Travel Health and Fitness - Exercises in the hotel room

I have to go on a trip next week and the hotel I have been placed does not have a gym or exercise room.

What kind of exercises can one do inside your own hotel room? The obvious, of course, is sit-ups, push-ups, leg lifts and walking up/down the hotel hallways. Any thing else? I am fairly new to the exercise world and don't want to lose my newly formed habit when I have to be away.

Jumping jacks and lots of plyometrics (though I might not do too much jumping if I was on a high floor lol)

I'm a big fan of planks. They're quick, they're quiet, and they can be done anywhere. They are great for strengthening your core muscles.

TONS you can do from your hotel room. You could buy some inexpensive workout bands from amazon and do just about anything up to and including P90X workouts ;)

Add my vote for some plyo. Just you tube a few workouts.

Couple quick ones that I've done in the past:
100 burpees for time
15 pushups/rest 30-45 seconds/repeat 30xs

I'm a big fan of planks.

100 burpees for time

Had to look up these words.

Basically it is balancing your body with your hands right?

Had to look up these words.

Basically it is balancing your body with your hands right?

Planks yes....burpees no.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awhEl6qYwsA

That is 100 burpess for time 5:35 (done by someone much more fit than I....it takes me almost twice as long and my jumps get pretty weak about rep 25)

TONS you can do from your hotel room. You could buy some inexpensive workout bands from amazon and do just about anything up to and including P90X workouts ;)

Yup. Even without the bands you can do:

Jumping jacks
Squats - numerous varieties
Lunges - numerous varieties
Ab work - types too numerous to list
Push ups - types too numerous to list
Dips
Mountain climbers
Burpees
Calf raises
Bridges
Planks
Back extensions - numerous varieties

Superset these and you'll have a great cardio workout. Or do some jogging in place. Bring a rope or cord and jump rope for a while.

A quick Google search on "body weight exercises" should give you a long, long list. Add resistance bands and you can replicate just about anything you can do in a gym.

We should have the burpee challenge....100 burpees for time and post your time ;)

I don't do any exercises that I have to look up the definition of what it is :p :D

But dchristiva has a good list of exercise that can be done in the hotel room.

In addition to walking up/down the hallways, you can go up/down the stairs in the stairwell. Please check first, however, to make sure that if you enter the stairwell you can also get back onto your floor!

Cheers.

We should have the burpee challenge....100 burpees for time and post your time ;)

What about fastest to barf? I think I can compete in that category. :eek:

you can go up/down the stairs in the stairwell

Ahh another good one. I posted (WAY BACK WHEN) in the excersie thread that while staying at the Crowne plaza in Dallas I started doing the stairs there for a change of pace. I'd go from ground floor to 20th, ride elevator down, up to 19th, elevator down, up to 18th....etc. Pretty good workout.

I don't do any exercises that I have to look up the definition of what it is :p :D


;)

At one point in time I didn't know what any of them were......

What about fastest to barf? I think I can compete in that category. :eek:

:)

Burpees are the one exercise, for me, that can EASILY lead to the old round bucket. light/mid weight fast pace squats are another.

I've done jumping jacks in a hotel room when the fitness room was full. It was actually really good cardio. I was winded surprisingly quickly. I'd certainly do them again in a pinch.

Another good one that my high school golf pro taught me for strength training the arms is to hold a driver's grip end in an outstretched arm (parallel to the floor). Then slowly rotate your arm allowing the weight of the club head to work your arm muscles. As the club gets closer to parallel (with the floor) you can feel the burn. That's an easy one if you travel with your sticks.

I have to go on a trip next week and the hotel I have been placed does not have a gym or exercise room.


So what did you decide on?

So what did you decide on?

He's stuck in the stairwell running up/down & can't get out :D :D

Cheers.

He's stuck in the stairwell running up/down & can't get out :D :D

Cheers.

i loled :)

He's stuck in the stairwell running up/down & can't get out :D :D

Cheers.

:D ^ and :-:

One thing I have learned this past trip.

Fell back to old habits and did not exercise enough when there was no gym.

The first day, really tried the burpees thing and it was harder than I ever imagined. Also I realized afterwards, need to change into gym clothes even in the hotel room or my motivation level just disappears.

Now that I finally am back home, gym is closed for Chinese New Year. I feel bloated and fat again.

Good thread, and great options aplenty. If needed, I rock the pushups (until I can't lift my arms), burpees, hindu squats and running in place.

the burpees thing and it was harder than I ever imagined.

Burpees are brutal! Doing them for time is crazy good stuff.

The dude that did 100 in just a few minutes was NUTS (I think I posted that video on this thread).

I rock the pushups (until I can't lift my arms)

Have you ever used pushup bars? They make some that are travel friendly (they come apart and don't take much space). I highly recommend them....that extra 4-6 inches of movement take pushes into a totally different level.

Have you ever used pushup bars? They make some that are travel friendly (they come apart and don't take much space). I highly recommend them....that extra 4-6 inches of movement take pushes into a totally different level.

Or a small medicine ball. Put it under one hand, do a pushup, roll it to the other hand, pushup, back and forth.

Not practical for travelling, but pushups on a BOSU can be nasty (good) too.

Or a small medicine ball. Put it under one hand, do a pushup, roll it to the other hand, pushup, back and forth.

Not practical for travelling, but pushups on a BOSU can be nasty (good) too.

Yeah take travel out of the picture and balls are wicked. I hear that P90x2 has a lot of ball exercises. I think I heard about even a four ball pushup :eek:

Yeah take travel out of the picture and balls are wicked. I hear that P90x2 has a lot of ball exercises. I think I heard about even a four ball pushup :eek:

Yikes. Wonder if that's a ball under each hand and foot? Some of the trainers in the gym are using three or four of those small 'wobble' pads for their clients' pushups.

Keeping one foot slightly raised adds a nasty little tweak to an ordinary pushup, too.

Hanging out in your room watching TV...one possible way to help improve your fitness:

Walking while watching TV commercials (http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-walking-television-20120120,0,3688584.story)

In addition to walking, doing lunges, squats, push ups, planks, crunches, etc. can be great!

:)

Don't think I've seen any mention of stretching... Getting a good 30 minute or more stretch in once a week is really good for you (at least I've found it to be).

Maintaining/improving flexibility is key to overall health/wellness/fitness.

Yikes. Wonder if that's a ball under each hand and foot? Some of the trainers in the gym are using three or four of those small 'wobble' pads for their clients' pushups.

Keeping one foot slightly raised adds a nasty little tweak to an ordinary pushup, too.

You tube it. Its one ball on each hand and each foot....brutal.

I know those "wobble" pads have a name but I can't think of it. The trainer in my gym likes them too (pushups, sqauts, frogs, all types of exercises)

Don't think I've seen any mention of stretching... Getting a good 30 minute or more stretch in once a week is really good for you (at least I've found it to be).

Maintaining/improving flexibility is key to overall health/wellness/fitness.

I agree. P90x has a full hour of stretch/week on the "off" day. Add in the 90 minutes of yoga/week and its a ton more stretching that I've ever done.

I came across this site which seemed helpful:
http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/12/20/the-20-minute-hotel-workout/

It was good for a quick workout when I couldn't make it to the gym, but I have not been able to make a routine out of the "gymless" workout yet. Also, the rows mentioned on the blog seem rather impractical to do to me without a good bench and dumbell set.

I came across this site which seemed helpful:
http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/12/20/the-20-minute-hotel-workout/

It was good for a quick workout when I couldn't make it to the gym, but I have not been able to make a routine out of the "gymless" workout yet. Also, the rows mentioned on the blog seem rather impractical to do to me without a good bench and dumbell set.

Some of those look pretty decent. I'm finding gymless easier and easier to do!

I didn't see the rows that you were talking about....

I didn't see the rows that you were talking about....

For level 1 he recommends "one-arm luggage rows".

I didn't find this practical because 1) my suitcase was rather bulky and awkward as a weight 2) it didnt weigh that much and 3) the only surface i had to kneel on was my bed did not serve as a good stable platform for the movement.

I was in a Marriott once, tall building, fitness center closed for the week. I had, 20 stories I think, so I grabbed the music player and went for a walk along a floor, up the stairs, along the next floor, up the stairs and continued to the top floor. Do check that the stairs allow the access and are not restricted to fire evacuation only.

Other option is if the weather is not bad (too cold or precipitation), pick a restaurant that is far away and walk to it. Usually at home a walk is about 3 miles round trip for me, so I try to find a restaurant that is 1.5 miles away (if the route is safe).

And I walk as much as possible when in the office and around town when I can. Every step helps :)

You can actually do a decent strength workout with zero equipment.

- Dips inbetween to chairs or something similar.
- Handstand pushups (on a wall if you cant hold handstands)
- Diamond pushups
- Pseudo Planche Pushups (Hands touch the floor around waist level
instead of shoulder lever, upperbody leaning forward a lot, VERY hard if you’re not used to it.
- Supersetting pushup variations (for example 10 Diamond PU, 10 narrow PU, 10 medium width PU, 10 wide PU and back down the ladder)
- Bulgarian Split Squats
- Pistol Squats
- Leg Raises/Dragonflags

And if there is anything stable that you can pull yourself up to…that’s where the fun begins with pullups, chinups and levers.

I love that fairmont give you work out gear for free to use as a benefit for status, any other hotels do this?

I love that fairmont give you work out gear for free to use as a benefit for status, any other hotels do this?

Its been discussed in another thread but I don't think so.

Some do, but as mentioned it's in a dif thread.

Cheers.

I travel light - one carry-on and "personal item" can last me through a three- or four week long trip, multimodal transport, etc. So I am a fanatic about taking things I find really necessary - definitely a sleep mask and ear plugs, because the airlines' are shoddy and don't work well or hold up.

For exercise, I really enjoy walking, so I travel with good walking shoes and because I have plantar fasciitis, "Superfeet green" supports. But I also like to do some resistance exercises, and I find a set of loop or stretch resistance bands with exercise cards or a light booklet with copies of exercises I want to do from a book take up little room, weigh little and are very handy to use in a hotel room. (Fair disclosure - I am approaching my seventh decade, so I want to keep fit, but I am probably not going to start my USMC routine anytime soon.)

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