Today, so many people travel regularly for their careers. Travel can totally throw off any semblance of a fitness routine, but it doesn’t have to! Check out these moves that can be done right from the comfort of your hotel room while watching TV – you can even time these to the length of a set of commercials! We recommend throwing a resistance band in your luggage – it’s a versatile prop and takes up virtually no space.
photographed by jessica attie, model and instructor jennifer welch, location: mod fitness in austin
Reverse chair against a wall
- Lower yourself against a wall so that your back is flat, thighs are parallel to the floor (with a 90 degree angle behind the knees) and feet and legs and hips’ distance apart. Press your heels into the ground and feel your hamstrings and glutes engage. Pull your core in tight. Hold this position for the length of one commercial!
- When the next commercial starts, lift and lower your heels to work your calves. Keep your knees in place directly over your ankles.
- For the next commercial, extend your left leg straight with a flexed foot. Use your core and your right leg to keep you steady. Lift and lower your left leg in one-inch movements. This is tough, so lower your leg back to the floor when you need to!
- Return to original chair position.
- Switch to extending the right leg straight for the last commercial and feel the burn. Your legs will get toned and strong with these moves, so hang in there.
- Return to original chair position.
Declined plank or push-ups
- Start in plank position with your feet towards your hotel bed, hands on the floor away from the bed. Carefully walk your feet up to the bed so that you’re in a declined position. Fingers should be spread wide with hands slightly outside of shoulders and a soft bend at the elbows.
- Hold this position or do a pushup, slowly bending at the elbows and sending them on the diagonal behind you.
*As a modification, this can be done in the reverse direction with hands on bed and feet on floor. As you build upper body strength, try the declined push-up.
Commercial Break Mountain Climbers
- Come into a plank position with feet and legs in line with hips and hands directly under shoulders. Pull your abdominals in tight and keep your back flat with hips in line with shoulders. Gaze at the floor in front of your finger tips.
- Using your lower abdominals, pull your right knee into your chest while keeping your back flat. Switch legs and repeat this movement as fast as you can while keeping your back flat and hips in line with shoulders for the length of one commercial break.
- When the next commercial starts, return to plank position.
- This time, change the direction of your legs so that your right knee is reaching towards your left elbow and vice versa. The twisting motion will work your obliques. Switch legs and repeat for the length of one commercial break.
“Y-T-I” Prone
- Lay on your stomach facing downwards on a towel, arms reaching in the opposite direction of your legs. Pull your abdominals in tight towards your spine and find your hip bones heavy in the floor. On your next exhale, reach your chest and legs away from the floor while keeping your abdominals pulled in. Rotate your pinky toes down to the floor and, pull your shoulders away from your ears and keep your gaze downwards. Hold this position for 30 seconds.
- Using your back muscles, reach your arms to the diagonal so that your body makes a “Y” shape while keeping your chest and legs the same distance from the floor.
- Slide your arms towards each side of the room, reaching long through your arms and palms facing down. Your body should now be in the shape of a “T.”
- Finally, reach your arms back in the same direction as your legs with palms facing your thighs. Flow through the Y-T-I shape spending 3 seconds in each position.
Abs with resistance band
- Sit on the floor with legs stretched out in front of you, feet flexed. Hold onto the ends of the band and find the middle of your resistance band. Place both of your feet into the middle of the band, keeping your feet and legs hips’ distance apart. Cross one strap over the other and pull the straps tight. Roll backwards so that you are laying flat on your back with legs raised above you in the air.
- Keeping your low back pressed into the floor and abdominals pulled in tight, lower your legs until they are diagonal to you.
- On your next exhale, pull the strap tight so that your elbows are next to your waist and simultaneously lift your head, neck, and shoulders off of the floor.
- Keeping your upper body where it is, use the sides of your glutes and thighs to push your legs away from each other.
- Slowly draw your legs back towards each other and lower your head, neck, and shoulders to the ground.
- Take a big inhale and repeat this movement for one minute.
