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Traveling for work can make it challenging to maintain your normal routine. However, with a bit of creativity, you can stay active and continue working towards your fitness goals, even from the comfort of your hotel room. You ask how? With hotel room workouts, of course!
In this article, we’ll explore effective hotel room workouts, calorie-burning exercises, as well as structuring a gym routine, and a full-body workout routine to help you make the most of your time on the road.
Is a Full-Body Hotel Room Workout Effective?
Yes, a hotel room workout can be highly effective, especially when you utilize both bodyweight exercises and available equipment. While hotel gyms may not always have a full range of equipment, you can still focus on workouts that target muscle hypertrophy and improve your body composition.
Bodyweight exercises like push-ups, squats, and planks can build muscle and enhance strength. Additionally, resistance bands or light weights found in most hotel gyms can help increase the intensity of your workouts, making them just as effective as those done in a fully equipped gym.
How to Burn Calories With a Full-Body Hotel Room Workout
Burning calories in a hotel room doesn’t require elaborate equipment. You can engage in high-intensity interval training (HIIT) using bodyweight exercises such as burpees, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers. These upper and lower body exercises elevate your heart rate, burn calories, and promote weight loss in a short amount of time.
You can also incorporate cardio-based movements, like jogging in place or stair-stepping using furniture, to keep your workout dynamic and effective. For added intensity, include a resistance band or any weight available in the hotel gym to further enhance your calorie-burning potential.
How Can I Structure a Hotel Gym Workout?
Structuring a workout using a hotel’s gym is essential for maximizing efficiency and achieving your fitness goals even when you’re away. Most hotel gyms will be stocked with equipment but if you’re faced with a limited selection, fret not, you can still be active and make the most out of what’s available.
Begin your with a warm-up that includes dynamic stretching and light cardio, such as jogging on the spot or using the treadmill if available. Follow up with compound exercises that target multiple muscle groups, like squats, walking, lunges, and bench presses. These hotel room workouts can help build muscle and improve overall body composition.
For muscle hypertrophy, aim for moderate to heavy weights with lower repetitions (6-12 reps per set), focusing on slow and controlled movements. If the gym has limited equipment, incorporate bodyweight exercises instead and use a resistance band, dumbbells, or lighter weights that are available. Finish with a cool-down that includes stretching and mobility exercises to improve flexibility and reduce muscle soreness.
Effective Hotel Workouts
You can get a good workout and stay on top of your routine even when you’re away from home or your local fitness center. Check out this effective hotel room workout idea to stay in shape while traveling! Don’t forget to begin your hotel room workout with a warmup and finish it off with a cool down.
Bodyweight Squats
This one exercise is a classic workout that can be done anywhere. To perform and include this in your hotel room workout, try this: keeping your chest open, reach your hips back like you’re sitting in a chair. Press the floor away from you and squeeze your glutes to power the hips forward and stand tall. Do 15 reps.
Incline Push-ups
Push-ups are a classic exercise with undeniable benefits. Pairing that exercise with the bodyweight squat will hit most of the major muscle groups in your upper and lower body. While push-ups are a great workout, this incline variation is best for beginners or those who just want a quick exercise that isn’t too taxing on the chest and shoulders.
To do this exercise, ​​place your hands at the edge of a chair or bed slightly wider than the shoulders, with legs extended behind you on the floor. Bend the elbows about 45 degrees from your body as you aim your chest to your fingertips. Once your chest is just above the surface, press through your hands to push back up.
If you want more of a challenge, do this on the floor or with your feet elevated.
Jumping Jacks
This full-body cardio exercise can get your heart pumping. To perform this, begin by standing up straight with your arms by your sides. Jump up and snap your feet beyond hip-width apart while bringing your arms above your head, hands nearly touching. Jump again returning to the starting position and repeat. Do as many as you can in 30 seconds. Rest before performing the next workout.
Tricep Dips
You can isolate your triceps and feel the burn using only your body weight with this exercise. Strong triceps are essential to have in daily life, especially when you’re lifting heavy objects.
To do this triceps exercise, sit on a bed or chair with your hands at your sides, palms down, and fingertips facing forward. Press down on the surface with your palms to lift yourself up, keeping your legs extended with your heels on the ground. Lower yourself down until your elbows are bent at a 90-degree angle. Push down with your hands and lift yourself back up until your arms are straight.
Kickstand Romanian Deadlift
To perform a kickstand Romanian deadlift, stand with your feet hip-width apart and take a small step back with one foot, placing the toes of that foot on the ground as support. Keep most of your weight on the forward leg while using the back leg as a support. With a slight bend in your front knee, hinge at the hips by pushing them back while lowering your torso and keeping your back flat.
Lower the dumbbells or your hands down your frontmost leg until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Return to the starting position by driving your hips forward and engaging your glutes. Repeat for the desired number of reps, then switch legs.
Bulgarian Split Squats
This is a favorite workout for many as it works unilaterally on the lower body. To perform this exercise, stand perpendicular to a flat bench, box, or chair, 2 to 4 feet out from it depending on the length of your legs. Take one leg back with your back foot elevated on the surface. Brace your core, keep your chest up, and squeeze your shoulder blades to stabilize yourself.
Next, lower yourself down, bending the front leg, aiming to get the back knee close to the ground but not touching it. Your forward leg should be bent at a 90-degree angle, quad parallel to the floor, knee in line with the toe. Keep your chest up and core braced throughout. Pause, reverse the movement, pushing through the front foot and squeezing the glutes to drive yourself back to the starting position. Do 5 to 8 reps, then switch legs. Rest before moving to the next workout.
If you have access to a hotel gym, you can grab a pair of dumbbells to make this exercise even more challenging. If you’re stuck in your hotel room, try adding a pause and pulse to the bottom of the split squat.
Mountain Climbers
This cardio move is a great workout to drive up your heart rate while also working your core. To do this exercise, start in a hand plank position. Drive one knee forward with power like you’re sprinting up a hill, keeping the other planted on the floor. As you drive the moving leg back, power the opposite knee forward to the chest. Repeat quickly, alternating sides. Do this for 30 seconds then rest before moving to your next workout.
Towel Pull-Ups
Pull-ups are an incredible upper-body workout as they work the lats, traps, and rhomboids, as well as challenge the forearm and assist with grip strength. You don’t even need to go to the fitness center for this, all you need is your body weight and a towel in your hotel room.
To do this upper-body workout, take hold of the edges of the towel in both hands, thumbs in front of the towel pointing up. Bending your knees to lift your feet off the floor, pull yourself up by pulling down on the towel and bending your elbows. Pause at the top position, then lower yourself back down, fully extending your arms but keeping your legs bent so your feet don’t touch the ground. Repeat.
Superman Lat Pull-Down
This is a nice upper-body workout that you can do if you haven’t mastered pull-ups yet or if you don’t feel like doing the towel pull-up in your hotel room. To perform a Superman lat pull-down, lie on your stomach with your arms outstretched in front of you. Engage your lower back, lifting your chest and legs off the ground so that just your stomach and thighs are in contact with the floor.
Take hold of a large, rolled-up towel lengthways with both hands in a wide grip position. Create tension on the towel by pulling it apart. As you do so, bring it down towards your chest, driving your elbows back and together, squeezing your lats. Pause, then slowly extend your arms back out to the initial position. Repeat.
Glute Bridge Abductor
Lie on your back with your feet on the floor hip-width apart, knees bent up at 90 degrees. Keep your arms straight by your side. Drive through your heels to lift your hips off the floor, resting on your shoulders. Squeeze your glutes until your body forms a straight line from chin to knees.
Move your knees out to the side, then back in, squeezing your glutes and making sure your hips stay up as you do so. Lower your hips back down to the ground, then repeat.
Hotel Room Full-Body Workout Routine
Now that you have a list of the best hotel room workouts, here’s a sample routine for you. This hotel room workout routine includes some of the moves listed earlier, as well as some more ideas that you can do to enhance muscle growth, help preserve muscle mass, and promote weight loss.
Warm-Up (5 minutes)
- Jumping Jacks – 1 minute
- Arm Circles – 1 minute
- Leg Swings – 1 minute per side
- High Knees – 1 minute
Workout (3 rounds)
- Push-Ups (Bodyweight) – 12 reps
- Squats (Bodyweight or with dumbbells) – 15 reps
- Rest for 2 minutes
- Plank – Hold for 30 seconds
- Walking Lunges – 12 reps per side
- Rest for 2 minutes
- Glute Bridges – 15 reps
- Mountain Climbers – 30 seconds
Cool-Down (5 minutes)
- Hamstring Stretch – 1 minute per side
- Chest Stretch – 1 minute
- Hip Flexor Stretch – 1 minute per side
- Child’s Pose – 1 minute
Final Note
Staying fit during work trips doesn’t have to be a challenge. With a well-structured hotel room workout routine, you can effectively burn calories, increase muscle mass, and stay fit. Whether you rely on bodyweight exercises or make use of available equipment, consistency is key. By incorporating these hotel workouts into your travel schedule, you’ll return home not only successful in your work but also in your fitness journey.
If you feel any discomfort or you feel uncertain about your fitness routine, seek the guidance of a qualified personal trainer or a certified strength and conditioning coach.
