topic, as a fitness trainer, is through telling the story of my own recent experience with a fitness vacation.
Think about a place and an excursion that will really get you amped. For me, I have always wanted to climb the iconic Mt. Fuji in Japan. This vacation began with that desire. For a couple of years I have been talking about a trek up to the summit of Fuji with Jeremy Harwell, my training partner. Jeremy is also the original general manager of the the very first HOTWORX location in Oxford, MS, and that is how we met. We have climbed to the top of many mountains together, but Mt. Fuji just has an allure like no other mountain we have climbed before. The Japanese revere Fuji, the tallest mountain in their country, as sacred for its aesthetic quality. After the climb I asked a sushi chef why the people of Japan have so much respect for Fuji and he told me it was because of the “godlike beauty of that mountain”.
When I asked Jeremy if he wanted to climb it, he immediately said, “let’s do it bro!” So, that’s how it started. It was a fitness goal to climb an iconic volcano, and it became a reason to build an entire vacation around that initial goal. Jeremy and I, along with my girlfriend Kristen and Jeremy’s girlfriend, Angela would comprise the vacation team. All of us have a background as athletes as well as being fitness trainers and instructors. And, we all work for HOTWORX, so following our incredible “Teamwork” themed franchise convention in Nashville, we were in need of this amazing trip. As the plan evolved, the schedule turned into a stop in Venice, CA where we all trained at the Mecca of Bodybuilding, Gold’s Gym, and then the next day we would take a plane to Tokyo for a 13 hour flight across the Pacific. After the first night in Tokyo, Jeremy and I would take the ride to Mt. Fuji and begin the two day climb. After summiting Fuji, the trip would wind up with a stay in Honolulu, Hawaii at Waikiki Beach where the last day would be spent surfing with the legend, Tony Moniz.
As an added bonus to the trip, Jeremy and Angela got engaged on a sunset dinner cruise in Honolulu! Big congratulations guys!!
With that goal of summiting Fuji in mind, we stepped up our training at HOTWORX. Jeremy would train in Oxford and myself in New Orleans mostly at our newest location in the downtown arts district (also known as the Warehouse District). My training consisted of a 5 day routine. I would train each body part once per week with weights in the HOTWORX FX Zone: Monday chest, Tuesday back, Wednesday shoulders, Thursday bi’s and tri’s, Friday legs. Immediately following the weights every day I would do HIIT for cardio with either Hot Cycle, Hot Blast (total body trainer), or Hot Thunder (rowing). Then at two months out from the climb I began to sprint flights of steps immediately after the HOTWORX workouts. Additionally, I would do hot isometrics in the evening twice per week with Hot Yoga, Hot Pilates, Hot Stretch or with one of the other iso options. That was a winning formula for Mt. Fuji. Jeremy had a similar routine, but his external cardio consisted of playing in a basketball league to supplement his HOTWORX routine. Once again, cross-training is the the key for overall strength to elevate endurance for any activity, or athletic endeavor, not to mention getting you ready for the beach!
I can tell you this. Training at HOTWORX is a GAME CHANGER!!! With 12 different hot exercise workout types to choose from inside of the patented HOTWORX infrared workout saunas, there is no better place for cross-training than HOTWORX. Jeremy and I both felt that we were at our peak of conditioning for this climb, and that confidence resulted in a flawless execution for a climb to the traditional summit. From there we went on to the absolute peak of the mountain as we hiked around the rim of the volcano to watch the sun rise over Japan's tallest mountain. Those moments were soulful. It is the anticipation of experiences like those that can catapult your motivation to train, and that’s why I am writing on this topic in the hopes that more folks can discover the bliss of fitness training to accomplish something transcendent on a vacation for your mind and body.
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