Tips for Training Abroad: My First Training Session in Norway

Hello from Stavanger, Norway! I have just had my first training session here in my new temporary home as I will be here for 2 months in preparing for my next charity challenge in the Arctic (more on that in another post).

The training was a great experience held at a local branch of a national Norwegian gym franchise called Elexia. To help others with their training while traveling, especially to countries of a different language - I wanted to share my top tips from my experience.

Tip 1:
You may train regularly at home, or you may be new to gyms in general but no matter your "gym time" level of experience - you will know your body better than anyone else. Don't let the fact that you're in a group class, or around new people make you forget your own limits. Don't go for the bigger weight just because you're the new kid on the block. It would be incredibly unfortunate to see you sidelined on your travels because you weren't mindful of how hard you're pushing yourself. I speak from experience on this one... including a trip to the ER in Australia because I was surrounded by people FAR fitter than I was at the time. Go slow, look after yourself.

Tip 2:
If the class is in another language, try to arrive early and have a little chat with the instructor to let them know you won't be able to understand all the cues, so maybe they can help with translations for you. I am currently fortunate as Norwegians have a great command of the English language - so the instructor was happy to run the whole class in English, and everyone was happy for the switch as well. To be honest I was a little embarrassed by this as I was clearly the newby in the gym and felt bad that they changed the language for the whole session, but they were all very happy to accommodate me :)

Tip 3:
Know your weight conversions before you start. Used to lifting in pounds? Then get to know what your usual weight is in Kilos, etc. Don't just go by the "feel" of it in the moment - do a little bit of homework as it could save you a strained back! Again, as mentioned in Tip 1, don't let the fact that things are new have you pushing yourself out of your comfort zone unnecessarily.

Tip 4:
Assume all hygiene is up to you. That is, bring your own towel, water bottle, etc. You may have some comforts in your gym that aren't readily available around the world so go in prepared each time.

Tip 5:
Go to Norway. Sorry... this tip is a little biased because I'm having an incredible time here :)

Does anyone have any travel training stories they would like to share? I am very interested in your experience!

Happy travels and happy training!

Josh :)

For more info on my charity adventuring:
www.outspire.org
Insta: @joshstinton