Training While On The Road

Andrew O

Table of Contents
Introduction
Recently I’ve spent one month on the road, traveling by car in Eastern Europe. I’ve visited 7 countries, and did over 6000 km of driving. During this time, I went to a conventional gym only once, but managed to stay active, in-shape and with no pain from all the driving. Can’t say that my numbers went up in any major lifts with the methods I employed, but they certainly didn’t go down either. One thing that did improve was grip strength and endurance. I attribute this to the nature of the training I did - all of it was done with a loadable Indian club.
When planning this trip, I spent considerable time choosing how to approach training while on the road. My goal was to choose one training implement that I can take with me, and that would allow me to maintain or progress the main training modalities like strength, mobility, endurance, and cardio. Now, with the approach that I chose and having completed the trip, I want to share my experience with you.
We’ll start by discussing the considerations for choosing a training implement, then move on to the one I selected, and finally, I’ll share the training program I used.
Considerations for the training implement
Let’s start with the choice of the training implement. As mentioned earlier, I wanted to choose only one implement that would allow me to train all modalities. Besides that, I wanted to make sure that the implement is:
- Portable - the priority is to be able to fit it in the space between the front and rear seats of my car, or take minimal space in the trunk.
- Lightweight - as much as I wanted to just take a 32 kg kettlebell with me, I didn’t want to haul something that heavy around for so long. It does have a noticeable effect on the handling of the car, as well as on the fuel consumption.
- Safe and stowable - another consideration is that the implement can be securely stowed. In case of sudden braking or an accident, I didn’t want to have a heavy object flying around the car.
Based on these factors, and from what equipment was available to me, I considered the following options:
- Kettlebell - A 24kg kettlebell would have been a great option, but it was heavier than other choices. Additionally, competition-style bells I own would leave green paint marks on the car’s interior unless wrapped or coated.
- Adjustable dumbbells - another decent option that allows to do similar exercises to a kettlebell, however not as versatile.
- Resistance bands - the most portable option, but with a limited range of exercises.
- Bodyweight (yoga mat) - bodyweight is effective, but not as much for strength training. Plus, you need a mat or something similar to do it comfortably in a parking lot.
- Steel mace or club - good option that prioritizes mobility and ballistic training for the upper body.
In this list, no option is inherently better or worse that the others. The choice is personal, and depends on other factors like available space and preferred exercises. For me, given the modalities I wanted to train and the space I had available, the best option was a loadable Indian club.
Indian club
The Indian club is a versatile training tool with a long history, used for centuries in various cultures for strength, mobility, and conditioning. The club is typically made of wood or metal, and comes in various weights and sizes.
Having selected the loadable Indian club as my training implement, next step would be to take care of the training itself. I was thinking of a program that would be simple enough to complete the basic round in under 5 minutes, with an option to extend it to 15-20 minutes. In practice, the training often took place in parking lots or roadside areas, so it had to be performed while standing.
Besides training full-body, I wanted to focus on the back and shoulders, as those are the areas that are most affected by long hours of driving.
The club I am using is called Pahlavandle Gama, it is a loadable Indian Club made out of bamboo, loadable with 50mm Olympic plates. Unfortunately I can’t find a product link for it anymore, but the principles and plans outlined here apply to any similar club.
Swing-Squat-Chop Complex
A complex is a series of exercises performed back-to-back, and this one is no different. It consists of 3 exercises:
- Mill or Reverse mill - can be performed one or two-handed. Choose one variation and stick with it, or alternate between them. I chose a two-handed reverse mill, as a personal preference. For how to perform the mill variations, I refer you to Mark Wildman’s channel, those are by far the best instructional videos on the subject.
- Squat - a simple goblet squat with the club held in front of you with both arms.
- Chop - The chop involves a chopping motion, performed two-handed. Imagine chopping wood with an axe. Pass the club between your legs on the way down, and alternate between passing it to the left and right of your head on the way up. Do a full range of motion, such that the top part of the chop, when you are pulling the club from behind you, thus resembling a pullover. The club may touch your back lightly at the top of the motion, with elbows pointing straight up.
I don’t claim that this is the best full-body complex you can do with a club, but it is a good one that I found to be effective. One observation I’ve made is that the mill and the chop can be vary heavy on the grip, and usually the grip was the limiting factor in the training. But then, it was also the only thing that considerably improved, especially in the endurance department.
Logging
Now let’s examine the reps and sets. I will be following the structure that I described in my Training Log Article, which is a simple and effective way to log your training with plaintext.
The shortcut for the Swing-Squat-Chop Complex is SSC
. For simplicity, all three exercises are performed with the same number of repetitions.
Thus, the log entry for the training would look like this:
SSC 11kg 3x10
SSC 11kg 3x10
indicates 3 sets of 10 repetitions with an 11kg club. Each set includes 10 reps of the mill (left and right), 10 squats, and 10 chops (5 to the left and 5 to the right).
Progression
For a simple program like this, there’s no need to overthink progression. Step loading works well. I would suggest to start with a weight that is moderately challenging for you, and add a rep or two whenever you can. Once you reach the point where you can do 15 reps for all three exercises, increase the weight by 1-2kg and start again from 8-10 reps.
The number of sets isn’t strictly defined and can be adjusted based on the time available and how you feel (autoregulation). Typically I did 1-5 sets of the complex, depending on mentioned factors.
I started with 8.5 kg for 5 reps, and progressed to 11 kg for 10 reps over the course of the month. I was doing 1-3 sessions per day, every day, with a few days off here and there. I was also doing a ton of hiking and cycling, so the training was not limited to just the club.
Results and outcomes
The results of the training were immediate and positive. When I set off, for the first two days I had some pain in my back and arms, which I attribute to the long hours of driving. On the evening of the second day, I started this protocol, and the pain disappeared and didn’t return.
After coming back and returning to my regular training, there was no drop in performance, but I can’t say that my numbers went up either. One month is also not that long time, so I don’t want to fully attribute it to the SSC
.
What did improve, however, was my grip strength and endurance. I was able to do 10 reps of the complex with 11kg club, which is a noticeable improvement over the 8.5kg club I started with. I also noticed that my grip was stronger and more enduring on kettlebell swings, CoC grippers and other exercises that I do regularly for a long time. Heavy club work is a great way to build grip strength and endurance, proven yet again.
Conclusion
After reading this article, I hope you have a good insight into how to approach training while on the road, and have one more tool in your toolbox.
Outside of this constrained environment, the Indian Club is still a great tool to have, and I definitely recommend to try it out.
Stay active, and don’t let circumstances affect your progress!
Andrew
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