Today's post is brought to you by Mike Snowden, traveler extraordinaire. The summer is a wonderful time to get out and travel for some vacation time. If you’re like most of us here at SAPT, you hit the road or jet set with a bar, some plates, a few kettlebells and a prowler. For those of you who may have forgotten a few of these trip essentials while you were packing, you may have to get a little more creative to keep up with your training. Below we’ve put together a few short workout ideas based on what you may have available to you.
Level 3- A Loaded Hotel Gym
If you are lucky enough to find that your hotel gym is fully stocked like SAPT (sadly, without the amazing staff) get in there and take full advantage of it. To ensure you are not spending your entire vacation in the gym, take a couple of days to train the body as a whole. In a recent post, Kelsey spoke about training 5 movement patterns in the same workout. The order of these movements and the exercises can vary but focus on completing an exercise from each group:
1) Hinge- Ex: RDL, Kettlebell Deadlift
2) Squat- Ex: Goblet Squat, Step back Lunge
3) Press- Ex: Bench Press, Floor Press, Overhead Press
4) Pull- Ex: TRX Row, Pull Up, Chest Supported Row
5) Carry-Ex: Farmers Walk, Waiter Carry
Level 2- The Gym That Looked Better Online
If you arrived on site to find your hotel gym is a room with a flat stability ball and a few dumbbells don’t worry because things are still looking up. With the limited tools you can still focus on the same principles as the level 3 crowd. An important change to make here is pay more attention to the tempo of each reps. Now you can get creative and add some isometric holds. If you want to really have some fun, slow your repetitions down by taking 3-6 seconds to lower followed by 3-6 seconds to lift the weight.
Level 1- A Hill/ Stairs
This is level 1 but it’s still pretty awesome. Running a hill or hitting some stairs are great ways to expend some energy (Hello Lactate!!). One effective way to tackle this task would be to run to the top and walk back down as your recovery period. If you want to turn it up a notch knock out some PUPP work at the top and a mobility exercise like a Yogaplex at the bottom before your next run. Use this time to work on getting extra supple by doing some mobility and soft tissue work. A frozen water bottle (Smart Water has a nice shape) works great as an impromptu foam roller.
There you have it! A few ideas to keep you fit during the busy summer travel season. Happy lifting!