by Dave Kemp

Created on: April 27, 2008   Last Updated: May 05, 2008

Bringing almost any workout on the road can be challenging. The question that must be asked first is this. For my workout, do I really need equipment? If the answer is no, your options are wide open.

Almost every hotel now has a fitness room. Even if it is as minimal as a treadmill or stairstepping machine, 15 - 20 minutes on one of these is much better than skipping a workout completely. Personally, if the weather and neighborhood are conducive, I prefer a brisk 20 minute walk to any workout room.

Swimming is also a viable option at many hotels and if you swim laps, can be a great cardiopulmonary workout as well as a huge calorie burner. Of course, this will depend on what type of hotel you are staying in, the size of the pool, other patrons in the pool, etc.

If you are a person that likes to lift weights, most hotels now offer membership privileges to local health clubs for their guests. I have done this on occasion, but found that for me, the time this takes is usually prohibitive to my other required activities while I am on the road.

I now have a preferred regimen that I can follow right in my hotel room and it doesn't take a lot of time, no special wardrobe, and can take as long or short as I like. I am a martial artist, so typically do a lot of stretching and strength training work without special equipment. This led me to create a program of stretching, doing several sets of crunches and pushups, and then a warm-down stretching routine. I can vary the number of reps in my sets, vary the routine easily and shorten the stretching routine as needed to fit within my schedule while I am traveling.

I have found this to work the best for me so I am not dependent upon the equipment provided by the hotel, the neighborhood in which my hotel is located, or the timeframe that I have to work within. Maintaining fitness is all about making things as easy as possible to do. This way, opting out of a workout while on the road becomes less of an option. Of course, maintaining a reasonably healthy diet along with this routine is also recommended. This is often more of a struggle for me than working out because I love sampling the regional cuisine.

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