Taking a break from exercise when you’re on vacation can do wonders for your mental and physical health. However, if you have to travel frequently for work, having to rely on hotel facilities can disrupt your usual fitness routine, at a time when your body may be feeling the impact of travel and would most benefit from staying active. While you can perform bodyweight workouts in your hotel room, like this 15-minute holiday-friendly workout, packing some portable exercise equipment means you can upgrade your travel workouts.
If there’s one lightweight piece of equipment that is ideal for keeping up with your strength work, it’s resistance bands. They can be easily crammed into carry-on and offer a huge variety of exercise options while traveling.
Personal trainer and transformation coach Rachael Sacerdoti swears by them. “Resistance bands are perfect for compound movements, allowing you to work a few different muscle groups at the same time,” she says. Resistance band workouts are also ideal for beginners and experienced exercisers alike because you can easily adjust the difficulty of every rep by shortening or even doubling up the band.
“The best thing about working out with a band is that it allows for a safer workout with less pressure and excessive stress on the joints,” says Sacerdoti. This is especially helpful when traveling because no-one wants to have to deal with an urgent trip to a doctor, or to hobble in and out of an important meeting.
Sacerdoti has created a nine-move full-body session using a resistance band with handles. If you don’t own one already, you’ll find some great options in our round-up of the best resistance bands.
How To Do This Resistance Band Travel Workout
This workout is made up of nine exercises in a circuit format. Sacerdoti recommends aiming for four rounds in total, but even one round will be enough to keep your body mobile. Once armed with the right resistance band, spend a few minutes on warm-up exercises and practicing the form of each exercise so that you can make the most of this full-body travel workout.
1 Squat
Reps 12 Rest 0sec
Standing on the resistance band with your feet hip-width apart, push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a squat. Take hold of the handles and hold them at shoulder height. Brace your core and push through your heels to stand, then lower again. Adjust where you place your feet on the band to increase or decrease the level of tension.
2 Reverse lunge
Reps 6 each side Rest 0sec
Stand on the resistance band with feet hip-width apart and one foot holding the handles at chest height—there should be tension in the band. Keeping your core braced and torso upright, take a big step back with one leg. Lower until your rear knee gently touches the floor, then push through your front foot to return to standing, working against the tension created by the band.
3 Bent-over row
Reps 12 Rest 0sec
Stand on the resistance band with your feet hip-width apart. Hinge forward at your hips so your upper body is parallel with the floor. Grasp the resistance band handles with straight arms and palms facing behind you, then raise your hands up to your ribs. Pause for a second, then slowly extend your arms.
4 Triceps kick-back
Reps 12 Rest 0sec
Stand on the resistance band with your feet hip-width apart. Hinge forward at your hips so your upper body is parallel with the floor. Grasp the resistance band handles and tuck your upper arms in to your body to create tension in the band. Keeping your elbows locked in position, use your triceps to extend your arms behind you. Return to the start under control.
5 Overhead press
Reps 12 Rest 0sec
Stand on the resistance band with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the handles with your arms in a cactus shape so that both elbows are bent at 90°. Brace your core and press your arms overhead until your hands meet. Slowly return your arms to the start.
6 Lateral raise
Reps 12 Rest 0sec
Stand on the resistance band with your feet hip-width apart and hold the handles by your sides. Brace your core and lift your arms out to the sides, maintaining a slight bend at your elbows. When you reach shoulder height, slowly lower your arms to the start.
7 V-sit
Reps 12 Rest 0sec
Sit on the floor with the resistance band under the soles of your feet and the handles held on the floor by your hips to create tension. Lean back slightly and lift your knees so your shins are parallel with the floor. From this tucked position, extend your legs while leaning back further into a hollow hold position to challenge your core control, then return to the start.
8 Leg raise
Reps 12 Rest 0sec
Place your feet in the handles and sit on the middle of the resistance band to hold it in position. Lie back with your hands on the floor beside your legs for support, tuck your chin in to your chest and lift your upper back off the floor. From here, lift your legs off the floor until they are above your hips, pause, then lower to the floor.
9 Bicycle crunch
Reps 12 each side Rest 30sec
Place your feet in the handles and sit on the middle of the resistance band to hold it in position. Lift your legs a few inches off the floor and lean back slightly, with your hands resting on the back of your head with your elbows pointing to the sides. From here, alternate bringing your legs in to your body as you bend your opposite elbow to meet the knee. Slowly return to the starting position, then repeat on the other side.
