FITNESS TIPS WHILE TRAVELING
Traveling can often be a major impediment to staying in shape and maintaining health and fitness. That’s typically because we’re removed from our usual routines, usual amenities and separated from our gyms, personal trainers and spin classes. For many, it can be easier to just resume their workout program when their business trip or vacation ends. Health and fitness, though, is something that must be constantly worked on through exercise or it fades away. Even though it can often be much more convenient to plan to resume one’s workouts when we return home, it is important to maintain the exercise routine – and truthfully, exercising is pretty much possible anywhere!
Most hotels now have gyms, and even though some might be relatively meager without the amenities and equipment we have become used to, any piece of exercise equipment can be beneficial. Most hotel gyms have, at the very least, a bench, some dumbbells and a bike. You can put together a killer fat-burning and muscle-sculpting workout with just these two items! Do a 5- to 10-minute warm-up on the bike, then begin your workout. Dumbbells can be used for almost any muscle group. Rest them on your shoulders, sit down on the bench and stand back up for a set of squats that will work your quads, hamstrings and glutes. Standup straight and press the dumbbells over your head straight upward for overhead presses that will work your shoulders and triceps as well as your stomach and lower back. In between each exercise, hop on the bike for a couple minutes and try to go as fast as you can in that time duration. Perform a few weighted exercises alternated with a few bike sprints for just 20 minutes, and you will have a butt-kicking, out-of-town workout!
If you happen to end up traveling somewhere without the amenities of a gym whatsoever, fear not – there are plenty of exercises you can do in the confines of your hotel room using just your own bodyweight. Work your legs by lunging back and forth across your hotel room until you start feeling that burn in your quads. Tighten up the back of your arms by doing triceps dips on your bed, a table or a chair. Keep your stomach tight and toned by holding a plank position on the floor. You can even work your lower back and glutes by lying on your back and pushing your hips in the air up and down – hip raises. Do five to six of these exercises back-to-back without rest for two to three cycles for a killer full-body workout in your hotel room! If you want to push yourself even more, do a set of 20 to 30 jumping jacks in between every one or two exercises.
If you get bored of your hotel room workouts and still do not have access to weights or you find yourself unable to do these bodyweight exercises – there is nothing like good, old-fashioned running for calorie-burning cardio. Go outside and take 20 minutes to do some running intervals. Sprint as hard as you can for 20 seconds, then rest 10 to 20 seconds and do it again. Repeat that for eight to 10 cycles, and you will have burned a ton of calories and increased your body’s fat-burning processes over the next 12 to 24 hours!
It doesn’t matter where you go – exercise is always an option. Make sure to stay on top of your health and fitness routines during your summer plans or vacations.
