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Hotel Room Exercises: NO equipment required!

You don't even need shoes to exercise with our travel routine

Whether you're enjoying margaritas on the beach or steak dinners courtesy of the company card, you don't want to totally derail your fitness just because you aren't at home or don't have access to a gym.

We've put together a group of 8 No-Equipment Exercises and 4 Quickie Rep Schemes that you can do ANYWHERE, in the smallest amount of space and minimal amount of time. In the park, your tiny hotel room, or even a secluded corner at the airport, these exercises will keep you fit while you travel. You can mix and match for Endless(beauty) possibilities! Check out the accompanying video for demonstrations of these exercises.

8 No-Equipment Exercises:

1) Burpee – drop to plank position from standing, perform a pushup, jump feet forward to a squat, jump up and clap overhead. That equals one rep. Used by prisoners to maintain muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness.

2) Pushup – begin in a plank position, shoulders over hands, lower body to ground, push body back up to plank.
Make it easier by dropping to the knees, but make sure to maintain rigid midline of the body (abs pulled in tight).
Make it harder by performing a clapping pushup – start in a plank, lower until chest touches the ground, clap hands together, land at the top of a plank
Variation: Target the shoulders with decline pushups (placing feet up on a bed, chair, or bureau)

3) Squats – start with feet hip-width apart, feet turned slightly outward. Lower your body until hips are below parallel, keeping core tight and weight in the heels.

4) Sit-ups – use a pillow to support the lower back and isolate the abs. Perform a standard sit-up by laying flat on your back and drawing your belly button in toward your spine as you sit up, bringing your entire body upright and perpendicular to the floor. Your shoulders should be even with your hips at the top of the sit-up. Lower.
Variation: feel free to substitute plank holds, bicycle crunches, or your favorite ab exercise for sit-ups.

5) Chataranga – cribbing a move from yoga, you’ll start in a plank with your elbows just outside your shoulders. Lower your body until elbows are even with the body, then drop your hips and press your chest up and out, into upward-facing dog pose. Hold for one second, then move into downward-facing dog pose, your legs straight and your torso folded forward into a V-shape. To connect to the next chataranga, transition from downward dog to plank and start the movement over again.

6) Lunges – take a step forward with your right leg so that your right leg forms a 90-degree angle from thigh to knee to ankle. Your back (left) leg should also form its own 90-degree angle. It’s important not to let the front knee extend over the ankle. Switch legs, stepping forward with the left leg. That’s one rep.
Make it harder by placing the back leg on a chair, bed, or bureau, then stepping forward into the lunge with the front leg. These single-leg squats will isolate the glutes.

7) Sprawls – standing upright, kick your legs back to where you are almost in a plank position, then hop your feet back to your hands and stand up. Once the hip opens, you’ve completed one rep. These are the burpee's "easier" cousins, and really get your heart rate up.

8) Handstand – getting upside-down is mentally and physically refreshing because it’s so out of the norm. If you can, kick up into a free-standing handstand. If you need assistance, go to the wall and place your hands a little bit further than shoulder width apart on the ground, then kick your legs up onto the wall.
Make it easier by putting your feet on the bed, a chair, or bureau, then forming a modified handstand with the same hand placement described above.

4 Quickie Rep Schemes:

You'll put a combination of exercises together into a number of reps to create one quick workout. Choose one of the combinations ("rep schemes") below for a workout that should last between ten and twenty minutes.

1) TWO exercises, 21-15-9 reps

Do the first exercise 21 times, then the second exercise 21 times. Without resting, do the first exercise 15 times, then the second 15 times. Without resting, do the first exercise 9 times, then the second exercise 9 times. Record your time.

Example: Pushups + Lunges
Looks like: 21 pushups, 21 lunges, 15 pushups, 15 lunges, 9 pushups, 9 lunges

2) Fives: 5 Rounds, 5 Exercises, 5 Reps

Do this circuit five times: 5 reps of the first exercise, 5 reps of the second exercise, 5 reps of the third exercise, 5 reps of the fourth exercise, 5 reps of the fifth exercise. Without resting, go on to the second through fifth rounds. Record your time.

Example: Burpees + Squats + Sit-ups + Sprawls + Chataranga
Looks like: 5 burpees, 5 squats, 5 sit-ups, 5 sprawls, 5 chatarangas
5 burpees, 5 squats, 5 sit-ups, 5 sprawls, 5 chatarangas
5 burpees, 5 squats, 5 sit-ups, 5 sprawls, 5 chatarangas
5 burpees, 5 squats, 5 sit-ups, 5 sprawls, 5 chatarangas
5 burpees, 5 squats, 5 sit-ups, 5 sprawls, 5 chatarangas

3) Traditional Circuit: 3 Rounds, 3 Exercises, 10 Reps

Do this circuit three times: 10 reps of the first exercise, 10 reps of the second exercise, 10 reps of the third exercise. Without resting, complete the second and third rounds. Record your time.

Example: Burpees + Sprawls + Sit-ups
Looks like: 10 burpees, 10 sprawls, 10 sit-ups
10 burpees, 10 sprawls, 10 sit-ups
10 burpees, 10 sprawls, 10 sit-ups

4) Pyramid: 2 Exercises, 10 to 1

Choose two exercises and climb down the pyramid: complete 10 reps of the first exercise, then 10 reps of the second exercise. Without resting, complete 9 reps of the first exercise and 9 reps of the second exercise. Continue 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Record your time.

Example: Burpees + Lunges
Looks like: 10 burpees, 10 lunges, 9 burpees, 9 lunges, 8 burpees, 8 lunges, 7 burpees, 7 lunges, 6 burpees, 6 lunges, 5 burpees, 5 lunges, 4 burpees, 4 lunges, 3 burpees, 3 lunges, 2 burpees, 2 lunges, 1 burpee, 1 lunge.

Don't let vacation or traveling for work get in the way of your exercise routine! Use these simple, equipment-free moves to put together on-the-go workouts that'll get you fit in no time.

Travel articles for women

Lyssa Myska Allen is editorial director at EndlessBeauty.com and a CrossFit Level 1-certified trainer.

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Comments

These sound simple yet effective. I'll have to give it a try next time I'm traveling.

These exercises sound like they will really work.

I'll have to try these out. They sound intense enough that they will keep you fit, but simple as well. That's always a good combination.