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Become fit for life

Hotel room workout.

A hotel room workout needs no equipment. A clear bit of floor, a chair and the edge of the bed are enough. Do five moves for 40 seconds each, with 20 seconds to change, and repeat the circuit for 10, 20 or 30 minutes. Build yours below, then follow the timer.

Updated , by Francesco Zen

Workout builder
Time you have
The room has
Go easy on

Your workout: 4 rounds of five moves, 40 seconds each with 20 to move on

Do the first round easy, as your warm-up. Rounds alternate between circuit A and circuit B.

Circuit A

  1. Squat to a seat. Sit back to the edge of the chair without dropping, and stand up tall.
  2. Incline push-ups. Hands on the edge of the bed, body in one line. Harder: hands on the floor.
  3. Lying arm raises. Face down, arms in a Y, lift your arms and chest a little. Pause, lower slowly.
  4. Forearm plank. On your forearms and toes, or knees. Body in one line, breathe.
  5. Fast march. Marching on the spot, knees high, arms driving. Quiet enough for the room below.

Circuit B

  1. Reverse lunges. Step back, lower the back knee towards the floor, return. Alternate legs.
  2. Push-ups. From your toes or your knees. Stop a rep or two before your form breaks.
  3. Floor angels. On your back, knees bent, slide your arms up and down the floor like a snow angel.
  4. Dead bug. On your back, arms up, knees bent. Lower the opposite arm and leg slowly, keep your back down.
  5. Fast march. Marching on the spot, knees high, arms driving. Quiet enough for the room below.

Before you start

Ask your GP first if any of these apply to you:

  • A heart condition, or chest pain, dizziness or fainting when you exercise
  • Medicine for your heart or blood pressure, or a doctor's advice to limit exercise
  • Joint pain or an injury that has not settled
  • Pregnancy, or a birth in the last few months
Tick the safety box above to start the timer.

A plan for the room is a start. A plan for your weeks on the road is what I build with clients. See where you stand first, or talk to me.

Take the five minute testBook a free 20 minute call

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Your room, your circuit.

Pick your time, tick what the room has and what to go easy on. Then start the timer and put the phone on the bed.

Health note. This page is general information to help you exercise, not medical advice, and the result is not a diagnosis. Ask your GP before you start if you have a heart condition, get chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when you exercise, or have been told to limit exercise. Stop if anything hurts or you feel unwell.

How it works

Five moves, the whole body.

  1. 1. Choose 10, 20 or 30 minutes, and tick what the room has.
  2. 2. Do five moves in a row, 40 seconds each, with 20 seconds to get into the next one.
  3. 3. Repeat the circuit for the time you chose. Take the first round easy, as your warm-up.
  4. 4. Stop each set a rep or two before your form breaks.

Each circuit covers legs, a push, your back, your middle and something to lift your heart rate. Longer sessions alternate two circuits, so you are not doing the same squat six times.

Adjust it

Adjust it, do not skip it.

  • Sore knees: sit to stands to a comfortable depth, and hip bridges.
  • Sore wrists: push-ups against the wall, and a dead bug instead of a plank.
  • Thin walls: no jumping, a fast march instead.
  • Harder: take three seconds to lower each squat or push-up.
  • Easier: a higher seat, or the wall instead of the floor.

Pain that is sharp, or that gets worse as you go, means stop.

A week on the road

Three hours, wherever you are.

The method takes about three hours a week, often less, at home, in a hotel room or in a gym. Sleep, airport food and client dinners are harder than the session, and I cover those in staying lean when you travel for work.

Staying lean when you travel for workTake the five minute testBook a 20 minute call
Questions

What people ask first

Can you get a good workout in a hotel room?

Yes. Your own body weight, a chair and the edge of the bed are enough for legs, pushing, your back, your middle and your heart rate. What you lose is heavy loading, so on a long trip you slow the moves down and add rounds instead.

How long should a hotel room workout be?

As long as the day allows. Ten minutes beats nothing, and twenty is plenty on most travel days. On a week away, three sessions with walking on the other days is what I give clients.

What if the room is tiny?

Every move here fits in the space of a yoga mat. If there is no floor space at all, use the corridor or the stairs for the moves that travel.

How do I train quietly, without disturbing the room below?

Tick no jumping. The builder swaps jumps for a fast march and keeps every landing soft.

Twenty minutes, with me.

We talk about your week, your health and what you have tried before. If the programme fits you, I will say so. If it does not, I will say that too.

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