Maintaining your exercise routine while on the road can prove to be quite tricky. Flight delays, hotel stays, and jet lag can quickly throw off your exercise routine. And since consistency is critical in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, many people sacrifice some of their hard-earned fitness gains while traveling.
But the truth is, you don’t have to sacrifice all of your hard work just because you’re on a business trip to New York or a vacation to Aruba. Below are a few ways you can maintain your current conditioning, as well as possibly make some improvements to your current physique and overall health.
Hotel Gym
Many hotels have a gym on the premise. While perhaps not up to par with the warehouse gyms of the 70’s that saw the likes of Schwarzenegger and Ferrigno, many have at least a couple strength resistance machines and a treadmill. And when it comes to getting a workout in, something is better than nothing. Including some exercise routines like circuits and HIIT workouts in the hotel gym is a great idea, too. These will help you break a sweat, increase your cardiovascular health, break down those muscle fibers, and still have a great workout in spite of a lack of equipment. The truth is, you don’t need much to be healthy and stay fit—just a strong will and dedication.
Hotel Room Workout
Suppose the hotel you are staying at does not have a gym, now what? Well, you’re not getting out of your exercise routine that easily! There are plenty of great workouts you can do with no equipment. A HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout is a superb way to build a healthy heart and a strong body. In fact, studies show that 15 minutes of a HIIT workout burns more calories than an hour on a treadmill.
HIIT workouts are a tremendous metabolic explosion for your body, encouraging muscle gain while depleting your body’s fat storage. Trust me, 5 minutes into this type of workout, and you’re going to wish you were back at your home gym running on the treadmill and drinking a fruit smoothie. A HIIT workout may not be glamorous, but it’s certainly effective.
Great HIIT Exercises: Burpees, push-ups, squat-jumps, mountain-climbers, jumping jacks
Roam the City
If all else fails, taking a simple walk is a great way to stay active while traveling. Walking has been shown to have great benefits for the body, and it’s quite an underrated form of exercise. Even if you aren’t staying in a hustling metropolitan hotspot, talking a walk to the nearest coffee shop or simply to enjoy the views and some fresh air is a great way to stay healthy while traveling.
There’s no reason you can’t continue your fit and active lifestyle while traveling. All you need is an active body, dedication, and the desire to do so. Hopefully, these tips will give you some useful workout information to take with you the next time you find yourself on the road.