The Ultimate Hotel Room Workout

I originally wrote this article for Livestrong.com.

After sitting for hours in a plane, train or automobile, the first thing you might want to do is collapse on your bed. But the best way to get travel agitation out of your system is to work out! Plus, exercise helps you adjust to a new time zone. Whether it’s for business or for pleasure, when you’re traveling, fitness seems to fall last in the lineup. You’re out of your normal environment and routine, so it’s easy to make excuses. Make fitness just as important as your business meeting and set aside 20 minutes for a workout. That’s all you need. Even if you don’t have time to find a gym in or around the hotel, here are 10 moves for your ultimate hotel room workout — no equipment, no excuses!

1 Mountain Climbers

This full-body burner works almost every muscle while also taxing your cardiovascular system. Start in a push-up position with your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders and your feet behind you and spread apart just a little. Your body should be in a perfectly straight plank. While keeping your hands in place, drive one knee up to the opposite elbow and bring it back down to the ground. Then bring the other knee up to its opposite elbow and back down. This should be repeated in quick succession so that one knee is always driving forward. REP SCHEME: Do it Tabata-style: eight rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off.

2 Triceps Dips

You can perform these triceps killers on the edge of a chair, the bathtub or even the bed. If you have two beds in your room, you can rest your feet on one while your hands are on the other for an extra challenge. Place your hands at the edge of the bed, palms facing down and fingers toward your glutes. Scoot your glutes off the bed so that you can dip yourself down toward the floor. Slowly dip down, keeping your glutes and back very close to the bed. Then push the bed away as you raise yourself back up to the starting position. REP SCHEME: Do three sets of six to eight reps.