I travel a fair bit for work, and have historically let it affect (read: completely stop) any sort of fitness routine I might have going at home. Normally I try to get to the gym 2-3 times a week, and do whatever is the WOD at my CrossFit (Sprint) gym. When traveling, I just let it slide normally, and then try to get back into a routine when I get home.
This last week, I was in Florida for the week and decided to try to get in a bit of a workout. I made up my own minimal CrossFit-ish routine that I could do in a park on my own, with no equipment. Here’s what I ended up doing (2 days in a row):
10 up-and-back; air squats, pushups, and “box jumps”, with a 2 minute break at 10. Light run for ~5 minutes.
So I started with 1 squat, 1 pushup, one box jump (onto the side of a brick flower bed), then 2… up to 10. Rest for 2 minutes. 9 squats… back down to 1 (for a total of 100 of each). After that, I rested for another 2 minutes, then finished off with a light jog around the park I was working out in. The whole thing only took about half an hour, and fit perfectly into my schedule. It was a really nice break from otherwise sitting in a conference room all day, every day, and hopefully will make it easier to get back into my normal routine next week.
Over the last few years I’ve become obsessive about exercise while traveling. I always stay at hotels with gyms now and (to my own dismay) wake up early every morning for an hour or more of cardio/weights. I just don’t feel nearly as good anymore unless I get in an hour a day – fascinating how habits change over time as even I’m surprised at the discipline I’ve achieved in this particular one. The morning thing is the kicker – I kind of know if I don’t do it first thing I probably won’t and somehow that little notion has sunk into my brain deep enough to stick.
Regarding your regime: I talked to a CEO recently who travels often and his routine is a lot like yours. He swears by burpees – claimed that it’s one of the most space efficient / intensity-rich things you can do and you can do it anywhere (as he does in hotel rooms / or in stairwells so as not to bother downstairs neighbors 🙂
Yep, the movements I was doing were basically just “deconstructed burpees”. Mostly because I couldn’t bring myself to do actual burpees 😛
I just can’t do the morning thing. Maybe one day that will change, because I definitely agree that it’s hard to stay motivated to fit things in otherwise. I had a scheduled 1 hour break on this trip which gave me a window just big enough to do this and shower before dinner, so it worked out nicely.