Ep. 22 | Preparing for the Platform pt. 3 of 4 | Meet Day Travel Made Simple

Travel can wreck your meet week long before you touch a barbell. We want you showing up calm, fueled, and ready to hit your attempts, so we walk through the unglamorous, simple and powerful details of powerlifting meet travel. 

We start with the big choice: driving vs flying. Driving gives you freedom and fewer moving parts, but long hours in a car can leave you tight and tired. Flying is faster, yet it comes with potential delays, layovers, and baggage drama so we talk about building simple backup plans that keep you in control. Then Liz gets into how she books lodging, why an Airbnbs can be a game changer for meal prep, and weight cuts, and how staying close to the venue removes a stressor you do not need.

Next, we get practical. Liz shares her packing checklist system and the rule we wish every lifter followed: if you need it for meet day and you cannot replace it easily, it goes in your carry-on. We also dig into food, hydration, and making weight while traveling, including why skipping water during travel is never a win and how to keep your routine steady when your schedule is not. Once you arrive, we cover setting up a “home base,” grocery runs, meal prep containers, not overbuying, and why staying lightly active beats sitting around feeling stiff and anxious.

If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a training partner, and leave a review so more lifters can travel smarter and compete better.

Transcript

Welcome And Travel Topic Setup

SPEAKER_03 0:00

What's going on, you guys? Welcome to another episode of the Fortis After Hours podcast. I'm your co-host Nate, joined by my wife Liz. Hey. And we have another awesome episode planned for you guys today. Shocking. Yes. Um, if we went back and tried to clip how many times I've said that, and then Liz said shocking, it would probably take all day.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Uh because it's probably every episode.

SPEAKER_03 0:20

Yeah, but we're not gonna do that. What we are gonna do is complete, nope. Nope. Continue our mini-series on um meat prep peeking. I can't remember what we called it.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

I don't know. Like preparing for a meet.

SPEAKER_03 0:34

Yeah. Uh preparing for preparing for the platform. Okay. There we go. There we go. We got it. Uh so yeah, we are going to be continuing our mini-series, preparing for the platform. Last week we had a meeting with all of our nationals' competitors here at the gym. It's pretty awesome. Most of them. Uh, we had some fly in via Zoom, um, which worked good. But, anyways, this week we're back. We got another episode, and we're gonna be talking about traveling. Uh, which is, I would say, an underrated topic when traveling for meets, ironically.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Because I feel like sometimes people just like sign up and they're like, So I feel like a lot of people like when they sign up for meets, they're local or at least like semi-local, like within like two hours, an hour, two, three hours. Maybe for some people, like three to four hours if they're you know in like kind of a weird spot. Um, but typically I would say most people sign up for meets within driving distance for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

Agreed.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

And then maybe just somewhere that they can easily drive like the day before and need to stay like one or two nights, so they don't really like traveling isn't as big of a deal for like a local meet, even if you have to go like a couple hours. This that's different. So I mean, like some of this stuff I guess could apply if you're traveling even just like for a day or two. Um, but like because what we're talking about as far as traveling goes, like either flying or driving, like we're gonna plus hours.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

Yeah, we're gonna be staying overnight, multiple nights, uh like for weighs and stuff like that. That's what we're talking about. And I think kind of like you said, because a lot of people I think it's common for people to do meets that are closer to them. Uh well yeah, it's easier, it's cheaper. Yeah, exactly. And honestly, that's recommended. Oh, yeah. Let's just start that off. Like

Start Local Before Big Trips

SPEAKER_03 2:20

that is recommended. I think sometimes people get a little bit too um, I'm not gonna say not like ahead of yourselves, but like just like they'll do one meet and they're like, all right, next one. I'm going halfway across the earth. It's like, yo, like do like a couple just to like, because it is, you know, it's something new, especially if you're if you're you know a seasoned competitor in some other sport and you're used to traveling and competing, whatever, then obviously that doesn't apply to you. But a lot of people find powerlifting because they didn't really fit into other sports, right? They're they've maybe not competed or not competed and traveled at a higher level, whatever. Uh so I to start off, I strongly recommend like saving the traveling for once you've done at least a couple meets, a few minutes.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Yeah, like find out that you actually like polylifting. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:02

Because we've seen that before. Like people like they're like, oh, and then they travel like once. They're like, This is terrible. I'm like, uh, but we're gonna give you guys some tips so that way it's not terrible. Um, and I think for for me, we're gonna give you some pretty practical tips because literally how I came up with like how to travel was by force because Liz signed up for this meet, the showdown, which before the American Pro was kind of like the American Pro.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Um it was like It was like the invite-only meeting only meet. Yeah, you had to qualify for no, you had to qualify and get invited, so it was like a multi situation, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:41

Yeah, multi-tier, like top tier event, and she got invited to it. Um and that was when I decided well, that was probably when I was the most nervous, but then also during that trip when I decided that uh traveling is not as hard as you'd think. It's just, you know, takes it well, it's let me rephrase, not as complicated as you think. It just is a little bit of work.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Um I feel like it's not as hard, but it's also not as easy. Like people are just like, oh yeah, we're just going.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

Yeah. But that's what I'm saying. It's not a like, I just think it's I think it's like gets overcomplicated, is my thing. Um, and it's pretty simple. It's just a little bit of work, is basically, and that is how I approach that was just pretty simple stuff. Like nothing is gonna be groundbreaking, I guess is what I'm saying. Like, there's not gonna be something where you're like, oh, that's it. I mean, maybe, but it's all like pretty simple stuff. Um, and basically what I tried to do was make that trip and make Liz feel as at home as possible during that trip. So um, we're just gonna kind of break down like different travel tips, like how we recommend um traveling, the difference between flying and driving, because when you're driving, I mean you can take whatever you want, basically. When you're flying, there's restrictions. Um, so that's you know, there's a decent difference there. Like, what do I bring? What do I buy when I get there, etc.? Um, and then we'll talk about like how to book Airbnbs. That's gonna be Liz's department. Um, Liz has basically become my travel agent because I don't know anything about booking things. Basically, I just see like really cheap stuff, and then I see really expensive stuff, and then I'm like, eh, we're only there for a night. We'll just get the expensive stuff, and it's usually a waste. Liz is somehow able to find these like deals that are like they're not even deals, they're just whatever. I mean, I don't know. They're just what they are. Yeah, but Liz finds like these good spots. I don't know how she does it. Um good. So yeah, we'll talk about that as well. But yeah, we're gonna give you guys some travel tips.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Yeah.

Flying Vs Driving And Backup Plans

SPEAKER_03 5:52

And um first things first, I guess like when you're picking a mead to travel to, uh, do you recommend like someone flying or driving? Like, do you think that really matters? Or it's just you know.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

I mean, I would say a lot of it, unfortunately, the terrible answer of it just depends. Yeah, um, depends on how far away it is, um, depends on how you travel. Some people can sit in cars for long extended periods of time and not have too many like negative implications from that. And some people can sit in the car for like an hour and be like, oh my god, I can't walk. So part of that, like you kind of have to know, like, I guess, what kind of person you are. Um, are you good with road trips? Are you comfortable stopping on road trips? Because you will need to stop and move and walk and stretch and drink water, and you need to make sure you're staying like hydrated and eating, like as you're driving, which is fine. When we drove when we went to Kansas City, we drove. Yeah, so we did we've done both. We've we've whatever drove and flew. I that those do not sound right in. We've driven places and we've got to do that. There we go. Um we've done both. So I would say like it kind of depends. It also depends on like the time frame that you have. Like, do you have a little bit longer to spend driving? Because like it is kind of nice if you can drive and can break it up and can just take your sweet time and because then you have the full freedom of a car and going when you want and stopping when you want. Um, so that is nice. Um, but also you're sitting in a car for however many hours. Whereas with flying, you get there faster, but you are very much at the mercy of the flights. And a lot of things going on, yeah. Yes, of the flight, of the flight times, of delays, of connections, of baggage, uh like luggage getting lost or something, um, renting a car. Like there, I would say are a lot more variables if you fly. Um not necessarily bad variables, but ones that I would say you need to be aware of and kind of like have a plan and then a plan B for it. Yeah. Um, like for example, our flight out to Texas, we have like a one hour layover, and that's all. One hour is not very long, obviously. So if there's delays or whatever, there could be there could be some issues. So in my brain, it's a layover that's only three hours away from where we need to go. So my contingency plan is we're renting a car and driving three hours.

SPEAKER_03 8:18

Um who's driving?

SPEAKER_00 8:19

You.

unknown 8:20

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Couldn't be me.

SPEAKER_03 8:24

It was like my contingency plan, you.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

Yeah, you're driving. Okay. I told you this.

SPEAKER_03 8:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

Well, maybe. I think I told you about renting a car. I don't know. But, anyways, so like I am, if you don't know, a huge planner. So I like to have things planned, and then I also like to have like secondary plans, like if something bad happens or like wrong or whatever. Like, I know you're the person that's just like, oh yeah, it's fine, we'll figure it out.

SPEAKER_03 8:47

No, I was gonna say, which I think is why we like work well together, because see me, I don't have a plan A at all. I only have plan B, C, D, E, but I have unlimited of those plans. Like I can just keep going all day. But I never really have like until I met Liz, like obviously now I do, but like before, like in my brain, I just had a bunch of different plans of ways to get to my goal. And we'll pick something, select something, and then I get there every time.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

That's wild.

SPEAKER_03 9:10

Liz is more like, which is I mean, her way is more effective, and our like combined powers is more effective for sure. But like, you know, she has like, okay, this is plan A, like, this would be optimal. And like, oftentimes we can make plan A happen. Yeah, but then she has BC, which, like I said, I do have two different options. That's my special.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Because if something about renting a car doesn't work, we can there is a flight out the next morning. Because let me tell you, I've already looked to see if there's flights out the next day. That there's plates. Well, but like early.

SPEAKER_03 9:37

Someone's flying me to the destination.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

There's early plates, anyways.

SPEAKER_03 9:40

All right, so as far as flying and driving, I I would agree with Liz. I don't really think it matters. Once you're deciding to travel uh whatever, further than a couple hours, like something you could do in a day, um, where you gotta stay an extra night basically for weigh-ins, whatever, then I I would agree with Liz entirely. I don't really think it matters. I honestly think if you're if it's your first time traveling, I think you should do what you feel more comfortable with. So if you're used to driving all the time, you're like, I love driving, I like road trips, then just do that.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Like that was us when we first actually I still prefer driving, but I would say 12 hours is just a little too far.

SPEAKER_03 10:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Like if it was only like seven or eight, I think I still think I would drive to it. Oh, yeah. Because I do like the freedom and flexibility of driving, having a car, going at your own pace, stopping, eating, drinking, whatever. Like, I do probably technically say I would prefer driving.

SPEAKER_03 10:29

I would agree with Liz. Umthough as we've gotten older, but this far, I also would say, yeah, it's just like when you're getting into the like when you're getting into the things where it's not just a day of driving, it's like an extended day of driving. Like, you do want to be thinking about like your performance. And that's something else to think about as well. I would say before you start traveling, like make sure, like it's gonna cost more. So like get that like in your mind. Because I feel like some people they're like, oh yeah, they sign up, and then they're like, wait, I gotta pay for this. Is it like traveling is expensive? I would say double to triple the expense of like competing locally easily.

SPEAKER_02 11:02

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:02

Um, if not more. Yeah, but I'm just saying, like, I think a lot of people they sign up and they're like, oh, but it's like it all that stuff adds up. Um, so so anyway, so yeah, so you've selected your way that you're gonna get there. Um, and then I think the best thing would just be to kind of run through like how we plan for our trip. So first you got to figure out if you're driving or flying. Next thing is usually Liz figures out

Airbnb Vs Hotel And Location

SPEAKER_03 11:24

like an Airbnb. So, how do you do that? Um, I guess you don't need to reveal all your secrets, but like what are some things you look for? Does it need to be Airbnb or can we go hotel? Uh so give people some tips.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

I'm obviously a big fan of Airbnb simply for the fact that I like that there's a kitchen in them. Um, because that is part of traveling, especially if you're going for like longer time, depending obviously. Like we're flying in, so like for example, we I compete on Saturday, you'll compete on Sunday, but we're getting in Wednesday night. So we have like multiple days that we need to be there before, because like we weigh in Friday, I need to be there so I can make sure everything's situated for weigh-ins, so whatever. So, like, that's a lot of days, and that's a lot of food that needs to be consumed correctly, especially if you are someone who does not usually eat out and is used to meal prep and is used to um what either macros or just like at home cooking. Like if you all of a sudden are like, oh yeah, I'm gonna stay at a hotel and then just go out to eat every day, like right before a meat might not be your best option. One, you gotta make weight, and two, like, you don't know how your body will respond to all of that. Yeah, and so that is kind of part of it, is like for me, it's very important the eating aspect of it to make sure that that is like on track and correct, essentially for how I'm feeling. So that is why I personally prefer an Airbnb so I can cook and meal prep and all of that stuff, and or you can cook and meal prep for me.

SPEAKER_03 12:52

Yeah, I was gonna say that's another me thing.

SPEAKER_00 12:53

Okay, um, but anyways, so that's why I pick Airbnb. Yeah, but I'm I'm my point in saying that is like a hotel isn't necessarily a bad option. Yeah, you just might need to look at food options or kind of decide what you want to do. I know some people will actually prep their food, bring it in a bag, bring it with them, and then just keep it in the refrigerator and warm it up in a microwave at a hotel, which is totally fine. Um, I just don't like doing that because I have enough other stuff I want to bring.

SPEAKER_03 13:19

So Yeah, and you have someone that cooks for you, so that's nice.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Correct.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

Uh Liz has a private chef. Yeah. It's me. She said that one time. I was like, okay. Um, but I think also to your point, like what you just said, you want to be when you're traveling, you want to be controlling as many variables as possible. You definitely do not want to be adding variables. So going out to eat would be adding a variable.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Unless you always go out to eat, then I guess.

SPEAKER_03 13:42

You do you. I will say, you do, you know, like there's just like an inherent risk. There's definitely it's definitely riskier if you're relying on uh other food than if you just cook your own food.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 13:52

Um so that's the reasoning between Airbnb and Yeah, but either one's fine.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

And some hotels even have kitchens built in, so you know you could be good to go. Um but so I prefer an Airbnb, and what I do is well, like well, there's so many layers to this. Basically, I look at the map, even though they don't tell you the exact location of the Airbnbs, I get real, real deep into this. But I like go find literally, I will go find the venue of where the meat is at on a map, and then I will pull up the map on Airbnb. Like I'll like type in the city. I do this all the time. I type in the city of where we're where we're going.

SPEAKER_03 14:31

And then it's giving you guys a secret.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Yeah. And then I like zoom in on the map and I like match the maps so I can see the map on Airbnb matches like where the venue is, if that makes any sense at all. It's like the same like area. And then I look and see what's the stalker vibes. Yeah, a little bit. And then I look and see what um Airbnbs are around or close to the venue. Um, obviously, caveat, they have to still be like good Airbnbs. So like that's what I was gonna ask. So, okay, yeah. So that's how I start. Obviously, you start with the map. Yeah. So obviously, if there's not anything close by that's like good or reasonably priced or whatever, safe looking, then I will expand my search. Um I've yeah, I've learned that.

SPEAKER_03 15:15

Um that's what I was getting at, though. So you start with the map, not the niceness per se.

SPEAKER_00 15:19

That's yeah, I start with location because to me, for me, location is important because I like being close. Um, I mean, it doesn't have to be like right next door, but like I don't want to end up driving 45 minutes or an hour.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

Typically, now I will say we've done that before because we got the hookup and it works, but like if there is not said hookup and I'm just renting something, I'm going to look closer for something just to save time, basically, um, and convenience.

SPEAKER_03 15:47

And again, that's another variable if if you guys are keeping track. That's another one that you can control rather than adding.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

Yes. Um, and then from there, like obviously I'll kind of like look at the pricing, and like I don't necessarily always go with the cheapest one, but I don't necessarily go with the most expensive one. I usually will start looking at some of the ones kind of like mid-range prices, because usually one of those is gonna be good. Um, and then let me just tell you, read the reviews, read all of the reviews, read the reviews. Um, they will tell you if it is in a safe neighborhood, a weird neighborhood, um, if it's dirty, if it's sketchy, if it's clean, if it's as advertised. Um and I think that is a mistake some people make is they're just like, oh yeah, these pictures look fine, and then they don't read the reviews, and then that'll be me. Um yeah. So I've learned that over the years that you know reading reviews helps. I also um one time, only one time, but this was I will say, this was because there was no other options. This is when we went to Mississippi. Um, there were no other options, and the one that I got was like a new listing Airbnb, so there were not reviews to read.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

Yeah, that one was not great though.

SPEAKER_00 17:00

It was not great. That's where I was going with that. So you might not want to get a brand new Airbnb like listing. I'm not saying don't, but I'm just saying maybe be like a little more cautious about it, or like I don't know, because the pictures looked fine at the one we stayed at, and it was not fine, not so great. Um, yeah, but it was one of the only options, so that's why we went with that. So, anyways, read the reviews, is my point. Make sure like it has the things you need in it. Like, if you're going for the purpose of having a nice kitchen, make sure the kitchen looks nice. Um make sure if you're sharing an Airbnb, make sure the bedrooms are like the type of bedrooms that you need. Make sure the beds are like, don't just get like one with a bunch of like twin beds if that's not what you need. So it does take a little bit of time to like find the right one. Um, but I will say it is worth the time once you like get into it.

SPEAKER_03 17:54

Nice. Um, all right. So you got your we got your whether you're flying or driving by the flights, whatever. Um, and then you got your Airbnb booked andor hotel, which like Liz said, it really doesn't matter either one. Um I do I do agree with Liz. I think that you know having the Airbnb definitely is gonna give you a little bit more flexibility uh because we're talking about powerlifting meets, you are an athlete, you want to make sure you can make your stay as homey as possible so you don't have to disrupt whatever schedule you have. Um also if you are someone that maybe has a schedule that's like okay, but could be better type thing, meet week is a great time to dial that up, not dial it back. Uh so you know, like if you maybe let's say you don't usually get as much sleep as you want to, um, this would be a great time trip-wise to like try and get more sleep. Not like, oh, I usually like trying to get more sleep. Yeah. Um, you know, if you're if you're busy, like if you got like a family and you're taking care of them and everything, and then you travel and you're just by yourself, okay. Like, this would be a time to make sure everything's locked in, not just like chill out. Yeah. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 19:01

I was talking to someone when Toby's having his sleeping issues. Yeah, yeah. We were talking, they're like, well, you get there on Wednesday, so that's like Wednesday night, Thursday night, that's three nights before the meat that you'll actually get like three good nights of sleep, like no matter what. I was like, yeah, that's that is a good point. So if you're not used to getting good sleep, or you're not used to eating, you know, food that is I don't want to say like overly healthy, but like if you're not used to eating food that is like good to fuel you, this is the perfect time to do that because it's not gonna hurt anything, I guess would be my point. Like making sure that you're eating what needs to be eaten and sleeping how you need to sleep is not gonna hurt for the meat day. It's gonna help.

SPEAKER_03 19:43

Um, so so you got all that planned out. So then, so then really, I guess the after that, because I feel like that's important. Obviously, if you need a rental car or some sort of transportation, you need to figure that out. If you're driving your own car, uh, you know, you're good.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

Um, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:01

Depending on where you're going, it is very benefit of uh yeah, and that would be also a benefit of getting as close to the venue as possible. Or you might be able to walk. Like you might just need an Uber from the airport and you can just walk. Uh that's another option. That would be another option if you're really close, yeah. Well, like, you know, like this one is at a hotel.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Oh, yeah, yeah. Technically, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you can stay at the actual hotel. I think like one of our ethics.

SPEAKER_03 20:24

We have some and therefore you'd only literally just need an Uber to there.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Yeah, so you wouldn't even have to rent a car.

SPEAKER_03 20:29

So yeah. So as far as that, like I feel like that kind of covers the actual travel stuff.

Packing Lists And Carry-On Essentials

SPEAKER_03 20:34

So now let's talk about what do we bring? How do we decide what we bring?

SPEAKER_00 20:38

Let me tell you.

SPEAKER_03 20:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

I knew this was gonna be a Liz driven episode because I'm the planner, preparer, all of the things. Yeah, you just show up.

SPEAKER_03 20:48

In my brain, I just need all my powerlifting equipment. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 20:51

Yeah, I make sure everything else arrives.

SPEAKER_03 20:53

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

Um, so basically, because I'm crazy, I make 5,000 lists um of all of the things that need to be packed. All of the things that need to be packed.

SPEAKER_02 21:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:05

Um and because of what we're doing, I want things to be as normal as possible for myself. Like whatever you're saying, like homey, like I kind of want it to be as normal of life as possible. So all of the things that I would normally do at home, I bring with me. Um, just to make sure that I have all of them. So I make sure that I write all my lists, it's my little checklists because I like checklists. Um, and then when it comes down to actually packing, because I mean obviously everyone's checklist is gonna be different, but um highly recommend making checklists. But then I would say when you're actually packing, and this is actually important, um, depending on if you're checking bags, carrying on bags, whatever you're doing for that, um, whatever you need for meat today, like on the platform things on meat day, your singlet, your belt, your knees. Your shoes, your mouth guard, your wrist straps. Basically, all the stuff that you can't just go buy at a store that needs to be with you at all times. Yeah. So that needs to be carried on with you in a bag. Do not check that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:15

If you're flying, carry with you. If you're driving, just strap it on the front of your body.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

No, for flying. I mean, driving, obviously, you're just gonna put it in your car. Um, but for flying, like anything you need to be closer.

unknown 22:27

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Anything you need for meat day needs to come with you in your carry-on. Um sounds silly, but like your pre-workout, put it in your carry-on.

SPEAKER_02 22:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Um, anything, like I said, anything that you can't buy when you get there, you need to bring with you.

SPEAKER_03 22:44

100%.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

All your bathroom stuff, your toiletries, your clothes, like while that would really suck if you lost like your entire suitcase of all of the other stuff. Pretty much you can go to a store and buy anything to at least get you through the weekend or whatever few days that you're gonna but like your meat day stuff, you're not really gonna find that anywhere. Um so you're gonna want to make sure that comes with you. Um, everything else can go in your checked bag if you're checking a bag. It's not that big a deal. But anything you want to wear on meat day or have with you on meat day, like guaranteed, please put it in your checked bag. That is the last thing, or whoa, your carry-on bag. Oh my god, your carry-on bag. That's the last thing you need is to show up at a meet and they've lost your bag with all of your meat day stuff because that is not stress that you want to deal with.

SPEAKER_03 23:36

Yes. Um, so anyways, and I think that's that's the other thing with this whole podcast, like as far as traveling, the goal is to reduce stress, and part of that is planning, but I will say also part of that is having a proper response when things go wrong, because they will go wrong. That happens. Like we've traveled for many years, and like some are more than you know, good, others less than good. And having, like Liz said, having the contingency plans or at least having the flexible mind, um, you know, the mindset of like where you know something might happen and just being okay with that, you know, like if you because if not, it's really it could impact your uh competition. You know, like people handle stress different differently, and stress is stress, and you're trying to, you know, prepare your mind, prepare your body for competition. You do not want to be adding in stress. Uh so I think it's very important to make sure that, you know, while there will be some stress of traveling, of course. Yeah, uh, you want to minimize that, and part of that is minimizing your response because when something happens, most things are fixable. I'll just say that. Okay, like most issues are fixable.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

That's why I said bring your meeting stuff with me.

SPEAKER_03 24:41

And I was gonna say, this is a great example of something that would not be that is fixable if you do it like what Liz is saying, Liz's way, but if you don't, that's not very fixable. So, like she said, that's probably one of the most important things, especially if you're flying, make sure your stuff is with you.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

Yeah.

Food Hydration And Making Weight

SPEAKER_00 24:56

And then I would also say, depending on where you're at for weight, because that is an important thing for a lot of people traveling for meats, because I know a lot of people like to live right on the edge of their weight class. It's me. Um, and a lot of other people. Um, when you're traveling, like you need to, you kind of need to have a plan of like what you're going to eat and drink while you're traveling, especially if you're flying. Like, because you're obviously trying to make sure you're getting in the right food or enough food or not too much food or the right amount of fluids for the day, hydration, all that stuff. And so you might need to adjust your like eating schedule for the day if you're flying, or you need to make sure you bring it with you so it's on the plane and you can eat it like at the time that you need to eat it, just depending on like where you're at in the cutting weight process or not cutting weight process or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 25:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

Um, you do need to make sure that you're doing that because that can make a difference. And also, some people with flying specifically will retain a little extra water. Yeah. So just making sure that you're like aware of that and kind of prepared for that to happen.

SPEAKER_03 26:01

Agree. Yeah, because I think like when you're flying, um I think it's a very easy way to get off track because it's just it's a totally different thing. You're not used to flying, even if you do fly often. It's not your usual day-to-day. And I think buy all the snacks at the airport. And I think one of the biggest hacks, like Liz said, uh, or touched on this, I like eating as much of my food beforehand. I will be doing that. We're flying Wednesday evening. I'll probably eat everything. Um I might have I'll bring a snack. Okay. Well, I might have, yeah, I might have like I don't like starving myself. I might have like one thing, but I just like I'm not trying to deal with that. Well, now that I say that, just because of the timing of things, I probably won't be able to do that. But I'll probably try and eat just one meal um at the airport, and I'll try and stick to something that I know is gonna be fine with my with my stomach and something simple. Um, because I think that's an easy way for people to get off track. Oh, I'm traveling. Oh, like no, like, because again, like it's not, and I mean, I feel like some of this maybe sounds a little like we're a little like being a little like serious or whatever, but like, look, you guys are coming to us for advice on how to perform better on meat day, and all these little small things matter. See, Toby feels very passionately about it. Well, I know. Okay, that's so loud.

SPEAKER_00 27:21

Yeah, I think part of it too, like, I mean, we are saying whatever, very seriously, all this stuff. I mean, if you're not cutting weight, if you're not close to your weight class, like you obviously have a little more flexibility in what you're doing and eating. We're just giving you the ways to like optimally optimally feel your best and perform your best.

SPEAKER_03 27:40

And it's relatively easy. Like, I guess because that's kind of what I'm saying. Like, yeah, it's like I guess the series is the wrong word. Like boring is maybe what it sounds like. But here's the deal like performance, honestly, you guys, is boring. It's a lot of boring stuff that adds up to then something really exciting on meat day.

SPEAKER_02 27:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:55

Um, so yeah, so staying locked in when you're traveling, same thing when you're driving, super easy. All I'm at the gas station. Like, just bring your own stuff generally. If you if you stop and get something, know what it is. Um, make sure you guys bring water, especially if you're driving. If you're flying, just have it in the book for water. Yeah. Well, and and that's another thing. Like, I see some people sometimes, oh well, I'm flying. I'm not paying for that water. It's like, really? Like, you're gonna spend hundreds of dollars to like go do you know, thousands, whatever, to go travel, and you're not gonna spend, yes, I know, like seven dollars, ten dollars, it's water. Like, you'll be fine. Water's probably one of the best things for you. Um, so don't be afraid to spend the ten dollars on the water if you haven't drank anything, uh, because you're at an airport, you know, like have the water, it's fine.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

Or, fun fact, it's free. Bring an empty water bottle and then fill it up because that's what I usually do.

SPEAKER_03 28:46

Yeah. Um, so there's two ways to get water and one is free. Yeah. Making sure you're hydrated. I think that's one of the most important tips that we'll deliver on this podcast. Whether you're driving, um, whether you're flying, making sure you have water. You know, if you have to pee, it is what it is. Like, is a get an aisle seat on an airplane. You can get up and go pee.

SPEAKER_00 29:04

That's what I do.

SPEAKER_03 29:05

It's fine. And like, because again, it's not the goal is to perform well, not necessarily to like, oh, I don't want to stop. Yeah, no. Uh so just don't worry about it. Um, all right.

Arrival Routine Groceries And Meal Prep

SPEAKER_03 29:16

So once you get there, as far as like kind of like Liz said, it's just gonna depend on everyone's situation. You might be able to get there with a few days of you know spare time. You might not. Um, all right, Tubby. You're gonna go back down. Uh the important thing is you guys, once you get there, kind of like establishing your home base, making sure all your stuff is there. That's probably one of the first things you should do. Okay, like, did I follow Liz's advice and I have all my stuff? Do I not have my stuff? Find that out. ASAP. Because you are there for a competition. Um, and then from there, like establishing. Usually I try and go to the store. Um, that's one of the first things that I do since I'm kind of like the chef person in our little traveling posse. Um, so I like to go first thing. This trip, I think we're going first thing the next morning because we're getting up very late.

SPEAKER_01 30:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:11

But I will probably literally go, I'll probably get up at normal time and go early because I like to get that cooking done as quick as possible because I'm good at cooking, but I actually really don't like it. So, like for meal prepping. Um, I enjoy cooking like you know, free meals, so to speak. But for meal prepping, I find it very tedious and boring, and I just don't like it. So I know this about myself, so probably for this trip, we get there Wednesday night. I'll probably get up Thursday morning and I'll probably start meal prepping before they eat breakfast because I want to get that done and out of the way. Um as far as meal prep, how to do it. This will be my part of the the podcast. Number one, don't be afraid to spend a little bit of dollars on some throwaway uh whatever. Meal prepare containers. Just get the cheapest ones because you're gonna have to throw them away. Um I guess if you Toby's Toby's gonna have a fair amount on this podcast. A lot going on today, a lot going on. Um but yeah, I guess like as far as meal prep, you're gonna have you're gonna have some meal prep containers, whether you like it or not. So I just buy the cheap ones, something that's easy to microwave, something you can throw out and not feel too bad about. Um, but those are essential to have. I would say I also would buy water. That's another essential thing. If you buy electrolytes and they're normal, like at a store, I would try and find those as well. Um so that way you have all the things. Yeah, or bring them. But my point is you should have all the things, including hydration, day one. Um, that's just gonna make sure you're planned out, you're ready to go. Another thing is try not to overbuy stuff. That's something I've done in the past where I'm like, oh, like let me just get this dozen of eggs. Like, do you need a dozen of eggs?

SPEAKER_00 31:57

Yeah, I try, like, especially for this trip, I'm gonna really try and figure out before we go. I'm gonna really try and figure out like what exactly I need for meals. Because I feel like in the past we've shown up at the grocery store and I'm just like, mmm, this sounds good. How about this? I want this. Oh, let's eat this. Or like we don't really even know what we want, so we just kind of like wander around and just like grab stuff.

SPEAKER_01 32:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

So I think for this one, my plan is to really like actually come up with like a like a list, like a menu. Yeah, like a menu of like what I'm going to eat every day, and then a list of what we need to get that when we get there, especially since it's gonna be like super early in the morning, like going to the store that way. We can just get what we need, get back and like do what we need to do.

SPEAKER_03 32:37

Yeah, agreed.

SPEAKER_00 32:39

Um so I like lists, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:42

And I think no, I think lists are good because they free up space in your brain. So then again, your brain can relax and prepare itself to perform because that's what they're there to do, anyways.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:51

Um, so, anyways, yeah. So I like to get the food, water, hydration, get everything prepped and ready to go for the for the for your stay. So not just for that day, for your stay.

SPEAKER_00 32:58

Including after weigh-ins.

SPEAKER_03 33:00

Yes, after weigh-ins, have everything locked and loaded, ready to go. Um, that is gonna depend on each individual. So I'm not gonna go too in the weeds with that, but have all of your stuff ready. Um, and then from there, you just gotta hang out and chill and move. That's key. Do not just hang out, chill, and sleep. We need to hang out, chill, and move. Um, you're there to compete. You are competing in a sport. Uh, you know, you see you watch the NFL athletes like before a game, like four hours before the game, they're on the field warming up. Uh, you know, go on walks. Yeah, exactly. Moving around is you know, I feel like powerlifting in general, the culture is still stuck in this like, I gotta rest up, I gotta, you know, fatigue. Look, you'll be fine. Uh, you know, you're there to lift hundreds of pounds more than likely. And like you do not need to be worried about the going on a walk? Yeah, no, it's it's only gonna help you, in fact.

SPEAKER_00 33:56

I mean, I would say wear some comfortable shoes. Yeah, I mean, you don't want to like don't go on like a five-hour hike.

SPEAKER_03 34:01

Yeah, like going on a huge like hike up a hill. Yeah. No, but like going on a walk. Um, establishing, which if you're one of our athletes, we'll do this for you. But if you're not, doing some sort of squat bench deadlift, probably a smart move. Uh, does it need to be insanely heavy? Absolutely not. It should be, yeah, it should be in the like literal 30 to 50 percent range, like very light, uh, for singles. So, like something you could do for like 20 for one. Uh, but I really believe in visualization, like really focusing in your mind and body, getting them clicked and connected together, um, to where you can squat, bench, and deadlift at your highest potential. So that's another thing. I think sometimes people just travel and they just sit until me day. They're like, Oh, I'm stiff. It's like, well, yeah, like most people don't sit all day every day. Um, and it's good.

SPEAKER_00 34:53

Go do some things, move, get some blood flowing. Now, maybe don't because also the more you just sit, then you're gonna stress about the meet and you're gonna be like, oh my god, the meat's coming up, the meat's coming up, oh my god, I have to do a meet. Like, no, just go like chill, go have some fun, go on a walk, hang out with friends that are there. Like, or yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:10

That being said, you don't want to be like, you know, if you're going out and partying and yeah, doing that, like that's probably not it. Uh, or if you're at a sunny place, like just staying out the sun for like 10 hours, like, oh, I'm supposed to go out. Like, that's probably also not it.

SPEAKER_01 35:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:24

So you're definitely gonna kind of use some common sense with that. Um, but my point is make sure you're active. So you got your you got your food, you got your hydration, you got your activity. Um, these are all very important things when traveling. And again, this is preparing your body so that you're ready to go on meat day. Um sometimes I like to this is a little like Liz's like maps, stalker vibes. I like to like drive by the venue just to see, like, okay, I know how to get there. Um just cuz I don't do that. Yeah, that would be my department. So sometimes I just like to make sure, like, okay, I know where it is, just again, so I just, you know, I'm good to go on meet day.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

Um different people like to do different things to like make them prepared.

SPEAKER_03 36:06

Yeah. Um, and that's that's the main thing, you guys. Be as prepared as possible. And like I said, if something goes wrong, it's okay. There's a solution to almost everything. Um, and I feel like that is widely misunderstood when traveling is like, oh, like it's all good. And also, you know, things happen when you travel. That's just what it is. Like, there's just more variables, things happen. That's part of traveling. So expect it. Don't be like, and then if if there's nothing, cool, cool.

Stay Loose Before Weigh-Ins And Meet

SPEAKER_03 36:35

But like expect it so that way you're not like, oh my god. Um, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:39

And then I mean it sounds silly, but also like know what you're doing for the meet. Like, know where to go, know what time you need to be there. Yeah, don't be like scrambling last minute to like get there early.

SPEAKER_03 36:49

That's another thing.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

Yeah, like make sure like you're ready to go so you're not like stressed. Like, if you know that you're a person that likes to run late, tell yourself you need to be there like 30 minutes before you actually need to be there. And then you might be there on time. Um, but it's not worth like rushing in late, being super stressed. Like, what if there's traffic? You don't know this town, like you don't know where the traffic is. Like, just make sure you like give yourself some like margin of error basically for like travel time or getting like if you have like, oh, I'm gonna go grab a coffee before I go there. Okay, make sure you give yourself more than enough time to get the coffee. And then if you're a little early, sit in your car and drink the coffee and then go inside. Like, it's okay. Yeah, um, so yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:29

Yeah, I would agree. That's kind of like the last thing is just like actually weigh-ins and meet day. Um, like Liz said, I just feel like making sure you're just a little bit extra early, a little bit on point because, like she was saying, I mean, the worst thing is you're a little early, like much better than the other thing, being like all stressed and you miss weigh-ins or you miss something, like much better just to be a little early. You want to make sure that you are ready to rock and roll uh for weigh-ins and for meet day. Um trying to think of anything else.

SPEAKER_00 38:00

I mean, I feel like that's pretty much it. Um, I will say, like, some things that might be crazy that what well, probably one of the craziest things we've done while traveling, like seemingly crazy, when we went to the showdown, the bed that was like super uncomfortable. So it was not good. Because we got there a couple days early, and like I woke up and I was like, oh my god, my back hurts. Like, I don't know what to do. Like, this is terrible. My back never hurts. And I was like, this is not good. Like, I have to lift in like two days, like, I don't know what to do with my back. So we went to Target and you bought a mattress topper.

SPEAKER_03 38:32

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 38:33

Fourth bed at the Airbnb.

SPEAKER_03 38:35

That I did.

SPEAKER_00 38:36

And it was great. My back didn't hurt the next day when I woke up. And then we actually I you like talked to the lady or whatever, and it was like, yeah, yeah, everything was fine. But like the beds were uncomfortable, so we bought a mattress topper and she like reimbursed us for it. So that was cool. Um, but you know, it was crazy, but it was just like we weren't even expecting to get reimbursed, like we were just doing it because like part of performance is like sometimes you just have to do the weird things. Like, if you need something, like do it, I guess. Is my like I don't know, like it might seem weird or it might seem crazy or extreme, but if you know that like it is something that will make a difference for your performance, like I don't know, just do it, even if it's crazy. Like, I don't know, be prepared and then have a plan of apparently buying a mattress stopper.

SPEAKER_03 39:17

Yeah, that was my one of my contingency plans. It was great, it was super comfortable. And I mean, yeah, I think that's a great that's a great point. Is like you're there to perform, you guys, so you want to set yourself up to perform well. Uh, it's not like a leisure trip, and it's not saying you can't have fun. Of course, that is the main goal. That was the last thing I was gonna say. Make sure you're having fun, however, also keep in mind you're there to perform. You know what I mean? Like, it's gonna be different than like, you know, if you're just going to like a vacation, then yeah, I mean, that's much less like no meal prep, whatever. Yes. Um, but for this, you know, you're there to perform, you're there to and then after the meet the best, have fun, go out to eat, and then after get something enduring too. That's tasty. That's the other thing I was gonna say is just the

Fix Comfort Problems And Close Out

SPEAKER_03 40:00

last thing, you guys, is make sure you're having fun. Um, having listening to this podcast and hopefully implementing some of this stuff in the planning should allow you to have fun. So now instead of which is what I realized, because like I don't really I definitely don't need any of these plans to like travel. However, I do for me, yeah. So like that's just my brain. But for me, I've noticed there's a huge benefit of having all of them because then I can just like the time where I would usually be like, okay, what do I need to do next? I don't have that. Because I'm like, we already I already know what to do next, like we already have the plans, and then we can just chill, have fun, relax.

SPEAKER_01 40:33

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 40:34

The actual traveling itself is much more enjoyable, which is what you want. You don't want to be stressed on your journeys, you want to be locked in and ready to go.

SPEAKER_00 40:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:44

So I think that wraps it up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:46

Um, they're all pretty simple, but yeah, it's just things that like I've talked to a lot of people before, like who do travel, and they're like, Oh, I've never thought about that.

SPEAKER_03 40:56

Some other things you never know. Don't forget when you're packing, like, pack the stuff you need. Like, for me, I know I need headphones. I'm packing headphones. Also, if my headphones break or I lose them, I'm buying headphones. Like, I need headphones. So, like, you know, stuff like that. Like, make sure you have the things you like. Liz likes her Kindle. Like, I don't need a Kindle, but like, I need my headphones.

SPEAKER_00 41:18

Like, I also need headphones.

SPEAKER_03 41:19

Yeah. But you know what I'm saying? Like, make sure you guys have your stuff.

SPEAKER_00 41:23

Yeah, bring the stuff you like. I read every night before I go to bed. So I'm going to bring my Kindle so I can continue to read every night before I go to bed. I'm an old lady and I drink sleepy time tea before I go to bed every night. So you can bet I'm bringing sleepy time tea because that's how I sleep. Um, so like I will pack all of those things that like, yeah, sometimes it's kind of annoying to like pack everything, but like also like I would prefer to perform well. Perform well and live my little life nice and comfy how I'm used to.

SPEAKER_03 41:54

I was just saying, you wanna make it as comfy as you said, yeah, and like similar to your normal life as possible, and that is going to help you be less stressed and more ready to compete.

SPEAKER_00 42:05

Yeah. So we're just there to have a good time.

SPEAKER_03 42:08

Exactly. That's the that's the last thing. Just make sure you're having fun. Yep. Um, and yeah, I would say if you guys have any questions, things like that, like specific questions, you want to reach out, feel free. Uh, because that's kind of like a general overview, travel tips. Obviously, there might be more specific things for different people in different situations. But hopefully you guys found that information helpful. If you did, if you wouldn't mind subscribing to our YouTube channel, we are closing in on 500. Like I said, it's exciting. Yep, we're 478. I think 479. Very close.

SPEAKER_01 42:37

Nice.

SPEAKER_03 42:37

Uh, so if you want to check our YouTube channel out, that would be much appreciated. Consider subscribing, it's absolutely free and helps us continue to reach more people with our message about redefining strong for everyone. Uh, so yeah, thank you so much for tuning in, and we'll see you guys on the next episode, which will be next week.

unknown 42:53

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 42:54

Peace. Bye.