Work or Play—Fitness Tips For Road Warriors
By Rachelle Stoller
August 2014 View more Health & Fitness
Most trainers will tell you that the best workout is the one that you show up to do. The same basic rule applies when you are on the road traveling for work or play: Any exercise is better than nothing at all.
Do A Little Recon Before You Go
Obviously, if your hotel has a gym or pool, use it. Before hitting the road, do a little research online to find out how robust the facilities are before you travel. While some hotels have nothing more than an old-model elliptical machine and an exercise mat, a growing number of others offer state-of-the-art equipment in rooms outfitted with flat screen televisions. Knowing your options can help you better plan your workouts.
Take The Stairs
Don’t panic if a gym is not available. One surefire way to keep your heart pumping is to take the stairs. Consider requesting a room on the top floor of your hotel and avoid the elevator as much as possible. Granted, just taking the stairs does not replace a regular workout routine on a continuing basis. But, it is a good way to keep your body moving while you are traveling.
Walk It Out
Another simple way to stay active on the road is walking. If you are out of town for a conference, find out if you can walk from the hotel to the conference center. Walk to and from dinner. Walk around the town. Walking can, at the very least, keep you moving.
Make Your Own Gym
If the hotel is not be equipped with a gym, or your schedule is packed, that doesn’t mean you can’t get in a killer workout. Check out these quick and easy ways to turn your hotel room into a mini-gym.
Body-Weight Exercises
After all the advances in exercise equipment and exercise fads, good old fashioned, Jack LaLanne-inspired workouts can be just as effective in keeping you fit. Exercise standards such as push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, squats and burpees utilize you body’s resistance to provide a powerful workout. Want an extra challenge? Try modifying your exercises. For example, instead of a simple push-up, put your feet on an elevated surface for more resistance.
Stay Fit With HIIT
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) seems to be getting a lot of attention, mostly because of its many benefits, from high calorie burning to strength training. What makes HIIT such a great workout for travelers is its efficiency. HIIT workouts involve performing a variety of exercises as hard as you can for a set time, with rest intervals, until near exhaustion. Your HIIT workout can include as many exercises as you would like (we recommend 3 or 4).
Let’s say you chose to do three exercises: push-ups, burpees and bicycle abdominal twists. Your HIIT workout could look like this:
- 20 seconds: Do as many push-ups as you can
- 10 seconds: Rest
- 20 seconds: Push-ups
- 10 seconds: Rest
Repeat three times and rest for two minutes. Then move on to the burpees with the same intervals before a two minute rest, followed by the bicycle twists
While your total exercise time is 15 minutes, it feels longer and more intense. In this case, because you will be using major muscles, you’ll have a higher calorie burn. Do a Google or Pinterest search to find any number of HIIT workouts to target specific areas or total fitness.
Bring Your Own Equipment
If you are truly committed to continuing your resistance training, consider packing exercise bands that can be anchored at your feet or on door knobs to simulate exercise machines.
Make sure to hydrate just as much as you would for your regular workout. And don’t forget to have fun!
