How to take your workout with you while traveling

A version of this story originally appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Dec 1., 2004

Fancy hotels have fitness centers, and some rival high-end fitness clubs with gadget-loaded treadmills, super smooth weight machines, free weights, piles of BOSU balls, battle ropes, yoga mats.

More hotels have a closet with two (broken) treadmills and an immovable stationary cycle. And the water dispenser is empty.

Smart travelers who are determined to take their workout with them should pack for the worst possible scenario. While your hotel may advertise a fitness center, you should assume it’s loaded with outdated, dirty equipment.

This will allow you to plan a workout that’s only marginally reliant upon equipment, if at all.

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Now let’s talk about the most portable options. Cardiovascular exercise is the easy one, because you can walk or jog almost anywhere. Unless it’s raining or the air around your hotel triggers an Ozone Action Alert.

My advice is to take a jump rope on every trip.

Jumping rope gives you cardio without leaving the hotel room, which is sometimes the only option. Plus, jumping rope works well within an interval-based program, meaning it’s easy to stop and start quickly.

Another great piece of mobile fitness equipment is the slide disc. These little guys weigh only a few ounces and are less than a quarter inch thick. Slide discs make possible all sorts of strengthening movements requiring nothing but your body weight; friction will be the resistance.

Mountain climbers, pushups and lunges are all made more interesting with your hands or feet on slide discs.

Can’t find slide discs? Paper plates or plastic picnice plates are serviceable stand-ins.

Of course, the classic travel gear is the good old stretch band. To rock each and every muscle group without any other equipment, it’s almost a necessity. Anchor this puppy in a door frame, and you’ve got a fantastic source of resistance that provides one with the option to pull or push with ease.

If the full on-your-toes version feels like too much pressure on your shoulders, try it on your knees. This will take some weight off your hands, reducing overall resistance to the motion and allowing you to build confidence and strength without feeling you’re at risk for injury.

Matt Parrott has a doctorate in education (sport studies) and a master’s in kinesiology and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine.

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