Travel Workouts: Keeping you fit, sane, and away from work or the in-laws.
When you’re traveling, whether for work or leisure, staying active can often take a backseat to the demands of your itinerary. However, maintaining a fitness routine while you’re away from home is crucial for both physical and mental well-being. Travel workouts help you stay energized, reduce stress, and keep your body in motion, even when you’re far from your usual gym or workout space.
Regular exercise on the road can also prevent the feeling of “falling off track” with your fitness goals, ensuring you return home feeling strong, refreshed, and ready to dive back into your routine. With a little creativity and the right mindset, it’s entirely possible to stay fit and focused while enjoying the adventures that travel brings.
Standard Warm-up
Start off each travel workout session with the:
1. Plank Lunge: Begin by assuming a high plank position, and then bring your left foot outside of your left hand. Execute circular movements with your hips in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Emphasize keeping your back leg as straight as possible. Repeat the sequence on your right side. This should be performed three times on each side.
2. Open Plank Lunge: Building upon the Plank Lunge, extend the routine by bringing your hands together behind your head after placing your foot next to your hand. Open up your chest, mimicking the posture of a standing lunge. Focus on pressing your hips forward and maintaining the straightness of your back leg. Similar to the Plank Lunge, perform this sequence three times on each side.
3. Plank Lunge Perfect Squat: Follow the steps of the Plank Lunge, and then, after placing your left foot next to your left hand, bring your right foot next to your right hand. Proceed to sink your hips, push your knees outwards, lift your chest and arms, and perform a perfect squat starting from the bottom squat position. Complete three repetitions in total.
Next, perform the following series of movements:
These movements can be done before each of the 3 travel workouts listed below. Warming up properly is essential to prepare your body for the upcoming workout, increase blood flow to the muscles, and improve flexibility. Perform each movement for 1 minute, and go through the entire warm-up for a total of 6 minutes.
- Air Squats
Perform standard air squats to get your legs and hips ready for the workout. Focus on good form—feet shoulder-width apart, knees tracking over toes, and lowering your hips to at least parallel to the floor.
Air Squats Video - Push-ups
Good ‘ol fashion Push-ups. Find an elevated surface if appropriate, and warm up your shoulders, arms, back, and core.
Push-ups Video - Straddle Hollow Body Hold
Sit on the floor with your legs wide apart and your arms reaching forward. Engage your core and raise your legs and upper body off the floor to form a “hollow” position. This works your core and improves stability.
Straddle Hollow Body Hold Video - Arm Haulers
Lie face down, extend your arms in front of you, and lift them off the ground as you squeeze your shoulder blades together. This movement is great for building upper back strength.
Arm Haulers Video - Down Dog Hold
Start in a plank position and then lift your hips toward the ceiling to form an inverted “V” shape (Downward Dog). This pose is excellent for stretching your hamstrings and back while also engaging your shoulders.
Down Dog Hold Video - Hollow Body Hold
The benefits to a proper hollow body position are endless when it comes to your training. The hollow body work helps you build core strength endurance, something which is absolutely necessary for more advanced work of any kind. In addition, learning the hollow body teaches you how to shape your entire body as one unit.
Hollow Body Hold Video
If you have the time, feel free to go through this series of movements 1-2 more times.
Travel Workout #1: Full Body Conditioning and Strength
This workout focuses on building endurance, core strength, and overall body conditioning. The structure is simple, yet the exercises target multiple muscle groups and are designed to challenge you at various levels, from beginner to advanced. The workout has different levels based on your fitness ability—each increasing in intensity as you progress.
20 minutes (set a clock and work hard and smart until the time is up):
10 Push-ups
20 Air Squats
30 second Hollow Body Hold
Travel Workout #2: Endurance and Core Strength
This travel workout is great for those looking to focus on building core stability, lower body strength, and cardiovascular endurance. It’s a timed workout that includes both conditioning and strength-based exercises.
20 minutes (set a clock and work hard and smart until the time is up):
20 Walking Lunge steps
30 second Front Plank
*every 5 minutes, perform 5 Strict Burpees
- Walking Lunges (20 Steps)
Step forward into a lunge, alternating legs. Keep your torso upright, engage your core, and make sure your knee doesn’t go beyond your toes. - Front Plank (30 Seconds)
Hold a plank position on your forearms. Keep your body in a straight line from your head to your heels and engage your core to prevent your hips from sagging. - Strict Burpees (Every 5 Minutes)
If Strict Burpees are not appropriate for you, perform Push-ups instead.
Travel Workout #3: Full-Body Strength
This workout focuses on strength training with a combination of compound movements, core stability, and endurance. It’s a bit more structured than the others, with a focus on progressive overload using external resistance.
1a. Squat
3-5 sets of 10-20 reps (Use an external resistance like a weighted backpack, dumbbell, water jug, or other household items). Perform jumping bodyweight squats if no resistance is available.
1b. Front Plank
3-5 sets of 30-180 seconds.
2a. Walking Lunges
3-5 sets of 20-50 steps. (Use an external resistance like a weighted backpack, dumbbell, water jug, or other household items). Perform jumping bodyweight lunges if no resistance is available.
2b. Push-ups
3-5 sets of 5-30 reps (modify to knees or incline push-ups if needed).
3a. Hollow Body Hold
3-5 sets of 30-90 seconds.
3b. Arch Body Hold
3-5 sets of 30-90 seconds.
Cool Down / Mobility
After completing each workout, it’s essential to cool down and stretch to improve flexibility and prevent injury. Pick 2-3 stretches and hold each for 1-3 minutes, or perform a series of stretches for 3-10 minutes total. Recommended stretches include:
- Pigeon Stretch
- Couch Stretch
- Standing Straddle Stretch
- Seated Shoulder Extension Stretch
- Elephant Pumps
Conclusion
These three travel workouts provide a comprehensive approach to building strength, conditioning, and mobility, using little to no equipment. No matter what your current level of physical preparedness, you can adjust the intensity to match your fitness level. By committing to these routines, you can enhance your strength, endurance, and flexibility—all in the comfort of your home.