Greetings from California!
That’s right, I am in Carson, CA. for the 6th annual CrossFit Games!
I am not competing. I am here helping out my good friend Rowan Minnion from Blonyx as he is an offical vendor of the 2012 CrossFit Games.
If you are going to be at the games be sure to come say hello. Or if you live around this area hit me up!
Traveling has made me think…how I am going to workout??
Pull a workout out of thin air!
Normally, when you are on vacation it is best to rest and take time off from working out. I normally feel that way until about three days into the vacation and I start to get restless and ancy….so I workout…and in this instance I am not really on vacation.
If you travel frequently…you need to keep to your schedule! Personally, I have a local CrossFit competition I am competing in on the July 18th, which is right after I get back, so I am going to have to workout a little bit…hopefully!!
So how does one pull a workout out of thin air, much like a magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat?
Follow this equation:
Creativity + Metabolic Conditioning = A workout out of thin air.
This is assuming you are traveling and you didn’t bring any of the End of Three Fitness Travel Packs.
Items you can use…
- Suitcase
- Chair
- Bed (ever try to do push ups on a bed? Try it!)
- Body (never forget the power of the burpee!!)
Exercises you can do…
- Pull-up
- Push-up
- Sit-up
- Squat (ton of variations)
- Hand Stand Push-ups
- Dips
- Running/Walking
- Burpees
- Lunges
- Double Unders (if you pack a jump rope)
- Lunges (ton of variations)
- And more…But you don’t really need more than that.
Trapped in a box (a.k.a your hotel room)
Travel Workout 1
- 10 Push-Ups, 10 Sit-Ups, and 10 Squats
- All completed in immediate succession for 10 Rounds.
Travel Workout 2
- 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 sets of Sit-Ups and Squats.
- 10 Sit-Ups, 10 Squats…9 Sit-Ups, 9 Squats….
Travel Workout 3
- 100 Burpess for time
Travel Workout 4
- 1 min plank
- 30 sec push-ups
- 1 min right side plank
- 30 sec push-ups
- 1 min left side plank
- 30 sec sit-ups
- 1 min plank
- 30 sec sit-ups
- With a continuously running clock/stopwatch
- 2 Rounds for time do it all, rest, do it all again.
Travel Workout 5
- 3 rounds for time
- 20 air squats
- 20 burpees
- 20 push ups (hand-release)
Travel Workout 6
- TABATA anything
- Always a good workout
You and the road
Travel Workout 7
- Run for 3 min then 50 air squat
- Repeat 3 times
Travel Workout 8
- Run 1 mile for time
- Mapmyrun.com or use an android/iPhone app for distance measurement
- This is always a good benchmark to test yourself on every once in awhile
Travel Workout 9
- 25 push-ups, 25 lunges, 25 sit-ups
- 4 rounds for time
Travel Workout 10
- Run 200m, 10 squats, and 10 push-ups
- 4 rounds for time
Travel Workout 11
- 10 Vertical Jumps (or broad jumps) 10 push-ups, 10 sit ups
- 5 rounds for time
Developing the fitness traveler eye
If you travel frequently and you are constantly trying to fit fitness into your trips you will slowly develop a fitness traveler’s eye. A fitness traveler’s eye is how fitness gurus look at any new place or surrounding and how they can use it for some sort of fitness routine.
I catch myself doing this even when I am not traveling. I could be in a mall and think “It would be really cool if I could hang rings from that rafter”. When I get to a new hotel I immediately notice any surrounding stairs or horizontal bars that could be used.
Most hotels even have a gym, but most of them are terrible quality and do not provide for a great workout. However, some have enough equipment to absolutely destroy you – if you find yourself in this situation you are lucky!
If you don’t have the fitness traveler’s eye, here are three steps to help you get it:
Step 1: Immediate assessment of your surroundings
- Look for…
- Horizontal bars
- Hills, stairs and slants
- Check your room/area for exercise potential (dips? pull-ups?)
Step 2: Look at normal objects in new ways
- Be creative…
- Suitcase = barbell
- Chair = dip machine
- Bed = toe bar for sit-ups
- Bench = box jumps
Step 3: Make it fun
- Travel workouts are often memorable and pretty fun depending on how creative you get. Make sure you have a good time when you are doing one! That’s what it is all about.
Have fun with your travel workouts!!
Have a great travel workout or idea? Add it to the comments 🙂
P.S.
Always bring a bathing suit on your travels. Swimming is a great workout if it is available.
And to quote 1,001 Rules for My Unborn Son:
^^ Great blog by the way.