The holidays are approaching, and trip plans are in the works.
You may be leaving town for a work function or to visit family in your hometown. Your plans might also include a nice getaway. Whatever your travel plans are that prevent you from going to the gym on a regular basis, it’s easy to get caught up in the “will I lose all my gains?” gloom. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with a few strategies for working out on the move.
Just a little reality check before we get started. Being away from the gym isn’t as horrible as it sounds. On the plus side, taking time away from the gym helps you to recuperate and expose your genuine strength (fatigue, after all, conceals fitness). After all, your trip training routine may be beneficial.
Let’s face it: your nutrition and sleep pattern won’t be great when traveling. The amount of time you really have to commit to your workout with so many other things going on is questionable. So, when on the road, executing short, intensive training sessions can help you preserve what you’ve worked so hard to establish and maintain the momentum you need to keep moving forward with your regularly planned routine.
Below are five routines for you to try, each organized by training objective. Of course, mobility activities will have a favorable impact on your strength training. Strengthening activities, on the other hand, will help you grow muscle. There is a lot of overlaping in these travel exercise categories, but if you want to focus on one physical area above all others, read on to learn which ones to choose and which routines to highlight.
On the Go Muscle Gain Workout
To grow or maintain muscle while traveling without equipment, strive to keep your rest times to a minimum and finish these sets with forty-five seconds between sets and two to three minutes between each of the three circuits. You’ll alternate between lower and upper body routines to rest certain muscle areas while keeping your body working hard overall. It hardwork but, I know you can do it!
Do three rounds of:
50 repetitions of bodyweight squat
15 reps of 1.5-rep push-ups
25 repetitions of lateral lunge (each side)
15 repetitions of 1.5-rep Triceps Push-Up
Split Squat (1.5 reps) — 20 repetitions (either side)
You’ll notice a lot of 1.5-reps (where you do a full rep, then half a rep, and tally those together as a single rep). One-and-a-half repetitions optimize duration under stress and the mind-muscle connection – a perfect storm for muscle gain — while maintaining your volume high to compensate for the absence of external loading.
The Traveling Conditioning Workout
To get a good conditioning workout while traveling, you don’t need a dumbbell or even a kettlebell or jump rope (though those are fantastic if you can travel with them). You should pace yourself each day you complete this workout and compare your results so you can measure your improvement. The idea is to only rest when absolutely necessary.
Regarding Time:
10 burpees followed by 10 push-ups
20 mountain climbers (20 per each leg)
9 burpees followed by a push-up
18 mountain climbers (18 for each leg)
push-up burpees combined with push-ups
16 mountain climbers (16 per each leg)
7 burpees followed by a push-up
14 mountain climbers (14 for each leg)
6 burpees followed by a push-up
12 mountain climbers (12 for each leg)
5 burpees followed by 5 push-ups
10 mountain climbers (10 for each leg)
4 burpees followed by a push-up
8 mountain climbers (8 for each leg)
3 burpees followed by a push-up
6 mountain climbers (6 for each leg)
2 burpees followed by a push-up
4 mountain climbers (4 for each leg)
1 burpee and 1 push-up
2 mountain climbers (2 for each leg)
Upon completion, you will have accomplished 55 burpees (including 55 push-ups) and 110 mountain climbers per leg. If that’s not enough for you, go ahead and do two rounds: just make sure you keep track of your time to completion.
Travel Strength Workout
To stay strong on the road, focus on doing full-body motions to failure – frequently. To do so, begin with quality and frequency by executing as many quality reps of the exercise as you can in one go.
For example, if you can perform 26 clean diamond push-ups at once before failing, go for it. Then you must relax as little as possible before performing 26 additional diamond push-ups. For example, in your second set, you could be able to complete 14 reps, then eight, then four, for a total of 26. In conclusion, you’ll have completed 52 repetitions in as short a time as possible—a physical and mental strength booster.
Time how long you can hold every position before failing when doing static holds like bodyweight pause squats or planks, then rest for a bit but not to long while attempting to accrue the same amount of seconds (count your seconds as reps).
Do Recurring Failure:
Diamond Push-Ups
Squat with Bodyweight Pause
Push-Ups on a Pike
(Left) Side Plank
Side Plank (on the right)
Large Push-Ups
While you should rest as little as possible between sets of each exercise, you should also rest as long as necessary between exercises. In other words, after finishing your diamond push-ups, take as much time as you need to recover before beginning your bodyweight pause squat.
Increase the amount of excellent reps you can begin with – it will offer you something to strive for and a tool to measure your strength and development without using weights.
Travel Mobility Workout
It’s as easy as that: improving your mobility will enhance your lifting. You’ll practice motions from the gym without the weights for this mobility workout, focusing on extending and strengthening the end ranges of motion.
There are four rounds of:
6 repetitions (either side) of the World’s Greatest Stretch
10 repetitions on each side of the single-leg RDL
15 repetitions of scapular push-ups
15 reps of the frog stretch
15 repetitions on either side of the single-leg glute bridge
15 repetitions of back-to-wall shoulder flexion
10 repetitions of crab reach (either side)
Be careful to perform each rep with intention and slow control — and don’t forget to breathe thoroughly during each rep.
Fat Loss Travel Workout
Body recomposition may be one of your goals, and there are lots of workouts you can perform on the road to help you achieve it. If you want to reduce your body fat percentage, you should focus on greater intensity routines that need your entire body to participate. Building strength while resting little and including intense aerobic exercises will help you alter your body composition toward more muscle and less fat if that’s your goal.
Rounds three through five:
6 repetitions of Clapping Push-Up
12 Jumping Lunge repetitions (each side)
12 repetitions of Hand-Release Push-Up
Squat Jump — 20 reps
12 repetitions (each side) of lateral bounding
Aim for as little break as possible between exercises, but at least two to three minutes between rounds. That way, you’ll challenge yourself during the rounds while maintaining crisp form with each subsequent round. Of course, if your form begins to falter, stop and rest as needed before continuing.
Time yourself during your workout and write it down if you want to use a barometer to track your progress beyond fat loss. During your trip, see if you can improve your efficiency with movement and speed.
Travel Exercises That Work
If you become bored because you can’t use all of the barbells and dumbbells at your normal gym, you should focus on full-body, complex bodyweight workouts when you’re traveling.
Think squats, push-ups, lunges, and dynamic workouts like burpees, mountain climbers, and kettlebell swings and double-unders if you have access to particular equipment. When in question about an activity, ask yourself if it demands your full body to function and if you can do it flawlessly. If so, it most likely passes the proverbial litmus test for travel exercise.
You’ll be making the most use of your time, physical space, and mental energy if you employ these high-intensity, high-concentration compound motions. Remember that traveling may be emotionally and psychologically draining, so your objective should be to use whatever energy you do have to get a good exercise done – even if it’s only for 15 minutes.
Why Should You Exercise While Traveling?
Let’s face it: traveling, whether for work or pleasure, can be stressful. Working out while traveling does not have to be stressful. You can do a good exercise in for 15 minutes with nothing but your bodyweight in your childhood bedroom or hotel room. Rather than adding extra preparation, being purposeful about doing out while on the road will reduce stress and enhance your general mental health.
Furthermore, traveling is physically taxing, but this does not always translate into better rest. With all of those road trip coffee stops and jet lag, your circadian rhythm will likely be off while traveling. However, doing a good workout might help you sleep better. And the more you sleep, the more you train. This is the type of feedback loop you want to be in: excellent sleep, good exercise — a win-win for your entire body and mind, right?
As if minimizing your stress and boosting your on-the-go sleep wasn’t enough, maintaining your workout routine while you’re traveling will keep you ready to head back to the gym with minimal interruption when you get back home. Instead of viewing your vacation as a possible hindrance to your progress since you won’t have your barbells, consider it an opportunity to work through your sticking spots. You might be able to employ possibly equipment-free training to grow stronger in areas that you often overlook, such as mobility, lateral movement, or bodyweight strength and conditioning.
When Is It Appropriate to Work Out While Traveling?
When deciding when to work out on a business trip, things may be a little more steady than while visiting relatives. You may have access to a hotel gym and more consistent hours (for example, if you need to be at that conference by nine a.m., get your workout in at seven a.m.). Check the hours of your hotel gym before making a reservation, especially if you are the kind of person who prefers late night workouts.