When we are traveling (or at any time for that matter) we don’t want to fall back into the same monotonous workout routine. The stationary treadmill or elliptical is a great way to escape the cold weather back home, but when in a new place, why not try something different? And when I say different, I mean completely different. Jogging and other repetitive motion cardiovascular exercises are one-dimensional and do not mimic how the body moves. Here are some exercises that will not only challenge your cardiovascular system, but will also play with different planes of movement which will in turn engage many muscle groups.
The ’55 Rep’ Exercise
Start with 1 body weight squat followed by 10 pushups and 10 dips. Then, rest for 30 seconds. Next, do 2 body weight squats followed by 9 pushups and 9 dips. Work your way to 10 squats and 1 pushup and dip. By the end you will have completed 55 repetitions of each exercise. To really reap the cardiovascular benefits, try decreasing your rest time to (no less than) 15 seconds.
Burpie to Plank Reaches
In a similar fashion to the above ’55 Rep’ exercise, start with 1 burpie and 10 plank reaches. For plank reaches, start in a pushup position (on hands) and reach one arm up to the sky rotating your body so you end up in a side plank position. Return back to pushup position and rotate the other way. After 10 plank reaches (on each side), rest for 15-30 seconds. Repeat until you reach 10 burpies and 1 plank reach.
A Twist on Jumping Jacks
Do as many jumping jacks as you can in 10 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds while doing jumping split squats. Then, do as many jumping jacks as you can in 20 seconds. Rest for 20 seconds while doing jumping split squats. Next, do as many jumping jacks as you can for 30 seconds and while resting for 30 seconds do jumping split squats. Work your way back down to 20 seconds, then 10 seconds.
If you like this type of workout. Check out the Travel Fitness page of our blog for more workout tips.
Gillian Johnson, BA CSCS