The Road Trip Workout

No time for the gym? This workout routine will help cover your bases while on the road or at home.

We’ve all been there. Whether you’re a traveling salesman, a college athlete, or a road trip warrior, there’s going to be a situation when you’re unable to get to the gym. Calm down and realize that it happens to everyone.

Now while this may cause you to hyperventilate and completely freak out, trust that there is a solution for this workout predicament. If you’re looking for a quick bodyweight workout and movements that require little to no equipment to perform, look no further than this road trip workout. Get it in a few times a week and even if you’re not able to throw around the steel you’ll still look and feel like you never missed a beat.

This workout, like any good routine, starts with a proper warm up using mobility drills and dynamic movements. To cut straight to the point, you’ll find a checklist I’ve put together for a total body dynamic warm-up below. Oh, and if you have no idea what I’m talking about, just check out the video. You’ll want to do about 5 of each:

Cook squats
Lateral lunges
Reverse Lunges
Lunge with T spine reaches
Scapular wall slides
Chin tucks
Scapular Push-ups
Towel lat and tricep stretches
90/90 stretch on the hotel chair or bed
Sumo groin stretch
Knee grabs with glut activation
Planks and side planks, build up to 60 seconds
Single leg squats to a chair

All warmed up? Good, because now it’s go time. In my opinion, the most time efficient and challenging workouts are those that are done using the Tabata Method. Tabata style training as I’m sure many of you know, is time based with minimal rest, making it great for conditioning and fat loss. I incorporate Tabata training with many of my corporate clients where time is often a concern and know the type of results that this method can produce. In 35-45 minutes, including warm up, you’ll get a great workout that may, or may not, leave you feeling like you’re going to die.

By incorporating Tabata principles, this workout ensures so that you’re getting maximal results as quickly as possible. With all of these exercises the goal is to do as many reps as you can, as fast as you can, within the given time constraints, before moving onto the next exercises. If you follow the rest periods and go all out on these, I guarantee you’ll be standing in a pool of sweat when it’s all over.

Repeat 3-5 times

Bulgarian split squats, 20 seconds per side
10 seconds rest
Bed box jumps, 40 seconds
10 seconds rest
Towel pulls, 40 seconds
10 seconds rest
Push up variations, 40 seconds
90-120 seconds rest

Repeat 3-5 times

Luggage overhead reverse lunges, 40 seconds
10 seconds rest
Luggage swings/Single leg RDL with luggage, 40 seconds, 20 seconds per leg
10 seconds rest
Luggage overhead press, 20-30 seconds per arm
10 seconds rest
Towel whips, 40 seconds
90-120 seconds rest

Core work

Luggage windmills, 3 sets of 8
Luggage air punches, 3 sets of 8
Luggage Turkish get ups, 3 sets of 5 each side

All movements are interchangeable and the rest periods and work sets can be altered depending on your work-load and how hard you're training. If you’re able to train 4 to 5 times a week and incorporate some Tabata work into your workouts, you’ll be in tremendous shape, even if you’re not always able to get to the gym.

And 1R, to avoid the pitfalls of hotel and on-the-road food, throw these protein supplements in your travel bag:

1. Optimum Nutrition 2:1:1 Recovery - The carbs and protein will help you recover and build lean muscle faster after tough workouts
2. BSN True Mass - A post workout recovery product with 6 different protein sources will ensure that you’re maximizing your workouts
3. Gaspari IntraPro - This post workout protein shake that's loaded with BCAAs, L-Glutamine, and Taurine, will help you recover, and build lean muscle, faster after workouts