Are you a fitness freak who just can’t do without your regular workout? Is the upcoming vacation, business trip, family reunion, or a backpacking trip giving you nightmares about how your routine is going to get compromised while you try and make the most of your traveling? Well, worry not! You are not the only one fretting about it. Everyone travels at least once. A vacation is definitely a good idea to rejuvenate your body, mind, and soul and come home feeling fresh. Traveling to a new place for leisure usually ends up in overindulgence. There is no way you can keep a check on your health and fitness.
At the same time, no one wants to spend hours in a gym or carry around the weight of the workout equipment. However, this does not mean you should compromise your health and come home feeling 20lbs heavier. If you care about your workout regime just as much as you care about having a good time on trips, you are in the right place. This article is going to shed light on some bodyweight exercises without equipment that can be performed while traveling. Here, you will also find a bonus total body workout routine that can be practiced for a few minutes in your hotel room.
What are Body Weight Exercises?
While traveling, it is difficult to find weights and other equipment required to perform a proper fitness routine. Therefore, equipment free workout is the best way to break some sweat and stay fit. The only way to get your muscles pumped up and keep your body active is working with your own weight. This kind of workout consists of bodyweight exercises, a simple yet effective way to workout to improve flexibility and posture and strengthen the muscles.
Bodyweight workouts are primarily strength training exercises that use your own body weight to create resistance against gravity. Push-up and pull-ups are classic examples of these exercises. While some of these exercises do require some sort of an equipment, but the good news is that the majority of it can be performed directly using your own bodyweight. In the last few decades, these exercises grew quite popular among athletes and sportspersons due to its innumerable benefits that include improvement of bio-motor abilities, motor skills coordination and weight loss.
Benefits of Bodyweight Exercises
- Best bodyweight exercises provide great results in less time. These workouts do not require hours of your time, goals can be achieved in a few minutes if performed using proper technique.
- It helps you build muscles effectively in a shorter period of time.
- It covers all the major muscles or muscle groups of the body.
- Since various muscles are fully engaged during the workouts, it improves balance and flexibility of the body and strengthens your limbs and joints.
- These equipment free workouts can be performed anywhere and anytime, even when you are traveling.
- It accelerates the weight loss process.
- Delays the aging process of joints and bones and make them stronger.
- It builds endurance and improves agility.
Reasons Why Workout While Traveling Is a Good Idea
Now that we are familiar to the goodness of bodyweight exercises, let us go through various reasons why we should not skip working out during vacations.
- Reduce stress levels to make the most of your travel.
- Exercise will help you keep your energy levels up.
- Relieve any kind of tension and soreness in muscles caused due to long journeys, holiday activities and more.
- To keep your weight in check as you indulge in new types of delicacies.
- Relax stiffness in your muscles.
- If you are traveling with your boss or your family, travel workouts will give you some “Me time.”
- Also, it helps in keeping your body flexible enough to enjoy various adventure and sports activities.
Best Bodyweight Exercises to Perform While Traveling Or On Vacation
1. Push-ups:
This is one of the most well-known fitness and bodyweight exercises that can be performed without any workout equipment and even in the most compact hotel room. It engages most of the important muscle groups and strengthens the core.
Technique: In order to perform push-ups in an effective manner, lie down on your chest. Firmly, place your palms shoulder-width apart on the ground. Keep your elbows bent and extend your legs completely. Push your body weight to your toes and lift your body as you keep inhaling and exhaling. Make sure your elbows are at a 90-degree angle and begin to descend your body until your nose touches the ground and push your body back up. Perform 10 repetitions in 3 sets each.
2. Chair Dips:
Another great bodyweight exercise to perform anywhere, anytime. This is primarily for anyone who wants to work on their chest and triceps.
Technique: Find yourself a chair or a bench in the park and sit at the edge of the chair. Place your hands firmly on both the sides, close to your hips. Keep your back and arms fully extended and slowly move forward so that your hips are no more on the seating place and like you are maintaining a chair position in the air. Push your weight on your arms as you perform this exercise. Drop your hips to the ground and slowly come back to original position. Repeat this exercise 10 times for sets of three.
3. Planks Hold:
Plank hold, also known as planks, is quite a common exercise. If you are familiar with push-ups, this bodyweight exercise is easy to perform. It is purely to strengthen your core and shoulder muscles.
Technique: This exercise starts at the push-up position. The only difference is that you put your arms on the ground and not the palms. Once you have achieved the correct position, tighten your glutes and abdominals. Make sure the neck and back are in straight line and hold that position for at least 30 seconds 5 times.
4. Squat Jumps:
Among many effective bodyweight exercises, this one is quite popular. It is a great cardio as well as strength-training exercise that must be a part of your workouts while traveling.
Technique: Start in a standing position. Make sure the back is straight. Lower your hips into a squat position by bending your knees. Then, explode into a jump as high as you can. Slowly come back to the starting position and perform this 12 times in three sets.
5. Lunges:
Technique: Begin in standing position with your legs hip-width apart. Keep your back straight, and abdominals tightened. Put your one leg forward like you are taking a big step. Then, slowly drop your body to the ground. Bend the rear knee and place it on the ground with your ankle lifted. As for the front leg, it should be at a 90-degree angle. Slowly, lift yourself up with the help of your back foot and come back into a standing position. Repeat the steps with the opposite leg.
6. Glutes Bridges:
This is the best exercise to heal backaches and other back issues. Also, it strengthens the glutes and core.
Technique: Find yourself a flat surface and lie down on your back. Keep your arms at your sides, knees bent, and feet firmly pressed to the floor. Lift your hips and the body until your neck. Squeeze your glutes and abdominals and make sure your spine is straight. Hold this position for as many seconds as you can without breaking into pain. Come back to lying position, before repeating the exercise.
7. Abdominal Crunches:
Whether you love them or hate them, ab crunches is a great way to keep your abs in check.
Technique: Perform basic crunches as a part of your travel workout. Begin in lying position with your back firmly pressed against the ground and your knees bent. Place your hands behind your head and pull your stomach in. Slowly lift your upper body one or two inches above the ground as you squeeze the abs. Hold this position for a few seconds before lowering the body to the starting position. Repeat this action for 20 repetitions.
8. Superman:
This is one of the best bodyweight exercises to strengthen your back and shape your glutes.
Technique: Start in a lying position. Lie down on your chest on a flat surface. Keep your arms and legs fully extended. Pushing all the weight on your torso, raise your legs and arms simultaneously as if you were flying like Superman. Hold this position for a while, before taking a break.
Apart from the above-mentioned bodyweight exercises without equipment, you can even perform a 20-minute total body workout routine as mentioned below. This regime is perfect to make you feel fresh and relaxed.
Push-ups with Plank Hold
- sets of 10 Bodyweight squats
3 sets of 10 Lunges
3 sets of 10 Chair Dips
3 Sets of abs crunches
10 Glutes Bridges
- In this circuit, perform at least 10 repetitions of each exercise.
- Begin with simple warm-up exercises like jumping jacks, twists, neck rotations, and more.
- Keep yourself hydrated.
You can perform these bodyweight exercises every day or every alternate day as you are traveling, it’ll help you stay fit and prepare for adventure activities.
Disclaimer: All exercise should be done under the supervision of certified professionals or if any medical condition exists, please do seek the advice of the physician to proceed with this exercise.