Guide to Exercise While Traveling

It’s easy to be totally thrown off your workout plan while you’re traveling this summer. Whether for work or for fun with family, I’ve outlined some tips to help you exercise while traveling this summer!

Accommodate Your Stay

Plan your accommodations to accommodate your workout routine (see what I did there?). That means booking a hotel with a gym or an Airbnb with a pool. Airbnb now lets you filter in/out a gym option too! Call the hotel ahead of time and make sure the gym is actually open post-covid and has hours that work for you.

Choose destinations that lend themselves to activity. National parks, oceanfront views, and ski resort getaways usually have a lot going on to get involved with!

Equip Yourself

If you are staying somewhere that doesn’t have a gym, treat yourself to some traveling workout equipment.

The OYO gym is the newest toy travel gym equipment, allowing you 25lbs of resistance in each hand at the cost of only 2.5lbs in your luggage. This gadget could give you a great total body strength workout in your hotel room!

Theraband Exercise While Traveling The lighter, less resistance option would be therabands. Therabands are resistance bands that allow you to create resistance using different movements. There's two types of resistance bands: looped and unlooped. They’re great for in-room workouts. Here’s some example workouts, but they’re pretty easy to find on your own with a simple youtube search.

A jump rope or hotel stairs are also a great way to get your cardio in if it’s raining or there’s no gym. If it’s nice outside, a scenic run can be a incredible workout while taking in the sites!

Another option are exercise apps like—Nike Training App (free) or Peloton App (free for 30 days, then $12.99/month). These apps have “body weight” filters if you don’t have access to dumbbells. They are a fantastic way to get cardio and strength training in a structured, fun workout through push-ups, squats, and other body weight moves without leaving your room!

Create a Schedule to Exercise While Traveling

Research has shown that you’re likely to stick to something written down, so use your phone to create a workout schedule or active activities that include the whole family. Hikes, bikes, and ocean adventures can be a great way to keep the whole family involved. Treat yourself to a local workout class for something you’ve never done. Orange theory and Barry’s Bootcamp are national chains that use treadmills, rowers, and dumbbells in a structured class to give you a great metabolic boost for the day (most locations have the first visit free too!).

Injured and not sure how to exercise without making it worse?

Meet with one of our board certified physical therapists to assess your injury and create an individualized exercise program. You can discuss your travel plans with your physical therapist so they can cater the program to accommodate your travel and not make your symptoms worse.

In conclusion, it’s important to remember to stay flexible during traveling. You likely won’t be able to follow your exact home routine. Just getting active is more important to maintain your current level of fitness and then look to progress when you get home.

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