Ben Johnson

Vacations and hotel workouts don’t need to be the kiss of death to your fitness goals. In fact, most hotel gyms have more than enough equipment to crush your goals while you’re on the road.

There’s a problem with hotel workouts, though. It’s almost impossible to follow your usual routine.

Barbells are rare finds and dumbbells rarely get heavier than 50 pounds. If you’re lucky, you might have a cable machine, Smith Machine, or pull up bar. But only if you’re lucky.

Even if the gym has decent equipment, they get crowded. Quick. And the meager equipment selection suddenly becomes unavailable.

Hotel workouts can be frustrating experiences. But they don’t have to be.

Here are two ways to make sure you get the most out of your hotel workouts. Every. Single. Time.

Crushing Hotel Workouts Part One:

Be Prepared (Have a Plan)

setting smart goalsYou need to have a game plan when you get to the gym. Wandering between sets of bench pressing and curls won’t help you reach your goals. Having a goal-based plan is imperative to getting results—in general, but especially during hotel workouts.

Most people do a pretty good job of setting up some sort of workout routine when they’re at home—could be something they found online, in a fitness magazine, or maybe they’re even members of my coaching program. But that plan goes out the window when they’re on the road. Often times, by necessity.

Obviously, you can’t do heavy deadlifts at your hotel if there are no barbells. You need a specific plan for hotel workouts.

The perfect hotel workouts are quick, simple, and effective. Because let’s be real, there are more important things to do one vacation than hang out in the hotel gym. (Like eating all the food.)

Creating your hotel workouts should be as simple as the workouts themselves. Stick to these key points:

  • Keep it simple.
  • Keep it quick.
  • Hit all the basic movements (think: total body).
  • Utilize high volume and/or high tension exercises. (Make the lighter weights feel heavy.)
  • Play more. (It’s like cardio, but fun. Things like going for a hike, a bike ride, playing frisbee on the beach, and even dancing count.)

 

One of My Favorite Hotel Workouts

Interval Workout for Tension

Perform the following exercises in a circuit-like fashion (A1–A5). Do as many perfect reps as possible in the time intervals given for each round. Rest ~60 seconds between rounds. For the exercises in bold, focus on moving slowly and milking the tension.

  1. Round One – 50/25 intervals (50 seconds of work/25 seconds of rest)
  2. Round Two – 45/20 intervals (45 seconds of work/20 seconds of rest)
  3. Round Three – 30/15 intervals (30 seconds of work/15 seconds of rest)

 

A1. 1.5 Goblet Squats
A2. Jumping Jacks
A3. 1.5 Push Ups
A4. Glute Bridges
A5. 1.5 Dumbbell Rows
A6. Mountain Climbers
A7. DB RDLs (4 seconds on the way down)

With that workout, you’re armed with a great plan. It’s everything you need to take your hotel workouts to the next level—simple, quick, total body, and has all kinds of tension.

Now you’re ready for the next step.

Crushing Hotel Workouts Part Two: 

Be Prepared to Abandon Your Plan

Wait. What? Let me explain. A couple days ago, I rolled into a hotel gym ready to dominate my workout. I had my plan and was fired up to crush a superset of high-tension dumbbell presses and high-volume pull ups. But there was a problem.

They only had one bench and one pull up bar and they were both being used. Plan foiled.

I could have waited, but decided to abandon the plan. It turned out to be a great decision. For one, my off-the-cuff workout ended up being fantastic. (I simply stuck to the guidelines I listed above.) But also, I finished my entire workout before either the bench or the pull up bar opened up.

Having a plan is important. But don’t marry that plan—especially when it comes to hotel workouts.

Step into the gym with your plan, but be ready to call an audible when you need to. Because sometimes, you will need to. When you’re on the road, doing a workout—any workout—is more important than whatever workout you have written down. Even if it’s a perfect plan.

I had a great plan the other day. But instead of sitting and waiting for the equipment I had planned on using, I gave up on the plan. I still got a great workout. And I saved myself time, which I spent doing more important things. (Namely laying out and soaking up the sun with a good book).

Now it’s your turn. Have a plan, be prepared to abandon your plan, and start crushing your hotel workouts. That way, you have more time for the things that matter most while you’re on the road.