At one point or another, we find ourselves away from home, which means our routines can be completely thrown off. That doesn’t mean your workouts need to be, though. For those of you who travel regularly during the week for business, you may find it challenging to stick to your workout regimen when on the road. Yet, there are actually many ways that you can easily fit in exercise while traveling.
This article will outline some of the easiest ways to fit in exercise while traveling and help you better understand that if you put a plan in place ahead of time or know what to look for, you can stay in shape and continue achieving your fitness and health goals.
Hotel Gym Workouts
The first and easiest way to fit in exercise while traveling is to simply use what you have in the hotel gym. Sure, it might not be anywhere close to a “real” gym, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t get in a great workout and challenge your muscles. The key is getting creative with your workouts.
One thing that you need to remember is that you can stimulate your muscles regardless of the weight you are using. You might not be able to use those 100-pound dumbbells you are used to in a commercial gym, but those 30’s in the hotel gym can still make you sore in the coming days by creating micro-tears in your muscle fibers. In the hotel gym, you can change up your routine by utilizing high reps, which will hit your muscles differently and allow you to fully squeeze and contract the muscle with each rep.
Sometimes using a heavier weight can lead to you swinging the weights and cheating. Changing things up to a high-rep workout can actually be quite fun, simply because it’s something you’re not used to doing, and the movement is slow and controlled. Utilizing this type of workout so you can still fit in exercise while traveling will be challenging, which is a good thing.
On top of a limited resistance training selection, many hotel gyms at least have some cardio equipment – such as treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, etc. HIIT cardio workouts are also great or even Tabata. You can also go outside to do some cardio, assuming the weather is nice.
Hotel Room Workouts
No hotel gym? No problem! There are two solutions to this problem that allow you to work out right in the privacy of your hotel room. The first would be to utilize a bodyweight workout. This can consist of exercises like pushups, sit-ups, crunches, dips, bodyweight squats, lunges, wall sits, and many others. Again, be creative and find new ways to challenge your muscles – that’s part of the challenge and the fun!
If you want to kick things up a notch, you can make a small investment and purchase a resistance band set. These sets generally come in a nice travel bag to keep all of your bands and attachments in. Resistance band sets are small enough to fit right in your suitcase or compact enough to toss in your car and leave it there for when you need it.
One brand that I love and use myself that I recommend to all my clients is Bodylastics. While this isn’t the only brand out there, they have great anti-tear resistance band sets that have many attachments to allow you to hit every body part, and with a fair amount of resistance considering it’s a “band” workout. Don’t underestimate resistance bands. They can absolutely make you feel the burn. Many resistance band sets out there also come with varying resistance levels, so make sure you find one that suits your needs and individual strength level.
Regardless of which method you decide to utilize, both are great ways to fit in exercise while traveling, so you never need to miss a workout – regardless of where you are.
Find a Local Gym
The third option on our list will cause you to do a little homework, but it may be the option you prefer over everything mentioned – it’s personal preference. The nice thing about the health and fitness industry these days is that there are gyms on just about every corner and in cities both big and small across the nation.
Do a Google search of the area around the hotel you are staying at. If you have a gym membership (such as Gold’s, Planet Fitness, Anytime Fitness, Retro Fitness, etc.), you might be able to use their locations away from home for free, depending on your membership. If there’s one nearby, that would be a great way to get in your normal workout and fit in exercise while traveling.
If you don’t have a gym membership, no worries, most gyms will allow you to purchase a “day pass” that would give you the opportunity to use their gym for the day – or multiple days, depending on how long you are staying in the area. Many hotels even have partnerships with local gyms where if you ask at the front desk, they might have free day passes you can use. This makes it incredibly convenient and allows you to fit in exercise while traveling.
Don’t Forget Your Post-Workout Nutrition
If you are driving to conduct your business or pleasure, this makes taking your supplements much easier. However, if you are flying, you need to plan things by dumping individual servings of your protein powder into sealable Ziploc baggies to place in your suitcase.
Assuming you’re driving to your destination(s), a 2lb tub of protein may be your best option as it is a little more compact when compared to a 5lb tub. However, if you have the room in your car and don’t mind a bigger tub to tote around with you, go right ahead and toss your favorite protein powder in your vehicle.
If you’re looking for a jack-of-all-trades, NutraBio Muscle Matrix would be a great protein powder to take with you when traveling. It comes in more than a handful of flavors and is made up of a 100% whey protein isolate (WPI90) and micellar casein. NutraBio Muscle Matrix is a great any time of day protein source that can be used to make a snack in-between meals as well as post-workout to kickstart the recovery process.
Regardless, when you fit in exercise while traveling, you’re going to want to have a protein source on hand to supply your muscles the nutrients they need following intense workouts. In addition, if you are behind on your macros for the day, NutraBio Muscle Matrix is an excellent addition to your nutrition plan to ensure you’re hitting your daily protein requirements.
