Yesterday, along with my wife and children, I jumped inside my RAM truck and began driving down to the Florida Keys. It’s not that long a drive, in terms of miles, but it’s a haul when you add up the hours. 

Eight hours in the rig, altogether. It would have been less than seven without the pit stops, but hey, not everyone can hold it that long. 

Now you might wonder, what, if anything, you can do to combat the effects of sitting that you’re engaged in during a long drive – or flight. 

Well, I have good news for you.

There’s no need to workout at all when you’re taking time off. You can “enjoy your life,” so to speak, and let your body begin or continue going to pot. And it will. Your body will gladly oblige when you give it free reign. Eat and drink whatever the hell you want, if you so choose – and let yourself go.

On the other foot, if you’d rather not have to start all over again when the vacation is over, if you’d rather do something simple to keep yourself looking good, something that only takes a few minutes. then I have different advice for you. 

A few weeks ago, a friend who was driving to Tampa from the west coast, told me that instead of gaining girth on the trip, he took a couple inches off his waistline. Each day, on the long drive, he made sure he did several minutes of the internal exercises Farmer Burns teaches. One of the exercises he did hundreds of times when his wife took over behind the wheel (I am not recommending you do these exercises while you are driving). 

In spite of all the sitting, the man made tremendous progress – proving my assertion that sitting ain’t the worst thing in the world. In fact, sitting becomes a good thing when you learn how to move your belly from the inside out. 

This man’s results prove that while you’re on the road (or in the air), you can always find time for the internal deep breathing exercises that Farmer Burns taught in his 1914 course, Lessons in Wrestling and Physical Culture.

If you’re the driver, there will be plenty of traffic lights where you are sitting still for a minute or two. Use them to work your abdominals and your internal organs. Use these moments to breathe deeply and take control of your body from within. 

Over the course of eight hours, if you’re continually reminding yourself to do a minute or two of abdominal exercise every hour on the hour, you will shock yourself with the results. 

When you’re away from your standard routine, make progress instead of excuses. A little bit of focus goes a long way.

Learn to navigate both the internal and external worlds simultaneously and reap the benefits.

I look forward to jumping back in my RAM truck in a few days. Not going to pot is a good thing. 

Let’s Go.

Matt Furey

P.S. Grab your copy of the Farmer Burns Course today and I’ll enclose an autogaphed copy of one of the many martial arts magazines that featured me on the cover. 

P.P.S. If you’re a wrestler, grappler or mixed martial artist who is looking to go to the next level, then check out the DVDs of the Farmer Burns course, by going here.