TRAVEL WORKOUTS

TRAVEL WORKOUTS
By Shane Robert

Training through the holiday season can be a challenge. Travel can mean that you are away from your gym or equipment and, at best, your routine is disrupted or, at worst, you don’t have access to any workout equipment. Sometimes this is fine. If you train hard all year, there is nothing wrong with taking a break. In fact, it is likely beneficial to do so. More than one week and things start to get a little dicey.

Putting aside the issue of potentially losing “gains” (likely not a big deal), there is also the mental side of things. I, for one, start to go a little crazy if I don’t get some training in at least every few days. My name is Shane, and I’m an addict. The way I see it, it’s better to be addicted to training than the other things I would likely find myself turning to.

Even in the worst situations there is still a way to train hard. Of course, there is the classic Naked Warrior option of just spamming single arm push ups and pistol squats. Aside from being boring, those are advanced moves that some, or most, people won’t be able to do. Here are some better options.

The two workouts below are performed as circuits to get you breathing hard and be time efficient. The only equipment required is a chair or couch or ottoman or some kind of elevated thing. 

WORKOUT 1

1. Jumping Jacks x50
2. Bear Crawl front and back x5
3. Rear foot elevated split squat x max reps per leg
4. Bench dips x max reps

Rest 60 seconds. Repeat sequence 2 more times

1. Toe taps onto a low surface (like a bottom stair) x50 per leg
2. Bear Crawl side to side  x5
3. Mixed stance (medium, wide, close) Good Mornings  x50
4. Seated Arm Y/T/I x 25

Rest 60 seconds. Repeat sequence 2 more times

1. Gorilla Sprawls x20 
2. Crab Crawl in a box shape x5 each direction
3. Squat 21’s (7 bottom reps, 7 top reps, 7 full reps = 1) x2 
4. Regular Push ups x max reps

Rest 60 seconds. Repeat sequence 2 more times

WORKOUT 2

60 seconds of each exercise

1. Jumping Jacks
2. Mountain climbers
3. Toe Taps 
4. Reverse Lunges

Rest 30-60 seconds

1. Jumping Jacks
2. Mountain climbers
3. Toe Taps 
4. Feet up Push ups

Rest 30-60 seconds

1. Jumping Jacks
2. Mountain climbers
3. Toe Taps 
4. Squat

Rest 30-60 seconds

1. Jumping Jacks
2. Mountain climbers
3. Toe Taps 
4. Hands Raised Push-ups

Rest 60-90 seconds and repeat if you feel one round wasn’t enough pain.

Travel makes keeping up with your fitness goals hard. These workouts won’t make you a world class lifter. They will keep your training adaptations and preserve some muscle mass and, perhaps the most important factor, relieve some of the stress that travel, holidays, and family can cause.