08 Jun Training Log: 5/30/2026
Getting Back on Track After Travel
Travel has a way of throwing everything off. Your training schedule changes, your food choices are not always ideal, and your normal routine gets interrupted. I had just returned to PowerRackStrength.com HQ in Jacksonville after a trip to Canada. It was a great trip, but by the end of it, I had eaten far more than I needed to. My training was interrupted, my bodyweight goals temporarily took a back seat, and I felt like I needed to move, break a sweat, and get myself back into a productive rhythm.
Instead of overthinking the perfect workout, I put together a full-body training session built around core stiffness, glute activation, controlled strength work, and loaded carries.
Tune the Core Before You Move
I started the session with the McGill Big Three. This is something I have discussed for years: tune the core and create proximal stiffness before asking the rest of the body to produce force. A stable torso gives the hips and shoulders a solid foundation from which to move.
The goal is not to exhaust the abdominal muscles before training. It is to activate them, reinforce proper bracing, and prepare the body to handle the work ahead.
From there, I added several anti-movement exercises, including anti-flexion, anti-lateral flexion, and anti-rotation work. The spine is generally at its strongest when the surrounding musculature can prevent unwanted movement while force is transferred through the body.
Waking Up the Hips and Glutes
After preparing the core, I moved into hip thrusts, glute bridges, clam shells, monster walks, and adductor work using the Power Rack Strength loop bands, which you can find [HERE]. This was intentionally more glute work than I would normally perform during a standard strength session. After sitting on planes and traveling, I wanted to get the hips moving and push some blood through the lower body.
I also included wall sits, banded box squats, tibialis work, and calf training. None of these movements were taken to an extreme level of fatigue. The purpose was to train a little bit of everything, increase circulation, and make my body feel athletic again after spending so much time sitting.
Training Around an Achy Shoulder
A few weeks earlier, I had tweaked my shoulder while doing some karate work. It was improving, but it was still slightly achy, so I was careful with my upper-body exercise selection. I performed controlled rows with PRS suspension straps and a machine press using accommodating band resistance. These movements allowed me to train the upper body without forcing the shoulder into positions that did not feel right.
When something is irritated, the answer is not always to stop moving entirely. In many cases, you can continue training by selecting movements that feel good, controlling the range of motion, and avoiding the specific positions that aggravate the area. The key is being honest about what your body is telling you instead of forcing a predetermined workout.
You Cannot Punish Yourself Back Into Shape
I will be honest: part of the motivation behind this session was guilt. I had eaten a ridiculous amount of food toward the end of the trip, and I felt like I needed to punish myself for it. I turned the gym up to around 77 degrees, moved quickly between exercises, and made sure I broke a serious sweat.
However, one difficult workout does not erase several days of poor eating. Just like one bad meal does not destroy months of progress, one hard session does not instantly put everything back together. The real value of this workout was not the number of calories I burned. It was that the session helped me mentally and physically return to my routine.
Finish Strong and Move Forward
I finished the workout with suitcase carries, which remain one of my favorite exercises for developing lateral core stability, grip strength, posture, and total-body control. By the end of the session, I felt significantly better. My body was moving, I had worked up a sweat, and I had taken the first step toward getting back on track.
Travel, vacations, and occasional diet slip-ups are part of life. You do not need to panic, starve yourself, or perform a marathon workout to compensate. Get back into the gym, train intelligently, return to your normal eating habits, and start stacking productive days again. My bodyweight is still coming down, training is feeling good, and I am officially back in the saddle.
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