Sure exercise can be difficult when you're out of town, but this is the perfect opportunity to breathe some life into your routine and do something different. Being limited in the time you have and the equipment available can be a good thing, forcing you to be more creative with your workouts.
You Can Take it With You
Packing your dumbbells and your weight bench for a trip isn't the best idea, but if you don't have a clue whether your hotel has a decent exercise room, there are some alternatives:
- Resistance Bands. Resistance bands are great traveling companions for so many reasons. First, you can target every muscle in the body and, since you have tension throughout the entire movement, you'll really feel the burn. Secondly, you can stuff them into your suitcase without taking up much space. Use them at home, at work or in your hotel room. You can find a variety of bands and tubes online or at your local sporting goods store.
- Jump Rope. Jumping rope is a great exercise for your heart and body, and will really help you burn calories. If you haven't jumped rope in awhile, start with just a few minutes at a time and recover with some light marching in place. Alternate jumping and marching for 10-30 minutes for a great interval workout.
- Swimming. Swimming is a great cardio exercise, and it targets every muscle of your body. If you're at a hotel with a pool, swim laps or try pool running. You'll find more ideas for workouts from About's Swimming Guide.
If you're at the beach, the ocean offers even more opportunities for exercising while having fun - surfing, boogie boarding or riding the waves are great for burning calories and staying active.
- Walking and Running. You don't need much more than a good pair of shoes to get a great cardio workout and, if you're at the beach, you'll get even more out of your walks by using the sand to your advantage. Walking in soft sand is much harder than walking on pavement. If you're going for a long walk, you'll want to wear shoes since walking barefoot for a long time could cause shin or calf pain.
- Machines. Many hotels have multi-purpose machines (think Soloflex) that target all of your body parts for a great strength training workout. Focus on working the large muscles (e.g., chest, back and legs) for short, efficient workouts. You might also find staples of most gyms - treadmills, bikes and stair-steppers. Below is a sample 15-minute workout targeting your entire body:
- Warm up with 5 minutes of brisk walking on the treadmill
- Do as many pushups as you can in one minute
- Grab some heavy dumbbells and do as many squats as you can in one minute
- Choose a cardio machine and work as hard as you can for one minute
- Grab some medium dumbbells for 30 seconds of lunges on each leg
- If you have a strength machine, do one set of 12 lat pulldowns followed by one set of 12 triceps pushdowns
- Choose a cardio machine and work as hard as you can for one minute
- Do as many triceps dips as you can in one minute
- Do as many pushups as you can in one minute
- Choose a cardio machine and work as hard as you can for one minute
- Cool down with a slow walk for one minute
Next Page: Creative Ways to Exercise on the Road
