5 Travel-Friendly Workouts for Summer Vacation!

August is a great month, wouldn't you agree?! It's finally hot enough for beach days, and it's the unofficial "getaway" month when most of use our accrued vacation days to do just that! Yes, ladies and gentleman, August is the height of the summer travel season for most Americans. Now through Labor Day, families pile into the minivan to go and visit loved ones; groups of twenty-somethings rent a car and go cross country; and single folks like yours truly go back to their hometown to spend some good, old-fashioned bonding time with the folks!!!

Now, don't get me wrong: I am psyched to be spending the following 2+ weeks in Maine. How lucky am I that my parents still reside in arguably the most beautiful, pristine, and unadulterated state in the country? People flock from all over to visit Maine in the summer--to eat our lobster, swim in our rivers and lakes, hikes our trails, and pick our berries. After all, it isn't nicknamed "Vactionland" for nothing :-)

Sure, I'll be taking advantage of the myriad summer activities that my home state has to offer when I'm there this summer. I'll also be sure to get plenty of R&R because those two Rs are key components to a sustainable healthy lifestyle, and keep me motivated and committed to my fitness goals. You can't just go hard all the time and expect to progress without building in time for recovery! That being said, I will not use my vacation as an excuse to give up on my fitness efforts. Sure, I may not have access to a full gym whenever I want, but there are alternatives--lots of them!

To be honest with you, I kind of get excited when I travel because it's like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" scenario: you never know what you're going to encounter in terms of equipment, space, or time, which means you get to be super-creative and do things you may not normally do! I'm not suggesting to your that you fly by the seat of your pants--at least not entirely!!--when it comes to travel-and-vacation fitness endeavors. But getting in daily movement outside of your regular environment doesn't have to be anxiety-inducing, and can be quite fun and sweaty!

I've said before on this blog how much I enjoy cycling through the conditioning workouts from Jen Sinkler's Lift Weights Faster and Lift Weights Faster II workout libraries: they're both a God-send when I travel because they're organized by 1) available equipment, and 2) time, so I can always find something to do that gets me sweaty and feeling super-strong, in the time that I have, with the equipment (or lack thereof) available to me. It's a win-win-win!!!!

Borrowing from Ms. Sinkler for inspiration, I've created a few conditioning workouts for my summer travel arsenal that I'm so happy to share with you! 3 of the 5 workouts require nothing but your bodyweight and you can do them anywhere, including the comfort of your own hotel/motel room. Another requires nothing more than your own body and a moderate flight of stairs! So what're you waiting for?! Pick a workout, give it a spin, and let me know what you thought on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook!

Workout #1: Gravity's Good For Ya--A Squat/Pushup Ladder 
Equipment: Bodyweight only
Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Time: <20 minutes

Workout #2: A Little Plankin' Never Hurt Nobody--This is a complex, so you'll be completing all reps of each exercise before moving onto the next exercise. When you complete all prescribed reps of all exercises in the circuit, you've completed one round. The volume (total number of reps) is moderate for each exercise, but high overall because this workout is a hybrid complex-combo: you'll complete multiple reps of each exercise and then flow right into the next exercise (only resting if you need to). For this reason, experiment by completing the exercise for AMRAP (as many rounds as pretty) for "x" minutes or for rounds (5-10) and include it as a finisher on a lower-body training day.
Equipment: Bodyweight only
Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Time: ≥ 20 minutes

What you gotta do: Complete the following circuit for as many rounds as "pretty" in the time allotted. Keep track of how many rounds you complete, and try to beat it next time!

     1. Knee-to-Elbow plank (5 per side)
     2.  (a) Side Plank leg lift [RIGHT] (10); (b) Side plank leg lift [LEFT] (10)
     3. Static "chaturanga" hold (10 secs, i.e. "1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000," etc.)
     4. Up/Down plank (5 per side, i.e "up/down left, up/down right, up/down left, up/down right)
     5. Mountain Climbers (5 per side)

Workout #3: The Hotel "Chain"--This is  a chain, which means you will complete all reps of an exercise before "flowing" into the next exercise, resting only as needed between exercises or at the bottom of the round. A chain builds on the hybrid complex-combo by adding on reps for specific exercises as you move through the rounds. This allows you to really hone in on a particular body part or movement pattern.
Equipment: Bodyweight, bed, small face towel
Level: Beginner-to-Intermediate
Time: ≥ 20 minutes
What you gotta do: Complete all the exercises and reps outlined in the circuit, taking little to no rest in between exercises. With each subsequent round, add one rep apiece per round to the exercises indicated with a "*" until you get to 10 Bodyweight OH squats and 10/leg (or 20 total) Lunge w/ t-spine rotation. Keep the reps for all other exercises the same!

     1. Bodyweight OH (overhead) squat* (5)
     2. Incline pushups (5)
     3. Modified Burpee (5)
     4. Lunge w/ T-spine rotation* (5 per side)
     5. Straight-leg sit up (5)

Workout #4: The 1050--You can do this workout anywhere, but it's easier to track your distance on a standard 400m track. I call this The 1050 because you'll sprint 7-150m distances, resting as long as you need to fully recover between sprints (I typically give myself between 2-2.5 minutes).
Equipment: Bodyweight, flat running surface or 400m track
Level: All levels
Time: ≥ 20 minutes
What you gotta do: Sprint and recover, complete 7 rounds!

Workout #5: The Boing-Boing--This circuit incorporates lots of plyometrics to improve your cardio endurance, speed and agility. Moving from quick-paced plyo to slower, strength-and-mobility-focused moves provides a unique challenge to encourages muscular development and fat burning.
Equipment: Bodyweight
Level: Intermediate
Time: Between 15-25 minutes
What you gotta do: Depending on your level of conditioning, perform 3-5 rounds of the circuit with a work:rest ratio 20:20. You can make the workout more metabolic by increasing the work or decreasing rest; don't move the dial on both unless you cut back on volume, too! Modify the workout for more of a strength focus by swapping reverse lunges for jumping lunges and increasing both work and rest periods. 

     1. Jumping lunge
     2. 3-Point Plank (R)
     3. 3-Point Plank (L)
     4. Jumping lunge
     5. Dynamic Blackburn
     6. Jumping Lunge 
     7. Lateral lunge and reach 

See, a great workout can happen just about anywhere your globe-trotting feet take you!! With little to no equipment or time, you can get in a sweat session that builds lean muscle, burns fat, and makes you a more all-around bad-ass! Have fun with these, and please share your adventures with me on social media or here in the comments section!!! Happy Summer!