Flying for Fitness

The holidays can be a joyous time spent with family and friends without the stress of worrying about work.  These gatherings are bound to be included with loaded meals, particularly cheater foods that are high in calories and carbs without much nutritional value such as cakes and cookies.  Such temptations are unavoidable for many, but is there a way to keep it clean during the most wonderful time of the year?  The following are some of the methods I use to stave off putting on fat during the holidays. Hit the free weights This should be a no-brainer for us avid gym-goers.  Don't miss you workouts, and you can even increase their intensity, sets, and duration since you likely have more time without needing to be at work.  As always, go for the heavy compound lifts that incorporate various muscle groups like bench press, deadlifts, and squats (unfortunately), which will not only help you build more overall strength, but also burn more calories. Cardio Yes, we all hat

The Fairfield Inn & Suites Denver West/Federal Center literally shares the same parking lot as my agency's regional office in Lakewood, Colorado, which is just west of Denver.  So I booked a few nights at this hotel as I had work training at the regional office. The room I booked a king room suite, which actually didn't have separating rooms like a true suite.  Instead, there was a semi-partitioned extension away from the sleeping area with a sofabed, coffee table, and work desk. The sleeping area and partitioned extension had identical 55" smart TVs facing opposite of each other, which meant that one remote control could set off the other TV.  HBO on-demand was complimentary, and there were also the options for paid movies and to login in to your existing Netflix account to view content. The gym The hotel has a 24 hour fitness center which is accessible with your room key card.  The gym has your standard elliptical and treadmill cardio ma

In February, Japan Airlines (JAL) is launching a promo to give out 100,000 free tickets for overseas visitors to Japan in summer 2020.  The application window for the free domestic tickets opens in late February 2020, and is limited to travel between July 1 and September 30, which encompasses the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games.  Here are the terms and conditions: Travel period: July 1-September 30, 2020 Must be an overseas visitor in Japan within the June 1-October 31, 2020 time period This campaign provides “round-trip air tickets”, so the number of available passengers is “maximum 50,000” There are a limited number of available seats, so in some cases no destinations will be shown Free domestic flights depart from / return to Tokyo (Haneda) and Osaka (Itami / Kansai) only Promo link To apply for the free tickets, you'll need a free JAL Mileage Bank account .  During the application period in February, go to the "Win a Trip" with JAL application screen,

Sacramento International Airpot (SMF), which is located 10 miles northwest of Downtown Sacramento and the State Capitol, serves the Greater Sacramento Area with two terminals.  Earlier this year, both terminals added their first lounges ever: Escape Lounges .  Amex Platinum card holders get complimentary access with up to 2 guests, and non-Amex Platinum card holders are able to purchase a day pass at the door for $45 or online at least 24 hours in advance for $40.  As I was flying out of Terminal B on Southwest Airlines, I decided to check out the Escape Lounge. Escape Lounges have been popping up at smaller airports, most notably at Oakland, Reno, and Ontario airports.  A new facility will be opening soon at Phoenix-Sky Harbor International Airport, where it will replace the old The Club lounge.  The SMF Escape lounge is definitely small, but didn't feel cramped due to the limited passenger traffic out of SMF to begin with.  So there was plenty of seating at the both the loun

Caesars Rewards Diamond members are given two free monthly shows at their Caesars properties.  The free shows are highly capacity controlled, though they do publish a full list of the available shows , which change monthly.  If you book far enough in advance, you shouldn't have a problem booking your preferred shows, but since I was booking literally the day of, my options were of course limited, and I went for the Bronx Wanderers and the Mac King show. At the Caesars Rewards desk, you can request vouchers for 2 free shows.  The vouchers do expire in a few days, so only request the vouchers when you know which show you have in mind.  You can, however, book a show far past the voucher's expiration date as the 2 free shows are good for the entire month.  You then bring the vouchers over to the Caesars ticketing desk and the agent checks which free shows are available on your preferred dates, so it is a 2-step process. The Bronx Wanderers Unsurprisingly, the free show

Starlux is being touted as Taiwan's new "luxury" airline, having been founded by the former CEO of Eva Airlines.  Even though they have yet to take to the skies, they already have an awesome safety video , revolutionary hard products, and stylish crew attire.  Hoping to the be the "Emirates of Taiwan", their slogan is “Born to be luxury, shining like stars".  Starlux's first routes, set to inaugurate on January 23, 2020, will be from Taipei to Da Nang, Penang, and Macau on the A321neo with 82" fully lieflat business class seats. Economy class is classy as well as it features leather headrests, 10.1" 720p personal AVOD entertainment systems, USB ports, and free basic WiFi. Between 2021 and 2022, the airline is planning to acquire 12 A350-1000s and 5 A350-900s to fly longhaul routes to North America and Europe.  The startup is entering a saturated market already dominated by heavyweights Eva Airlines and China Airlines.  In

Caesars Palace is definitely Caesars Entertainment's flagship property on the Vegas strip.  The fitness center is open to guests who pay the resort fee only, though this should include Diamond elite members who get the resort fee waived.  Those who haven't paid the resort fee can purchase one-day passes for $25.  Since I was in the area, I decided to check out the gym only with a brief walk-in. The free weights were in good shape and went up to 100 lb, which is heavy enough for almost everything.  Even better, the gym had an actual bench press. Lacking was a power rack and squat rack, though there was a Smith Machine (barbell training wheels).  But with a barbell and plates, one could presumably do deadlifts in an open area while grunting and slamming the weights, which is what I did at the Courtyard Marriott in Shanghai, which only had a bench press and no power rack. One area that the gym did excel in was the latest tech machines.  Ever seen a cable cross wi