On the outside, traveling for vacation or work can seem glamourous and exciting—and it can be. Travel can also be exhausting and throw you off your normal healthy routines. There is an easy way to get back in your normal groove—grab a workout.
You don’t need a 5-star gym to make it happen. Your hotel room, Airbnb, or guest room will work just fine. Here are 7 exercises that are quick, effective and will get you back to feeling yourself and only require a few square feet of space to do.
Warm Up:
Warming up is still necessary even before quick workouts, but it doesn’t take expensive equipment. A few sets of jumping jacks (30 seconds), high knees (30 seconds), push-ups (10 reps) and body weight squats (10 reps) will do the trick. Repeat until you feel properly warmed up.
Lunges
How-to video
Lunges are a great place to start. Make sure to switch between your left and right leg to get an even workout. Livestrong recommends repeating for 8-12 reps on each leg.
Mountain Climbers
How-to video
Mountain climbers engage your arms, core, and legs—and when done quickly, can become a cardio workout. For an effective workout, Men’s Health suggests completing as many mountain climbers as you can in one minute.
Incline Push-Ups
How-to video
To work out your arms, try incline push-ups. Feel free to use the edge of your hotel bed, the desk, or the desk chair. If these options are not available to you, regular push-ups on the floor will give you the same workout. Healthcare-Online details how many pushups you should depending on age and ability.
Burpees
How-to video
Burpees are another full-body exercise. Using your arms, core and legs, burpees will get your heart rate up. There are many variations of burpee workouts. Try to complete as many burpees as you can in two minutes, or check out Positive Health Wellness for other workout variations.
Squats
How-to video
Another leg exercise, squats, engage your quadriceps and your core. Repeat this body-weight exercise in sets of 8-20 repetitions, depending on your ability according to Livestrong.
Crunches
How-to video
To exercise your abdominal muscles, incorporate crunches into your workout session. Follow the instructions in the video and perform as many reps as you can in one minute according to Positive Health Wellness.
Planks
How-to video
To finish your workout, try planks. This exercise activates your core as you try to stay level and off the ground. Fitness Magazine suggests 3 sets of 45 seconds each.
Repeat or modify exercises as you feel necessary to complete your workout. Don’t forget to stretch afterwards – target your stretching to the areas of your body that you exercised. This will help prevent you from being too sore to carry on with your travel itinerary.
While none of these exercises require real equipment, you can get creative and make some everyday objects work as weights, or bring resistance bands with you.
Guest blogger: Sydney Kelly
