3 Simple Do-Anywhere Workouts for the Holidays
If you’re traveling for the holidays, it can be hard to stay on track with your training schedule. Why? Well, you’re way out of the comfort zone of your regular routine—the gym you go to, the normal time you work out, and your energy levels from travel stressors are all in limbo. Not to mention the parties, booze, festive (fat-filled) foods, and late nights that cramp your workout style. But as Spartans, we make no excuses. Yes, it's important to be a little flexible in your workout routine (because if you don't, you'll drive yourself and your loved ones crazy), but that doesn't mean you can't steal away and get a quick sweat sesh in. To get in your travel workout, try these quick do-anywhere solutions that require minimum equipment and give you max gains in a short amount of time.
Related: Training During the Holidays: 5 Tips to Avoid Slacking Off
Hotel WODs: No-Excuse Travel Workout Guide for the Holidays
The Ultimate Bodyweight Circuit
No equipment needed here. You can do this bodyweight circuit in a hotel room (or anywhere!) without ever setting foot in a gym. Plus, this sequence is super challenging and effective if you only have a short time to squeeze it in (think 20-30 minutes of a HIIT workout). “Bodyweight workouts are sometimes the toughest,” says Emily Greenaway, CPT and Interval Training Coach at Studio Three in Chicago. “I love this workout because you don’t need much space to execute,” she says, and it’ll spike your heart rate fast and give you that after burn effect. You can also recruit people, like friends and family, to do it with you.
Warmup:
Do two rounds total, each of these moves for 20 seconds, one after the other.
- Jumping jacks
- Reverse lunges
- High knees
- Squats
Workout
Do 3-5 rounds of the below exercises with 45 seconds of work alternated with 15 seconds of rest between each.
- Glute bridge
- Squats with 3 counts to lower
- Walk out to push up
- Reverse lunge to knee drive
Related: 7 Underrated Bodyweight Exercises You’ve Never Tried
Jump Rope to Boost Your Heart Rate
“Elevate your heart rate quick with this workout. It's simple but effective. If running isn’t your thing, grab a jump rope or perform jumping jacks,” says Greenaway. A jump rope is easy to carry around with you when traveling, and it can torch calories in minutes.
Feel free to incorporate jumping rope into your workouts you’re doing or you can do ten minutes of jump rope scattered throughout the day to break it up and get your heart rate up in spurts! Yet, here’s a fun circuit you can do with the jump rope and then a few bodyweight exercises.
“If you are short on time, this is the workout for you. Your heart rate will be high from the first minute and it can be done anywhere,” she says. Do this one time through as quickly as you can, or go for a full 10 to 15 minutes, over and over, if you have time for more.
- 100 singles on jump rope
- 80 skaters
- 60 squats
- 40 lunges
- 20 sit ups
- 10 burpees
Related: The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Every Spartan in Your Life
Lung-Buster 10-Minute Run
“During the holidays a quick 10-minute run might be all you need to sneak away and release some stress,” she says. And you can finish up with a quick core burner, which requires zero equipment. If you can get to a gym, go inside on the treadmill, but if you can’t access one, you can go outdoors easily.
Go for a 10-minute run first, she says, for some great cardio. Then, do a core burner workout—this can also help banish bloating and keep your waistline feeling trimmer (a nice perk when holiday snacks and treats are around!).
The Core Burner
Do this for 3-5 rounds depending on how much time you have and do 30 seconds of each of these exercises, with a 1-minute rest in between each round.
- Bicycle crunches
- Boat pose hold
- Mountain climbers
- Plank hold
- Reverse crunch
- Flutter kicks
Related: How to Do These 8 Great Core Strengthening Exercises
