Getting your workouts in when you’re traveling – whether it’s for work or fun – is really a challenge! If we’re lucky we can get day access to a gym close by or maybe there’s a gym in our hotel. But if we’re staying with friends or family, there’s just no gym in sight or the hotel gym is poorly equipped what do we do?
Keeping up with your workout routine even when you’re on the road is important. First, it helps you avoid getting sick, which is common when we travel especially with air travel. Exercising while on vacation also helps to improve our energy levels, since traveling can sometimes take it out of us! It also helps to keep up with good habits even when we’re outside of our usual routine. Exercise during your trip will help you not to gain those few extra pounds during your vacay, not only because you’re burning calories during your workout, but also because you’ll be more likely to keep up with good eating habits if you’re continuing to work out.
So what’s the best and easiest way to keep up with workouts while you’re away? There are 3 elements: they have to be fast, something you can do in a hotel room if necessary, and require little to no equipment. Pack your exercise band and join us for this quick, effective upper body travel workout!
Instructions: Do the first 4 exercises one after the other with no rest in between. Then do the energizer at the end. Rest 90 seconds and then repeat. See if you can do 3 rounds. If that’s easy, go 5 or 6!
Bed Pushups
A bed is a great surface to do pushups on because the slight squishiness mimics a stability ball. You get the strength and the stability challenge in the same exercise! Place your hands at the edge of the bed and walk your feet out behind you on the floor until you’re in a straight plank position at a 45 degree angle or less to the floor. Push your upper body away from the bed and slowly back down until your chest almost touches the bed. Hold for 5 seconds and then repeat. Complete 12 reps.
Exercise Band Rows
These can be done one of two ways – with the exercise band wrapped around your feet or wrapped around another object (heavy chair leg or table leg) while you sit on the floor or stand with knees bent. The important thing is that the band be parallel to the floor so that when you’re rowing your arms are also parallel to the floor in starting position. Using both arms, pull the band toward your chest pushing your shoulder blades together. Resist while you slowly return back to starting position. Complete 12 reps.
Desk or Chair Tricep Dips
With your back to the desk or chair, place your hands behind you on the flat surface of furniture, fingers pointing outward toward your back. With a bend in the knees, place your 2 – 3 feet in front of you with your weight resting on your heels, toes pointing toward the ceiling. Your hips should be close to the edge of the desk or chair as you dip down and slowly come back up. Complete 12 reps.
Exercise Band Lat Pulldowns
This is performed with the middle of the exercise band closed into the top of a door (make sure it’s in there tight so it doesn’t snap out while you’re performing the move.) You could also use another sturdy object that’s taller than you to loop the band around. Sitting on a chair or on the floor, pull both sides of the band downward with both arms until your elbows are next to your ribcage and your hands are beside your shoulders. Resist as you slowly return to starting position. Complete 12 reps.
Exercise Band Bicep Curls
Stand on top of the middle of your exercise band with both feet. Using both hands, pull both sides of the band upward curling the biceps. Do these fast completing as many repetitions as you can in 45 seconds. This is your energizer – you should feel the burn in your biceps and get your heart pumping!
Hope you enjoyed this fast, effective upper body workout for the road! Tune in next week for Part 2 – Best Lower Body Travel Workout. Switch off between the two while you’re on the road and you’ve got your whole body covered!
If you’re looking for quick and very effective workouts for home or the gym, try Athlean-XX for Women. Our workouts are only 30 minutes per day – but I promise, you’ll feel the burn and you’ll see the results you want! Why only 30 minutes? We know how busy a woman’s schedule is – ours is too! And really, 30 minutes a day is all you need with Athlean-XX for Women. How can that be possible? We combine strength training moves into high-energy circuits that are both fun and get your heart-pumping. On each day, you’re covering both your cardio and your strength-training at the same time!