Happy Friday! I just got back from a quick business trip today, and I actually got in a workout both mornings of my trip, which may not sound like a lot to you, but is a win for me lol. I find it really hard to work out on business trips. Anyone else with me here? Usually the mornings are early ones and there are team or customer dinners at night so I’m just too tired to wake up and get to the gym early in the morning. And unlike when I’m on vacation, I’m not walking as much or doing other active adventurous things either {usually sitting in meetings or at meals} so business trips start to feel really unhealthy really fast.
I’ve been working on making more of an effort to make healthy meal choices while on business trips as well as to get a workout in every day, even if it’s a quick one! If I know I’m only going to have 15-30 minutes, I just make sure I do something more intense so I get the most out of my sweat sesh. Of course you can always just hit your hotel gym {if it has one} and do one of the cardio machines or some basic strength training exercises, but I have found I need some inspiration to get me to do this in a hotel gym, especially if it’s very small with minimal equipment as they often can be. So today I wanted to share a few ways to make working out easier while traveling on business or pleasure, whether your lodging has a gym or not. If you are lucky enough to have a gym while traveling, take these ideas with you to make your workout there even more effective!
For years I did Billy Blanks Tae-Bo, anybody else love these lol? So I used to bring his workout DVDs with me when I traveled and just pop them into my laptop {or hotel room DVD player if they happened to have one}. Honestly, I still think these are a great workout so if you want to give them a try, a couple recommendations are here & here. Or if you have a workout DVD you like at home already then bring that along with your laptop and make your hotel room your own personal living room! I’ve done Zumba, pilates, yoga, tae-bo, you name it, I have them all lol!
Over the past couple years though, with advances in technology, you now have so many options on just your phone or tablet. In a matter of a minute, you can pull up YouTube videos or an article with photographs for pretty much any workout. Even easier, there are tons of apps you can download with workouts on demand. I never did the apps in the past, but recently started using the Peloton Digital app. It’s great for home in your living room or basement and for travel, and I love that there are soo many different workout choices. They have HIIT workouts {in case you didn’t see my story on Instagram, I just tried one of these for the first time yesterday and it had me breathing so heavy!} yoga, strength training, boxing, bootcamp, stretching, meditation, and more. They even have guided runs you can do outside or on a treadmill. Also, you can use the app to do rides on any type of cycling bike at the gym or home even without the Peloton bike!
The versatility also extends to the amount of time each workout takes. You can do something as quick as 5 minutes of stretching or meditation or a 10 minute class of any kind all the way up to 90 minutes so it really has options for whatever type of schedule you have while traveling. There is a filter option to help you find just what you are looking for. And for most of the workouts, you don’t need any equipment, just yourself!
If you don’t have the bike or tread, the app is only $19.49 per month at this time, which is less than most gym memberships by far, especially with the diverse class offerings. They do a two week free trial as well for you to try it out, and you can cancel at any time. I should mention that I do not have any affiliation with them, nor do I get any kickback or anything like that for posting this, I just think it’s a really helpful app and has definitely helped me find more motivation to work out while traveling as well as when I’m home.
Lastly, even if you don’t want to invest in a workout app for your phone or DVD etc., I recommend just bringing a pair of light dumbells with you and/or a resistance band. I always pack a pair of 2 lb dumbells {similar pair here, with other weight options if you’d prefer to go up or down in weight} in my suitcase when traveling for business, and sometimes on vacation too if I have room in my luggage lol! If I can’t fit in a more organized workout or don’t have the energy to change into workout gear and all that, I’ll even just walk around my hotel room or sit on the bed watching TV at night and do some arm exercises with the weights such as bicep curls, hammer curls, triceps extensions, shoulder presses, lateral raises, and so on. Even just doing this little bit helps to rev up your metabolism a little bit and will make you feel more energized and healthy I promise!
You can also do some quick lower body and core exercises in your hotel room sans workout gear. I recommend some air squats, jumping jacks, lunges, or just holding a high plank or forearm plank. Make sure you are subscribed here on the blog if you’re looking for specifics and detailed photos because I’ll be starting to post some recommended short travel workout routines in the next couple weeks and will continue to add to the library of them in the future!
Links to my workout outfit:
- Sports Bra {linked a similar sale style since mine was a sale rack snag!}
- Pants {this color sold out so I linked one of my other favorite colors, there are the most comfortable workout pant you will ever put on!}
- Velour Hoodie {sale!}
- Sneakers
Let me know if you try out any of these ideas on your next trip!
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