Workout of the Day: On the Road Again

Over the last two weeks I spent a few days in hotels, one was your typical hotel gym set up with a rack of weights and a few pieces of cardio equipment. I've changed up my routine recently, doing more total or upper body circuits where I'd work alternate muscle groups versus the more traditional bodybuilding style where I was hitting one muscle group in a row with several exercises. With nary a chin up bar in sight, I improvised by using the front side of a treadmill where I'd grasp the back of the top display and with my body in an L, put my feet on the sides of the tread. You can also slide down and grab the handle to do some impromptu rows. To up the cardio, I bought a Gold's Gym branded speed rope from the local Wal-Mart. But at 9' it was a bit long as usually you want the handles to reach your armpits when you stand in the middle. The rope at the handles wasn't meant to be shortened so I just tied a knot on each side to shore up a few inches of slack, works perfectly.

- Dumbbell Swing/Treadmill Chin/Incline Push Up/Goblet Squat/Incline DB Curl/Lying DB Extensions/Shoulder Raises x 3 along with some standing DB calf raises

The next hotel gym had one room for cardio and another for weights. Unfortunately the weight room was missing all of it's dumbbells from 5-25 which meant I stuck to exercises I could handle the poundage right away. The spot also had a Bodywedge 21, a foam triangle you could lay or step on to perform 21 different exercises. My first thought that this was a rebranded sex pillow so the manufacturer could cash in twice. It worked alright though.

- 1 Leg DB Deadlift/DB Squat/Leg Curl/Leg Extension/Goblet Sissy Squat followed by seated calf raises with DB's on my knees

Whether you're on the road for personal or professional reasons, I think it's a good idea to pack some gym clothes so you can break a sweat and fight all the trials of travel like water retention, convenient versus healthy food options, sleeping in a different time zone and generally not being able to fulfill your own routine. But getting a pump is getting a pump anywhere you go.