20-Minute Hotel Room Workout

Traveling can wreak a lot of havoc on your normal health routine. You may not have the same meals you like to eat, the comfy mattress, and, let’s face it—the time or space to work out. But for many people, frequent travel is just part of the job, and when you’re on the road more often than not, you need it to be just as easy to make healthy choices on the go as when you’re staying in one place. Luckily, there is a 20-minute strength training routine you can do anywhere at anytime—no equipment needed.

Why Keeping Up With Your Workouts While Traveling Matters

If you’re thinking of just skipping your workouts when you’re traveling, think again. When it comes to exercise, consistency is key! The Mayo Clinic cites the many benefits of consistent exercise and gives this gentle reminder, “as a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day.” The more days in a row that you go without that, the harder it is to maintain a healthy weight and fitness level. This is particularly true of strength training, as building muscle isn’t something that can happen with an on again, off again training routine.

It’s widely known that one of the most effective and productive ways to build muscle strength is to use your own body weight. After all, what’s more effective in building upper body strength than a basic push up? What’s the go-to exercise for great legs? Lunges. And if you want nice, flat abs, any trainer will tell you to work planks into your routine. Push-ups, lunges and planks are all exercises based on your body weight.

When you’re staying at a hotel, bypass the communal exercise room and get your workout in right in the comfort of your own hotel room. You should perform three simple sets of exercises with four moves per set, all designed to maximize both your muscle strength and your cardio’s calorie blasting system.

Ready to give it a try? Here’s your 20-minute hotel room workout — do it anywhere, anytime, with just your own bodyweight.

GET SET UP:

Prepare for your workout by doing 3 things:

1. Clear enough space for your body to move

2. Grab a bath mat or towel from the bathroom to do planks and push-ups on

3. Set your smartphone to timer mode or grab a watch

Each set below has four moves. Perform each move for 30 seconds, going directly to the next exercise without stopping. After doing all four moves, take a 30-second break and then repeat. Do each set three times through.

SET 1

Push ups

Side to Side Lunge

Tricep Dips (on the floor or use a chair/bed frame)

Squat Jumps

Rest 30 seconds

Do Set 1 three times

SET 2

Army Crawl Plank

Cross-Behind Lunges

Side Plank Lift and Lower (right side)

Side Plank Lift and Lower (left side)

Rest 30 seconds

Do Set 2 three times

SET 3

Mountain Climbers

Plank to Chair Squat (a burpee without the jump)

Split Jumps

Full Sit Ups

Rest 30 seconds

Do set 3 three times

And that’s your 20-minute strength training hotel room workout! You can do this routine anywhere, at any time, with just your own bodyweight. Who knows—you may like it so much you can start doing it when you get home, too!