Have you ever been traveling and really wanted to work out… but there was no gym for miles?
Today I’ll be sharing how I stay shred even while out in the middle of absolute nowhere, with no gyms for miles. And how you can copy my no gym, gym routine to get ripped.
Photo below is from a few minutes ago, post No-Gym workout in our weird airbnb dome thing I’m staying at with my Dad on our father-son trip.
15 minutes post pump
Before I tell you the secret sauce to staying shredded without the gym - let me just loop you in on our travels today, as this is a late one coming in…
We got up real early and after my meditation session (Seek God First), we jetted out of the spot we were staying at in the woods and now… a 2 hour drive later… We're far out there in the desert.
Do you remember a post or 2 ago how I said we were in the middle, of the middle of nowhere, five times over?
Well guess what… This time, we are, again, in the middle of nowhere... But this middle of nowhere makes the previous middle of nowhere look like New York City.
In fact, on our drive from the last middle of nowhere town we were in to the one we're in now (which is our last camp site for this trip), we stopped at a little food truck for breakfast… (side note - had honestly one of the best breakfasts I've had - like eggs with hash browns and biscuits. Delicious.)
But anyway, the guy who owned the food truck, when we told him where we were going for our next stop, he looked at us with crazy eyes and said, "Why the hell would you want to go there?"
Keep in mind, this is coming from a guy who runs a food truck in a random parking lot in the previous middle of no where town.
So even that guy was judging us for where we are now.
That’s how far off grid we are.
lol.
But being this off grid, I'm sure you can imagine, provides an extremely freeing feeling, psychologically and spiritually.
We're out in the flats of a desert. There are mountains far in the distance.
And we're staying in this literal dome on basically a farm with cactuses and blue sky like a dome all around us, totally 360.
Our dome, inside the sky dome, yes with horses
There's horses, cows, a donkey, sheep and a beaten up, probably 100 year old tractor on the property alongside other ancient farmers' equipment. A horseshoe crab pit. A fire pit. And a shed filled with old horse mounting equipment.
I've stayed in ‘dome’ Airbnbs before, but this one is the biggest domes I've ever stayed in. And it has a giant glass window right in the middle of it.
Apparently, the Aurora Borealis is showing around this area of Texas and New Mexico where we are. So perhaps we'll get to see that tonight.
So - to get to the point of this post - as you can imagine, there is absolutely no gym around here.
And so, I just did a workout in the dome thing.
Here's the rewritten workout section with clear structure:
My Dome Workout (The Lou Parada Method)
To warn you: this is done in about 10-15 minutes. 20 minutes tops. There's almost no rest between sets. And you're going to be on the ground after, sore for days.
For those who don't know, I trained with the undercover famous Lou Perotta for four years straight, three days a week. Even when traveling I’d face time him. After four years not missing a single workout, I've downloaded Lou and his methodology into my brain.
One of the most valuable skill sets Lou taught me was how to stay in shape even when you're traveling and how to make use of what you have access to.
I'm basically the same muscle mass and size and weight when I travel as when I have access to my Equinox membership.
The Methodology:
The key to Lou's approach isn't the specific exercises. It's the intensity and mind-muscle connection.
Here's how it works:
Warm up (very light max 1-2 minutes, just get blood flowing)
Typically a kettle bell swing or squat and press with dumb bells
Pick 10-15 different lifts, full body
Push each set to the point where you feel like you can't do anymore and you let out a pretty egregious noise
Once you hit that point, do five more reps (this is the secret)
On the last rep when it feels like you're about to give out, hold the rep
Almost no rest between sets
The Secret Sauce:
I will repeat this - as it’s the secret to shred. Once you hit the point where you start making weird noises, you have to push for 5 more, and hold the last rep.
Put your mind in the muscle you're focusing on and nowhere else. That consciousness and energy you direct into the muscle actually ensures you're hitting the point of pain and point of growth.
It's not the same workout every time. There are literally hundreds or thousands of different iterations. It doesn't matter that much as long as you hit major muscle groups. And of course it's even better in a gym with good weights… But doesn’t matter too much as you can just use what’s available. No excuses.
Today's Dome No Gym Lou Style Circuit:
Walking Lunges – 20-30 reps
Jump Squats – 10-12 reps
Pullups – Until failure
Lou tip: If you're somewhere that has a door, hang a towel over the door frame. Put your hands on the towel, belly on the towel against the door, then slide up and down as you do pullups. It's uncomfortable, but it works. Door frame must be strong.
Lucky for me, there's a steel spiral staircase in the dome I can hang off of.
Feet-Elevated Push-ups – 10-15 reps (feet on chair, hands on ground)
Wall Sits – Get a towel, place on smooth wall. Back on towel, slide up and down until legs shake. Hold.
Handstand Push-ups – Until failure (for shoulders and inversion)
Overhead Walking Lunges – 20-30 reps holding a chair above your head (very challenging by now)
Dips – 10-15 reps (use 2 chairs or tall surfaces)
Lou Abs Circuit:
Bicycles – until pain
Roll-ups – until pain
Hip lifts – until pain
Bicycles again – until pain
"Land the Airplane" – go into candle pose, slowly lower back with heels first to the ground. 3 times.
Lou Neck Strengthening Routine
Lay on a bench
Hang your neck off the back of the bench
Lift your hcin to your chest as many times as you can until it starts to really hurt
Go for 5 more
Hold the last rep then start touching your chin to left shoulder, chest and right shoulder, 10-15 times or until pain
Done. If you’re not on the floor by end of this, you did it wrong.
As Lou would say, GW. Good workout.
Curious to see if you try this for yourself. DM me results.
The Other 80% (Food & Movement):
Now, obviously, the other important side of staying fit is:
Daily Movement:
10,000 to 15,000 steps a day
Active sports a few times a week (I play tennis with Chloe)
The Biggest Piece (Food):
Everything falls apart if you don't have this dialed in.
First off, always important to source high quality if you can, and pray over the food.
Meals: Two meals a day, coffee
Protein: Lots of eggs, chicken, fish, steak
Veggies: Colors of the rainbow – beet salad, arugula
Carbs: Because of my body type, I can afford them – sourdough bread with steak or eggs, sweet potatoes, pasta
Avoid: Pizza, cake, junk
Go-to sweet: Dark chocolate, chocolate chip cookies and raw milk
Liquids: Coconut water (big staple), iced tea, clean water
I eat healthy 85-95% of the time because it makes me feel amazing and gives me energy. I eat ‘unhealthy’ 5-10% of the time.
Note: If you have extra weight, cut carbs completely. They only add to fat. Lots of animal protein ensures you burn fat instead of muscle.
So yeah. That's the Lou sauce.
This is how to stay fit when you're in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
We're probably gonna go get some dinner soon, although I'm not sure there's too many restaurants around here.
But yeah, hope you enjoyed! if so, DM me on ig!
I'll see you in the next post.
- Arlin
